Proofs Go Through The Roof

One of the holier-grail type Topps items are the 1971 Rookie All Star Proofs. Covered here and here about four years ago, Robert Edward Auctions recently auctioned two of them in the Spring of 2015. The two in question, Larry Bowa and Bernie Carbo went for $12K and $14.4K respectively (includes 20% juice on each), which are eye popping numbers and way up there for prices paid for common players in the Topps universe. With but a single example known of each, these are as rare as they come.

The detail on these two in the online catalog is a bit better than my last offering:

The auction description is quite illuminating:

Each of these proofs has been consigned from the collection of a very advanced old-time collector, and we believe that this offering is the first time even a single example from this set has ever been available at public auction. Each proof features a colorful standard-size card (2.5 x 3.5 inches) pasted onto a thick piece of artist's board measuring 9.5 x 6.5 inches. The card portion features the player's head inside of a colorful star, with his position and team at top and a Topps All-Star Rookie trophy and his name at the bottom. Because these proofs are actually camera-ready paste-ups produced to be used to make final-issue cards, the heads of the player are actually Kodachrome photographs pasted on the card area. The construction and original artwork component is very elaborate and perfect.

I'm still not sure if these are production proofs or mockups made for an internal pitch meeting as one of the subjects, Carl Morton, has a backing board with a penciled number on the upper right corner, which can be an indication of a presentation board. However, the presentation boards usually are black and have numbering on their backs.

So it's a bit of an unknown still, as is the purpose behind this set, which included all ten of the 1970 Topps Rookie All Star selections.  Banquet favors? Test Issue? Possible Insert?  We may never know!