War Gum
Gum Inc., United States

• Series Title: War Gum
• American Card Catalog Number: R164
• Issued by: Gum, Inc.
• Country: United States
• Number of Cards: 132
• Card Dimensions: 2-1/2" x 3-1/8"
• Circa: 1941-42

Background

The "War Gum" trading card set by Gum, Inc., was the last of the great bubble gum card series to be issued in the United States before the war effort cut off all supplies of essential materials. The 132-card series began distribution in 1941 and continued well into 1942. The timing of the series allowed the Gum, Inc. team to cover many of the current events of the war; to report the actions of the first American heroes; and to spotlight many Allied leaders as well.

The artwork featured in the series tends to focus on the bravery of Allied servicemen and leaders, rather than on enemy atrocities, i.e. "Horrors of War" series. The cards are captioned both front and Back, however some of the titles differ slightly, mostly in the use of abbreviations. The cards are numbered on the Back only. The American Card Catalog number for the series is R164.

Typical R164 "War Gum" Card Back

Booklets vs. Album

As far as we know, there were no formal albums associated with this series. However, Rand McNally did publish some companion children's wartime booklets that featured artwork from both the R164 "War Gum" and the R157 "Uncle Sam" series by Gum, Inc. The booklets were No. 372 "America's Army," and No. 373 "America's Navy." Both of these 80-page booklets measured 4-1/8" x 5-3/8" x 5/16" (thick) and were published in 1942.

America's Army Booklet

America's Navy Booklet

Series Wrapper

There are at least seven wrappers associated with the series. It is generally assumed that the first four, or "map" wrappers were used for the first series of cards ... no's. 1 to 84. The "map" wrappers were actual miniature maps of the war zones, showing Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, French Indo-China and Malaya, and Wake Island. The map wrappers all share the same color scheme: the land masses are white, the water is blue, and the word "WAR" is orange with thin blue outlines around the letters and jagged edges. The "Charging Infantryman" wrapper, for which at least three color schemes are know, was most likely used for the second series of cards ... no's. 85 to 132. Note ... all of these wrappers are very rare, and command premium prices ... $400 and up in EX condition!

R164 "Pearl Harbor" Series 1 Wrapper

R164 "Philippines" Series 1 Wrapper

R164 "Wake Island" Series 1 Wrapper

R164 "Malaya" Series 1 Wrapper
( Special thanks to Vladislav Kuchta for sending us this scan. )

R164 "Charging Infantryman" Series 2 Green — Wrapper

R164 "Charging Infantryman" Series 2 Orange — Wrapper

R164 "Charging Infantryman" Series 2 Yellow — Wrapper

Image Guide

Checklist

1. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
2. First American Shot Fired
3. Admiral Harold R. Stark
4. Dying Captain Carries On
5. Admiral Ernest Joseph King
6. U.S. Destroyer Sinks Enemy Sub
7. Cordell Hull
8. U.S. Sailor Mans Five-Inch Gun Alone
9. Admiral Thomas Charles Hart
10. Defense of Wake Island
11. General Douglas A. MacArthur
12. Rear Guard Holds Japs At Bay
13. Captain Colin P. Kelly, Jr.
14. Filipinos Destroy 154 Jap Boat
15. Winston Churchill
16. U.S. Flyer Strafes Jap Airdrome
17. The Chiangs
18. Observer Spots Jap Battleship
19. General George Marshall
20. Filipinos Attack 54 Jap Planes
21. General Sir Archibald P. Wavell
22. Dutch Sea-Air Offensive
23. Luzon's ''Sergeant York''
24. Luzon Repels New Year's Push
25. Luzon's Star Anti-Aircraft Unit
26. Malayans Check Jap Landing
27. ''Heron'' Fights Off Jet Planes
28. Trapping Jap Suicide Bicyclist
29. Three U.S. Pilots Faces 108 Japs
30. Commandos ''Bag'' a Jap General
31. Heroic Dutch Stand at Tarakan
32. Major General H. G. Bennett
33. Sub Sinks 17,000-Ton Jap Liner
34. U.S. Torpedo Boat Attacks Jap Ship
35. Major Trapnell Wins a D.S.C.
36. MacArthur's Men Beat Off Japs
37. Japs Kill U.S. Hero Bailing Out
38. Filipino Guerrillas Raid Airdrome
39. Battle of Macassar Straight
40. Survives Mine-blasted Sub
41. Torpedo Boat Attack Jap Bombers
42. U.S. ''Tigers'' Blast Jap Column
43. 2nd Lieut. A. R. Nininger, Jr.
44. Midway Island Defines the Japs
45. Guns Blast Corregidor Invasion
46. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
47. Mixed Battalion Smashes Japs
48. Singapore's Last Hours
49. Corregidor Speaks!
50. Ex-Football Star Is Death to Japs
51. Dutch Kill Sky Troops at Sumatra
52. Filipino Wins Congressional Medal
53. Tank Riding Igorots Wipe Out Japs
54. Third Congressional Medal Winner
55. ''Ace'' Lieutenant Edward H. O'Hare
56. Moro Tribesmen Slaughter Invaders
57. Dutch Hero Destroys Tanks and Self
58. McArthur's Planes Sink Jap Ships
59. Allied Planes Raid Jap Island
60. Bombers Attack Japs in New Guinea
61. Flyers Sail 1000 Miles on Life Raft
62. McArthur Starts Dash to Australia
63. Cruiser's Light Saves 116 Men
64. Mountbatten of the Old Commandos
65. Commando Raid on St. Nazaire
66. Spectacular 4000-Mile Raid on Philippines
67. Tokyo Bombed!
68. Boyd Wagner, the Jap-Killer
69. British Seize Madagascar
70. To Great Coral Sea Victory
71. Doolittle Receives Congressional Medal
72. Daring Sub Saves Corregidor's Gold
73. Hangman Heydrich Assassinated
74. Cologne Devastated by 1250 R.A.F. Warplanes
75. British Capture Rommel's Chief Aide
76. Brigadier General Channault of the Tigers
77. Ukrainian Guerrillas Blast Troop Train
78. The Battle of Midway
79. Ensign Views Midway Battle from Sea
80. MacArthur's Filipino Aid-de-Camp
81. Plane Drops Flag on Unknown Soldier's Tomb
82. Army Bombers Blast Japs, Off Aleutians
83. U.S. ''Liberators'' Sink Italian Cruiser
84. Stalking the Axis Submarine Raiders
85. Russian Girl Sniper Wins Coveted Medal
86. U.S. Sinks Jap Ship at Launching
87. Ship Gunner Braves Torpedoes in Sinking
88. American Aces Smash Jap Airdrome in Canton
89. Yank Flier's Bombs Wreck Nazis Supply Trains
90. R.A.F. Scourges Hamburg
91. American Marines Attack Solomon Islands
92. Navy Task Force Cripples Japs in Aleutians
93. Makin Island Raid
94. Eaker Leads First All-American Bombing
95. Diepper Raided by Commandos
96. Biggest Air Victory
97. General Charles De Gaulle
98. Wing Commander Douglas R. Bader, Legless Pilot
99. Emperor Haile Selassie
100. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth
101. Miss Lee Ya-Chiang, China's First Girl Pilot
102. Marshall Semion Budenny
103. Sergeant Garth L. Nowell, British Ace
104. Victor Talalikhin, Russian Air Hero
105. Eve Curie, De Gaullist Worker
106. Raymond Collishaw, Britain's Greatest Aviator
107. Lieutenant General Jan Christian Smuts
108. King George II of Greece
109. Human Bombs Blow Up Tanks
110. Commandos Raid Tobruch
111. U.S. Bombers Attack Subs in Aleutians
112. Cutter Rams Big Italian Submarine
113. Blasting Japs on Burma Road
114. Dive Bombers Sink Returning Japs
115. Flying Boat Captures Sub Crew
116. Captain George ''Ed'' Kiser
117. Wilkie Visits World Battlefronts
118. MacArthur Honors Fighter Hero
119. Melnick, the Cossack
120. Marines Peppers Attackers of Hero
121. Yank High-Altitude Bombers
122. Brave Children of Malta
123. Lieutenant Paine Saves ''Phyllis''
124. Alaskan ''Flying Tigers''
125. Bombers Fire Little Factories
126. Marshall Semion Timoshenko
127. Youngest Soviet Soldier
128. MT Boats Assail Jap Warships
129. Negro Swimmer Tows Survivors
130. ''Marauder'' Blast Jap Destroyers
131. Australia's General Rowell
132. Heroic Defense of Stalingrad

We Need Your Help!

We need your help to finish the R164 Wrapper section. Currently, the only high resolution scan we have is for the Series 1 "Malaya" wrapper. The other six scans are of lesser quality and need to be upgraded.. We are in need of 600dpi ot these wrappers. If you can help us, please contact us via the "Contact Skytamer Images" link at the bottom left. If your scans are used, we will give you a permanent subscription to the Skytamer Archive. We will also acknowledge your contribution at the bottom of this page, display your business card, and provide a link to your website.

Special Thanks

A very special thanks to Vladislav Kuchta from Prague, Czech Republic for sending us a scan of the R164 "Malaya" Series 1 Wrapper. Vladislav is a long-time collector of chewing gum wrappers. He has over 100,000 items in his collection. Be sure to visit his website www.chewing-gum.biz.

Also, another special thanks to Joseph Savoie for helping us complete the "Image Guide" section for this collection.