The amazing breadth of the signed 1952 Topps collection that we picked up as part of our "Texas Find" has been a topic of discussion among collectors of the set for the better part of a year.  Seldom-seen signed examples have been sold in our last two auctions, with the bulk of the remaining collection offered in this catalog (we do have a few dozen more examples remaining for our next sale, though none are particularly rare).

Among the most difficult cards to locate among autographed 1952 Topps collectors is card #285 of Cliff Fannin.  Word that we had obtained one resulted in several different calls from collectors prepared to make significant private offers.  The Fannin card is, of course, a "common" among collectors of the set without autographs, but his relatively brief and uneventful career (8 years, 164 games as a pitcher, primarily immediately following WWII) and his early passing (he died in 1966) make autographed examples particularly rare.  One other example is known to exist, though it is unknown where that example resides - it is, regardless, one of a handful of "Holy Grail" cards among collectors of signed 1952 Topps card, far more rare than the expensive Mickey Mantle.  

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