Lot # 1646: 1965 Topps Gilligan's Island 5¢ Retail Display Box Signed and Inscribed by Bob Denver - Potentially One-Of-A-Kind

Non-Sport specialists find collecting gold, with this Bob Denver signed 1965 Topps Gilligan's Island 5¢ retail display box. A hit comedy series that originally aired on CBS from 1964-1967, Gilligan's Island is a zany farce about seven stranded castaways making do an uncharted tropical isle. This classic TV show has be in reruns since the 1960s, and generations of fans have been swept away by the familiar antics of the marvelous cast.

Washed up on our bidding shores, this vintage box is very nicely preserved, presenting as a solid, handsome example. The graphics are sharp, the colors are bold, and the surface is clean and glossy. Wear is relatively modest, with 3/4" creases radiating off either side of the mostly intact lid perforation, and a light crease on the rear side panel. The shape of this sixty-year-old box is very pleasing, and the graphics are outstanding, with a wide-eyed photograph on Bob Denver in character as Gilligan on the lid. Seen on the long front panel are Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, and Alan Hale Jr., as Thurston Howell III, Lovey, and the Skipper. Denver appears on both short side panels, and the long rear panel alternates images of Bazooka Gum with Lincoln cents dated 1964.

Denver (d.2005) has boldly signed the bottom of the box, with a personalization and the inscription "Gilligan". This ancient non-sport TV treasure is potentially the only one signed by Denver. Unsigned boxes aren't all that plentiful to begin with, and our research team was unable to find another example signed by Denver, or any other cast member.

Auction LOA from James Spence/JSA.