(UPDATE 10/2/20-Friend o'the Archive Lonnie Cummins deciphered a puzzle for me and I've amended this post as respects the exterior wrapper graphics. No change has bene made to the listing of subjects.)
Initially put out in 1948, Tatoo was the first Topps "novelty" issue and seemingly quite popular. A reissue occurred in 1949 and another in 1953, each time in a slightly larger size. I think it's possible it was sold almost continuously from 1948-53 but need to verify this during the "interregnum" to be sure.
Here are the three recognized issues, with their sizes growing each time:
As for the checklist, I started with the below "macro" scans then identified individual images. If you look closely many of these are "mirrored" and I think Topps possibly took advantage of this to cheaply increase the advertised set size from 100 to 150. But, as always, we'll get to some alternate information that impacts this theory down the line.
You will note the size variances. This precludes my ability to determine which set had which scans so the checklist that will be presented here in a subsequent post, will encompass all of the different issues. Today I will show you all of the subjects I extracted from these four scans, plus one from my collection and a number from Chris Benjamin's book which are in black and white and where I can't swear to the orientation of the "horizontal" subjects he illustrates. Intriguingly, most of the subjects Benjamin included in his guide are not in the eBay lot. I believe these eBay scans all to be "notch up", meaning they are oriented correctly.
I've applied my own naming and identification conventions, probably messing up a couple that relate to US Military Service logos (some of the detail is pretty hard to make out on these but others seem to be oh-so-close) so corrections are welcomed. You will see how easy it was for Topps to mirror an image pretty quickly. A change of spot color would sometimes accompany a mirrored image but this was not always the case.
Here's the single scans, line art and a full checklist will be presented a couple of outings from now:
8 Ball
Ace of Spades
American Eagle Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
American Flag
American Indian Dancing
American Indian with Full Headdress
American Indian With Tall Headdress
Archer
Artillery
Atlas Supporting The World Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Baseball Hitter
Baseball Pitcher
Basketball Player Left Handed (there is right handed original line art known so mirrored) Note reversed number 2 on uniform, looks like a 5 here
Battleship
Beefeater Portrait
Blimp Tethered
Bomber Dropping Bombs Flying Left, Flying Right (mirrored)
Bowler Left Handed, Right Handed
Boxer Gloves Left, Gloves Right (mirrored)-note spot color changes
Butterfly
Cannon
Castle
Chef
Clown
Cobra
Cocktail Glasses
Coiled Snake
Conquistador
Cowboy on Horse Waving Hat
Cowboy with Kerchief
Cowboy with Scarf
Crossed Flags with Torch
Crossed Rifles
Diamond Ring
Dinosaur
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eagle with Sword in Talons
Eiffel Tower
Explorer with Van Dyke Beard
Fighter Plane Battle Facing Down, Facing Up (mirrored)
Fire Engine
Fish and hook
Flying Fish
Giraffe
Gondolier
Gorilla
Greyhound
Hand with Cigarette
Hand with Torch
Human Cannonball
Jefferson Davis
Jester Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Jet Pilot with Helmet and Oxygen
Jockey on Horse
Kangaroo
Knight in Armor with Shield
Laughing Superhero with Helmet Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Lighthouse
Lightning Bolt
Lion
Lion with Mountain Backdrop (eBay single)
Marine Corps Logo
Military Rank Insignia Blank Middle, Red Middle (same subject with color changed)
Parachutist
Pilot Wings With Stars Atop
Pipe Smoker
Pirate Portrait
Pirate with Sword
Prop Plane Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
PT Boat Correct, Reversed (Mirrored, you choose which one is reversed!)
Race Car
Robert E. Lee
Roman Boat
Roman Centurion Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Sailing Ship Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Saxophone
Sea Serpent
Seahorse Facing Left, Facing Right (mirrored)
Sedan
Skier
Skull and Crossbones
Soldier Saluting
Soldier with Rifle Shooting Left, Shooting Right (mirrored)
Spaceship
Squid
Swami with Crystal Ball
Tank Shooting
Telephone
Tennis Player Left Handed, Right Handed
Top Hat with Cane and Gloves
Top Hatted Masked Man
Totem Pole Eyes Look Left, Eyes Look Right (mirrored)
Tribal Warrior
Two Hearts with Cupid's Arrow
Uncle Sam
Union Jack
US - Georgia State Flag Three Bard Facing Down, Facing Up (mirrored) similar to both flags but identical to neither
Volcano Erupting
Whale
Witch
Woman's Portrait
Pirate with Sword
Rocket Hurtling Pointed Left, Pointed Right (mirrored)
I make that a count of 121. That figure will increase when I review the line art next week. There's also the matter of 1981's 24 Tattoos, which repeat a large number of designs from these sets (and some others in between such as 1968's 21 Tattoos) and appears to include a huge amount of subjects that probably debuted here as well but are as yet unconfirmed.
There's two subjects I found on eBay but have been unable to find again: "Sailor with Spyglass" and "Snake Lady". There is another where the washed out remnants of the tatoo are very faint but matches up with an image later seen in 24 Tattoos, "Porpoise with Compass". As all three of those are found in 24 Tattoos but without confirmed Tatoo scans presently, I'll leave them off this visual checklist. So that's 123 so far counting mirrors and Benjamin's examples.
More next time!
There's two subjects I found on eBay but have been unable to find again: "Sailor with Spyglass" and "Snake Lady". There is another where the washed out remnants of the tatoo are very faint but matches up with an image later seen in 24 Tattoos, "Porpoise with Compass". As all three of those are found in 24 Tattoos but without confirmed Tatoo scans presently, I'll leave them off this visual checklist. So that's 123 so far counting mirrors and Benjamin's examples.
More next time!