There aren't many American cards I don't know about. I don't mean I've memorized my 2008 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards from cover to cover, and I can't tell you how many cards were in the 1952 Topps set, and honestly the 1990 Donruss set just has way too many meaningless variations. But I know how to find information about sets, cards, and players pretty easily using the multitude of resources available to me. (And I have at least flipped through every page of the Beckett Almanac I bought back in 2003.)
Japan is a different question. You must think I'm a broken record when I talk about this, and it's definitely become a cliché on this blog. But even for modern sets issued by major manufacturer BBM, there just is no comprehensive guide out there. So I was a little surprised to see this card pop up on Yahoo Japan Auctions:
This card features a piece of cloth cut from a t-shirt she wore inside a gymnasium. I'm pretty sure she just wore it for the photo, though it comes from the university where she used to teach. It is identified as a "practice shirt", but how often do gymnasts practice routines in t-shirts? Perhaps it was worn during workouts or warm-ups.
The card itself is from the 2012 BBM Real Venus set, but wasn't included in packs. Instead, it is a "Fuji Television Limited" card. I have no clue how it was distributed, nor have I tried to find out. I know there was at least one other year where promotional memorabilia cards were issued. I should note that Real Venus has no memorabilia cards in the regular packs.
This card is numbered 112/200, and has card number RVM-R. There is a patch version numbered out of 20 copies, using the logo found on the front. It is possible there are more promo relic cards out there that I don't know about. But if there are, I don't know about them.
Did I make you laugh?
This isn't my first Rie Tanaka relic card, nor my first Tanaka shirt relic card. The 2013 box set included several relics, and I've found a black shirt, a blue shirt, and a leotard from that issue. There's also a towel and another leotard relic I'm on the lookout for.
Trying to get a handle on the promo and magazine insert cards that BBM's done is next to impossible
ReplyDeleteThis is true. But I have discovered the same is somewhat true for Topps and other US companies, even today. Stadium giveaways, promo cards for conventions, and dealer promos (if those still exist) often remain uncatalogued. As do team issues. BBM has been doing better, since they seem to be including promos on their checklists at least some of the time.
Deleteinteresting. Is "Fuji Television Limited" like the Home Shopping Channel? Maybe it was an exclusive for a home shopping channel?
ReplyDeleteFuji TV is the name of a private TV network here. NHK is basically the national TV network, like BBC in England; Fuji TV is a competing network. the "Limited" is there because this card had distribution limited to Fuji TV. Actually, BBM's pack-based team sets are often called "limited" (they used to be, though I haven't seen it recently). Side note: never trust English on anything Japanese to mean what you think it does.
DeleteIt might just be a practice shirt... but it's unique... so it's cool. Now if they produce these year in and year out and flood the market like Panini and Topps... then they'll eventually less interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteBBM, overall, doesn't do too many relics. The Real Venus series has only had promo memorabilia cards. That does make each individual relic more appealing or valuable, I suppose.
DeleteCool! There are some swatch cards that actually show you where on the clothing the material was cut from. Japanese card market is the Wild West for sure. So many cool things out there.
ReplyDeleteI've seen those. I think I might have one. They all come from the gravure model sets though, so I would have picked it up as a novelty more than anything. There is a lot to discover, and thus collect!
DeleteBad ass card. Love relics and autos from Japan
ReplyDelete