Original artwork and printing plates (4) used to produce Pedro Martinez's 2000 Topps Gallery Heritage card #TGH11. Both the artwork and printing plates were obtained by our consignor directly from Topps, and the manner in which they were obtained was novel at the time. The 2000 Topps Gallery set included several insert issues, one of which was the twenty-card Heritage series. As an added promotion for the set, Topps also inserted "Auction Points" in each pack. These points could then be used to "bid" on the original artwork for the cards. What was interesting about the bidding system was that it was an all-or-nothing proposition for the collector. When you mailed in your points to Topps, if your bid offer was not the highest total, you lost all your points! Our consignor was one of the twenty lucky bidders to win an original Heritage artwork from the set and it has been in his sole possession for the past twenty-four years. 2000 Topps Gallery Heritage original card artworks are exceedingly rare and this is the first such example we can recall having seen at auction. Although the artwork is not signed, we feel quite confident in attributing it to noted sports artist Bill Purdom. Bill Purdom (1953-2016) was the most prolific artist in the history of the Topps Company, having created over 340 images for baseball, football, and basketball cards. His lithographs were featured as background art in several hit television shows, including Seinfeld, Arliss, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Today, lithographs of all seventy-five of Purdom's baseball paintings reside in the permanent collection of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The artwork (7x9.75"; visible dimensions) and four printing plates (2.5x3.25"; visible dimensions) are all in apparent Mint condition. Matted and framed together with two 2000 Topps Gallery Heritage #TGH11 Pedro Martinez cards (one front, the other reverse). Total dimensions: 28x30". Please Note: The size and/or weight of this lot will necessitate an increased shipping charge.