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An overview of WWII themed collectable gum cards from GUM Inc.This is a NON-FICTION META piece of work.---This is part of the Tumblr blog Steve Rogers' New York, which explores the world that Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes would have grown up in through mini-essays on all manner of cultural, and social history that may have shaped their childhoods.You can find the blog in its original form at https://steve-rogers-new-york.tumblr.com
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This material comes from my original Tumblr post on Steve Rogers' New York.You can find the full blog in its original form at https://steve-rogers-new-york.tumblr.comThis post is part of my efforts to expand the reach of my work, and to back up the now 5-year old blog to avoid loss should, Odin forbid, Tumblr disappears one of these days. It will be a slow process moving all 400+ posts over to A03, so please subscribe to this account to be alerted as new material is uploaded!The blog is still active and growing with new material, despite my Masters Degree's best efforts to prevent it ;DPlease be sure to share some love on A03 and/or Tumblr if you find this material useful! It helps keep me motivated.If you use my research in your own world, please link me so I know and so others can find my body of work!
April 30, 2025 at 04:47 AM
“World in Arms” Gum Cards
Gum, Inc. c.1939
Collectable gum cards found their place in American culture in the early-1930s. Warren Bowman’s Bowman Chewing Gum Company, or GUM, Inc began including trading cards in their 1c packets of gum.
Three series of interest produced by the company were:
- Horrors of War — 1938
This series remains one of the most famous and sought after collectors series, and made quite the impressing when it was first released. As the name might suggest, the contents of the cards depicted horrific war imagery, including scenes of torture, battlefields, and civilian attacks…in all their bloody glory. Their infamy holds a place alongside 1962′s Mars Attacks’ violence and the abrasive imagery of the Garbage Pail Kids. That being said, they were a huge financial success, grossing over 100 million dollars. The series consisted of 240 original released and 48 in a subsequent release. - World In Arms — 1939
As the US found themselves faced with the prospect of war, the brands felt the pressure to switch to a more war-friendly themes. This series focused on the arsenal and preparations employed by several nations in the shadow of WWII. The set comprised of 48 cards, with 6 subsets: airplanes (16), ships (12), iron calvary (4), field artillery (4), fortification (4), and miscellaneous subjects (8). Overall, the depictions of the nations were reasonably neutral, even the Axis nations. - Uncle Sam’s Home Defense — 1941
Prior to the events of Pearl Harbor, the company released another war-themed series of cards, this time focused around home defense. Modern wartime threats such as bombs and poison-gas coming to US soil were brought to light in the cards’ depictions of civil defense actions. They provided advice through illustrations and text on the reverse. The series consisted of 48 cards.
Images are scans from the SRNY Personal Collection.
You can find the original Tumblr post for this content here:
https://steve-rogers-new-york.tumblr.com/post/658624783387410432/world-in-arms-gum-cards-gum-inc-c1939