Before the Internet and Lolcats, there was 1983 Topps Perlorian Cats. Featuring cats dressed up in intricate costumes, it’s one of the strangest trading card sets ever made. You’ve got cats with surfboards, cats doing Wild Bunch cosplay, cats reenacting the Civil War and cats playing the slots.
Every pack of comes with six cards as well as a header card. Like a lot of cards from the era, they double as stickers. A complete set has 55 cards.
While it’d be nice to get a little context as to what these are all about, forget it. Card backs are puzzles. There’s no text to explain the images or the motivation behind them. It’s cute cats dressed up in funny costumes doing ridiculous things. What more could you possibly want?
Perlorian Cats trading cards are based on a series Japanese photographs and books. They’re the brainchild of Satoru Tsuda, a photographer. A true fad, Tsuda’ work went on the be a marketing bonanza, appearing in hundreds of products. And in the early 1980s, there were few ways to better prove your pop culture relevancy than trading cards.
While not readily available, 1983 Topps Perlorian Cats trading cards are far from rare and they’re not terribly valuable. It seems as though those dealers that have it, have a lot. Besides traditional boxes, they were also available in vending cases of 4,500 cards. With such a small set, supply adds up quickly.
1983 Topps Perlorian Cats Checklist
Cards per pack: 6 + 1 header
Packs per box: 36
Shop for 1983 Topps Perlorian Cats packs and boxes on eBay.
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