Sets in my Collection #30: 1953-54 Topps World on Wheels

This is, by far, one of my favorite sets of all-time. I have been a car guy my entire life, I love cars. My family (both sides!) have been involved in every aspect of the automotive world since 1932, so I suppose it was destiny that I would get into cars. I've been collecting scale replicas of cars since I was roughly two years old, and I've only stopped in the last year because I had to- the money to pay for the medicine that keeps me alive had to come from somewhere.

My lifelong dream is to be a classic car owner, but I don't think it will ever happen.

This set was the second of Topps's first trifecta of vehicular sets, following 1952's Wings, and followed by 1955's Rails & Sails, which has proven to be the hardest of the three for me to locate.

This set is 180 cards, and it was issued over two years, with the second year being MUCH scarcer than the first year. The second year was issued in (apparently) late 1954 as it includes 1955 models, but as is well known, cars are labeled for the coming year, not the year they are actually produced.

I was once again lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and I now have 125 of the 180 cards in my collection, all from the first series. My highest numbered card is #159. I wasn't kidding when I said several posts ago that being in the right place at the right time is my best skill!

The set featured a wide variety of automotive subjects. Many of the cards depict cars from the pre-World War I era, which today is the rarest era of automobiles to see, and many people can go their entire lives without seeing anything from this era moving under it's own power. They were mixed in with new cars, concept cars, work vehicles, even some tanks! They really covered the entire world of the automobile, and of the many, many automotive sets that were produced up to around 1996, this one is by far the most all-inclusive. Probably why it's my favorite!

The cards are the same slightly larger than modern standard that was the Topps standard pre-1957.

Since I have so many, and since I love them so much, I am again going to post more than one front scan.

#16

#17

#37. It was either this card or the card I mentioned in the Wings post that was my first vintage card of any sort. I added both of them to my collection at card shows held in the local mall in the mid-1990s. Both of them were added to my collection before I began collecting the NBA, which was February 1996, but I don't remember which came first or exactly when I got either of the two cards. I do have a better example of this card in my collection but being the first this one has not been relegated to my duplicate stash.

#89

#101

#107

#132

The second series cards are, at least in part, available with either red or blue backs. Both are rare. The trip from NYC to Albany, at least by car, now takes about 5 hours.

Completing this series is less likely a prospect than the Wings set, as the second series cards are significantly rare, and can be pricey if they can be found. Overall, this set is not as easy to find as Wings is overall either, adding to the difficulty of completing the set.