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1958 “Missile” (W452-4)
Exhibit Supply Company, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Series Title: “Missile”
American Card Catalog Number: W452-4
Issued by: Exhibit Supply Company, Chicago, Illinois
Issued via: Arcade Vending Machine
Country: United States
Number of Cards: 18K (set may be larger)
Card Numbering: 1 to 18 on card front (blank back)
Type of Card: Arcade Card
Card Dimensions (nominal): 126.9 × 212.3 mm
Circa: ca. 1958
Checklist: Download
Overview [1,2]
The leader in the field of cards retailed in vending machines without merchandise was the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago, hence the general term “Exhibit” for these cards. The “Exhibit” cards were designed to be sold direct, without a product, which was the distinguishing feature of the cards.
Card vending machines were mostly found in arcades and amusement centers, although they were not confined to these locations. The issues started about 1920, which makes Exhibit just about the oldest continuous issuer of cards in the business. Standard Exhibits cards are 126.9 × 212.3 mm, post card size on thick card stock, and many have post card backs, although the usual back is blank. Most of the recent issues have no identification of the supplier, usually just “Printed in U.S.A.” Other sizes and thicknesses of cards are known for other firms, and also some cards may well have been machine cards. Black and white, and tan sepia, are the common colors, particularly for the photo types.
The “Exhibit” photo type airplane cards were issued in a least four separate series. The first series, “Planes, Series 1” (aka “Jet Planes”) consisting of 64 cards, was issued in 1955 with an ACC number of W452-1. It is identified by the phrase “Printed in U.S.A.” in both black and white. The second series, also issued in 1955 “Planes, Series 2” (aka “New Jet Planes”) also consists of 64 cards. This series is identified by the phrase “Made in the U.S.A.” and has an ACC number of W452-2. The third series, which is not cataloged in the NSB [2] is titled “Aircraft”. Though not catalogued in the NSB, the logical ACC number for this set is W452-3. This set also bears the “Printed in U.S.A.” caption. This 3rd set was most likely issued in the 1956 timeframe or later since the Convair F-106A #9 card has a 1956 tail number. The fourth set in the series is titled “Missile” and was most likely issued during the 1958 or later timeframe since the Nike Hercules shown on card #15 became operational in 1958. Again, we have assumed a sequential ACC number of W452-4. It appears that the number of cards in both the 3rd and 4th sets are 18. Sample cards from each of the four sets are shown below. You may also click on these images to reveal computer enhanced images of the card.
Image-Guide
| ca. 1958 “Missile”
Arcade Vending Machine, 18-Airplane 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 |
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Checklist
| ca. 1958 “Missile” (W452-4)
Exhibit Supply Company, 18-Cards, United States CHECKLIST | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| № | x | Card Title | |
| 1 | U.S. Army’s Hawk | ||
| 2 | U.S. Army’s Nike Ajax | ||
| 3 | U.S. Air Force Atlas Missile | ||
| 4 | U.S. Air Force Goose Missile | ||
| 5 | Hawk Missiles in Firing Position | ||
| 6 | U.S. Army’s LaCrosse | ||
| 7 | Launching Jupiter-C “Explorer” | ||
| 8 | U.S. Army’s Nike Hercules | ||
| 9 | Missile in Firing position | ||
| 10 | Missile Being Launched | ||
| 11 | U.S. Army’s Honest John Rocket | ||
| 12 | U.S. Army’s Redstone Missile | ||
| 13 | U.S. Army’s LaCrosse soars skyward | ||
| 14 | Nike Hercules in flight | ||
| 15 | Nike Hercules on launcher | ||
| 16 | Redstone being monitored from foxhole | ||
| 17 | Nike Hercules Streaking Skyward | ||
| 18 | U.S. Navy’s Talos Guided Missile | ||
References
