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1954 “Race Against Time” (V339-12)
Parkhurst Products Ltd., Toronto, Canada
Series Title: Race Against Time
American Card Catalog Number: V339-12
Issued by: Parkhurst Products Ltd., Toronto, Canada
Issued with: Parkies “Race Against Time” Bubble Gum (4 cards per wax pack)
Country: Canada
Number of Cards: 40
Card Numbering: 1 to 40
Type of Card: Bubble Gum
Card Dimensions (nominal measured): 63.92 × 88.9 mm
Circa: 1954
Checklist: Checklist
Parkhurst Products (Overview) [1]
Parkhurst Products of Toronto, Canada was a confectionery company that produced “Parkies” and “Zip” picture cards in the 1950s and 1960s. The company, led by a Mr. George Kennedy, primarily produced hand-size picture cards for ice hockey, but also produced them for baseball, Canadian football, wrestling and other subjects such as this “Race Against Time” series of 40-cards.
Over a 13-year period from 1951-52 to 1963-64, Parkhurst Products made 12 popular hockey sets, primarily targeted towards kids. A typical pack of “Parkies” or “Zip” hockey cards cost just five cents and included both a stick of gum and a stack of cards (usually four or five cards to a pack).
Bubble gum cards were popular in Canada and the United States in the 1930s, but they were all but forgotten in the 1940s because of war-time rations. Thanks to the 10-year gap between the 1940-41 “O-Pee-Chee” series and 1951-52 “Parkies” series, the new 1951-52 “Parkies” series featured the first popular cards for many of the game’s heroes. The two biggest rookies (or rookie cards as they are known today) were legends Maurice Richard and Gordie Howe (both of whom had actually made their debuts in the 1940s).
For its first four seasons, the “Parkies” hockey series featured players from all six National Hockey League teams. The 1951-52 series was small (44.5 × 63.5 mm) and the 1952-53 series only slightly bigger (49.2 × 74.6 mm). Starting in 1953-54, the “Parkies” series was a comfortable size of 63.5 × 92.1 mm (originally marketed as “Giant” in comparison to the previous seasons).
In those early years, Parkhurst Products also made a small-size series of minor-league baseball cards in 1952, a small-size series of Canadian football cards in 1952, and two hand-size series of wrestling cards in 1954-55 and 1955-56. It also produced a small-size “Photo-Magic” series of Canadian football cards in 1956.
In 1955-56, the “Parkies” hockey series featured only the two Canadian teams: the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs. The 1955-56 series included both modern players are retired Oldtime Greats from both teams. In 1956-57, no ‘proper’ “Parkies” hockey series was produced (although “Photo Magic” cards have surfaced in recent years).
Starting in 1957-58, “Parkies” went head to head with “O-Pee-Chee” hockey cards (produced in conjunction with Topps Chewing Gum). The “Parkies” hockey series still featured just the two Canadian teams, while the O-Pee-Chee/Topps series featured the NHL’s four American teams. “Parkies” established a new, slightly trimmer card size of 61.9 × 92.1 mm; O-Pee-Chee used the newly established Topps standard size of 63.5 × 88.9 mm (2.5 × 3.5 inches).
Starting in 1960-61, Parkies added the Detroit Red Wings to its hockey series, most notably adding reigning MVP Gordie Howe to its hockey series for the first time in six years. The O-Pee-Chee/Topps series was now left with just three American teams (although for two years it included either cards or stamps of retired All-Time Greats).
In 1963-64, Parkhurst Products made its last hockey series. While it is said Mr. Kennedy loved making hockey cards for the kids, it is believed that his success in other enterprises urged him to drop his bubble gum and picture card business. After “Parkies” left the hockey card market, the ensuing 1964-65 O-Pee-Chee/Topps series featured players from all six NHL teams.
According to the “ Non-Sports Bible” by Dr. Chris Watson, in addition to the Parkhurst series of sports cards, Parkhurst Products also produced the following 23 series of non-sports cards.
Overview [2]
During 1954, Parkhurst Products issued a 40-card set of “Race Against Time” trading cards that were issued with Parkies “Race Against Time” Bubble Gum (4 cards per wax pack). The cards measure 63.92 × 88.9 mm, and are assigned the American Cards Catalog reference number V339-12.
The cards are printed on medium gray and a light tan card stock. The cards depict all forms of speed and endurance racing (racing cards of boats, horses, runners, sports, aircraft, spacecraft, etc.) on the front along with the card number and a very brief description. The image areas of the cards are centered and surrounded by a thin black rectangular borderline. A medium-sized four-sided margin completes the card front. The majority of the cards (35 of 40) are presented in a landscape (horizontal) format. The remaining five cards are presented in a portrait (vertical) format.
All 40 of the card backs are presented in a portrait (vertical) format. The card backs contain the set title(s) and more comprehensive descriptive text printed in both English and French. The card backs are also boldly marked “Printed in Canada”, which also serves as a divider between the English descriptive text (top) and the French descriptive text (bottom). These cards were issued four to a wax pack marked as “Picture Cards of Famous Speed Races”.
The following reference card shows computer enhanced images of the fronts and backs of a typical 1954 “Race Against Time” (V339-12) card. Click on the card images to reveal full-size computer enhanced 600-dpi images of the card. Please note, that since this set is not an airplane card set per se, we are presenting it as an FYI set with a limited number of 600 dpi card scans.
Image-Guide
The following 1954 “Race Against Time” (V339-12) 40-card set by Parkhurst Products, Canada, Image-Guide shows computer enhanced images for only six (#1, 11, 18, 29, 34 & 39)³ of the fronts and backs of the 40 cards in the V339-12 set. Behind each thumbnail image is a 600-dpi computer enhanced card image that you may access. In addition, directly beneath the Image Guide, in tabular form, are links to the original scans used for this series. The thumbnail images for the set were regenerated and computer enhanced from images obtained from the Vintage Non-Sports Card Chat Board [4] by Dan Calandriello. To view the fronts and back of all 40 cards, please visit the following Vintage Non-Sports Card Chat Board webpage, “Race Against Time” [5]. Please note that the webpage also contains image links to the V339-12 Wrapper and the V339-12 Display Box.
| 1954 “Race Against Time” (V339-12)
Parkies “Race Against Time” Bubble Gum 40-Cards ORIGINAL SCANS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
1b |
2
2b |
3
3b |
4
4b |
5
5b |
6
6b |
7
7b |
8
8b |
9
9b |
10
10b |
11
11b |
12
12b |
13
13b |
14
14b |
15
15b |
16
16b |
17
17b |
18
18b |
19
19b |
20
20b |
21
21b |
22
22b |
23
23b |
24
24b |
25
25b |
| 26
26b |
27
27b |
28
28b |
29
29b |
30
30b |
31
31b |
32
32b |
33
33b |
34
34b |
35
35b |
36
36b |
37
37b |
38
38b |
39
39b |
40
40b |
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Checklist
| 1954 “Race Against Time” (V339-12)
Parkhurst Products, 40-Cards, Canada CHECKLIST | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| № | x | Card Title | |
| 1 | The First Olympics, 1000 B.C. | ||
| 2 | Chariot Race — 652 B.C. | ||
| 3 | Atlanta’s Race | ||
| 4 | 10 Seconds to Go | ||
| 5 | Down the Mississippi | ||
| 6 | Dead Heat in 1877 | ||
| 7 | Hanlan Wins | ||
| 8 | 70-Year-Old Record for Single-Seater | ||
| 9 | 40 Miles An Hour | ||
| 10 | Longboat Collapses After 18 Miles | ||
| 11 | Airship Race 1907 | ||
| 12 | Amundsen Wins | ||
| 13 | “Phantom Finn” in Full Stride | ||
| 14 | Williams Double Winner 1928 Olympics | ||
| 15 | She Sinks | ||
| 16 | Bluenose Beats Gertrude L. | ||
| 17 | Dupuy Sets New Record 1939 | ||
| 18 | Around the World in Four Days | ||
| 19 | Seven Miles a Minute | ||
| 20 | Citation Runs Alone, Pimlico 1948 | ||
| 21 | 4th Win for Cote, 1948 | ||
| 22 | Milk Wagon Cheats Lepine of $1,000 Prize, 1949 | ||
| 23 | Three Miles a Minute | ||
| 24 | 36 Start — 3 Finish | ||
| 25 | World Record on First Trip | ||
| 26 | Native Dancer Equals World Record | ||
| 27 | German Team Wins at ‘52 Olympics | ||
| 28 | 37 Miles an Hour | ||
| 29 | Woman Breaks Sound Barrier | ||
| 30 | Canadiana Wins in 1953 | ||
| 31 | Freddy Mohler Wins ‘53 Derby | ||
| 32 | Yukovich Wins 500-Mile Classic in ‘53. | ||
| 33 | Helicopter Wins in 1953 | ||
| 34 | Breaking the Sound Barrier | ||
| 35 | Stevenson Wins Again | ||
| 36 | 22 Miles a Minute | ||
| 37 | New Record Set | ||
| 38 | Wind Robs Landy of 4-Minute Mile 1954 | ||
| 39 | First to the Moon | ||
| 40 | Death Wins Another Race | ||
| n/a | Parkies “Race Against Time” Bubble Gum 5¢ Wrapper | ||
| n/a | Parkies “Race Against Time” Display Box | ||
References
