Habs memorabilia piece gets a new look, and adds a big name.

 

A few months back, I wrote a piece on “Centennial” an extensive autograph piece issued by Ice It Authentic.

The project is well under way, with 200 copies of the 1909 count run are already completely signed and available for sale.

To magnify the project further, creator and CEO of Ice It Authentic Wessley Perisa decided to make a pair of changes.

The first was the artwork. Though initially satisfied, Perisa felt that to continuing the project needed better artwork. As much as he liked it, something was missing.

To add to the artwork change, a series of talks with the Montreal Canadiens organization to endorse “Centennial” had been unsuccessful. Without the team’s support and to avoid any litigation, Perisa felt withdrawing from the sock design pattern, that featured the colours used by the Canadiens, was for the best. His artist did some further work and came up with a new concept.

The next part of the project is the most challenging. Ice It is obtaining enough signatures of the Montreal Canadiens’ most prolific player, Maurice Richard, to add to each piece.

That’s certainly not an easy task, but Perisa noted there are enough authentic signatures of the Habs legend out there to do it. Ice It will use the same idea, seen in the popular jersey swatch technique found in hockey cards, where signatures will be cut from photos, cancelled checks, etc. and added to the finished piece.

Another question raised to me by many, since the project was unveiled, was how to get the same players to sign all 1909 copies of “Centennial?”

With current team rosters always changing, and former players limited by time constraints, some more insight was revealed. There will be 100 Canadiens players signatures on each piece, but with only a select few (the most notable players, such as Hall of Famers) signing all of the copies.

Perisa felt that this will also bring a uniqueness to each piece, as the remaining copies are finalized. The “roster” list on the site will eventually indicate which players will be featured on all 1909 prints.

For more information on pricing and the “Centennial” project, you can visit the IceItAuthentic website or send them an email.