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Specs
Year: 1953
Title: Pictsweet Milwaukee Braves; Top Taste Bread Milwaukee Braves
Size: 8-1/2″ by 11-1/4″
Number in Set: 19
Overview
The Standard Catalog has long listed the 1953 Pictsweet and Top Taste Bread Milwaukee Braves posters as separate sets, but since the National Tea Company owned both brands and the posters share the same design, I’ve listed them together.
The Boston Braves moved to Milwaukee for the 1953 season, and a lot of companies signed endorsement deals with the coaches and players. Reportedly, the National Tea Company signed the players and coaches for $50, which included unlimited bread and frozen products.
The posters are black and white, featuring players in front of gray backgrounds holding either a loaf of Top Taste Bread or the Pictsweet product. Beneath the photos are some basic player information (their position and team name) and the player’s name in large black block letters. I believe the back of the posters is blank.
Examples are incredibly scarce and tend to be in poor condition since they were taped to windows/displays.
Examples
Key Cards
Every poster is exceedingly rare. My 2010 Standard Catalog lists every poster at $150, and the last (and only) public sale I could find was when a pair of Joe Adcock (Top Taste Bread) and “Bullet Bill” Burton (Pictsweet Peas) sold for $372 in April 2020. But I’d wager that the Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn posters would be the most expensive.
Checklist
Joe Adcock, TopTaste bread
Johnny Antonelli, Pictsweet orange juice
Vern Bickford, Top Taste bread
“Bullet Bill” Bruton, Pictsweet peas
Lew Burdette, Top Taste bread
Walker Cooper, Pictsweet cauliflower
Del Crandall, Top Taste bread
George Crowe, Top Taste bread
Sid Gordon, Pictsweet strawberries
Charlie Grimm, Pitsweet strawberries
Harry Hanebrink, Top Taste bread
Johnny Logan, Pictsweet carrots
Eddie Mathews, Pictsweet orange juice
Andy Pafko, Top Taste bread
Jim Pendleton, Pictsweet corn
Sibby Sisti, Pictsweet (product unrecorded)
Warren Spahn, Top Taste bread
Max Surkont, Pictsweet green beans
Bucky Walters, Toop Taste bread