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Blatz Gum Card

Specifications

Blatz Gum Card

Category

World's Fairs

Classification

CHENHALL - Communication Objects - Advertising Media - Card, Advertising

Object Origin
Manufacturer:

Blatz Gum Company

Date Manufactured:

1933

Physical Characteristics

Object Description: Rectangular paper card with a depiction of the Hall of Science building from A Century of Progress at night on the front. On the back at the top in blue text is "No. 1 / HALL OF SCIENCE" followed by two (2) sentences about the building. Inscription about the company and card is below that text.

Materials:

paper

Marks: "There are 32 pictures of the / Chicago World's Fair 1933 in this series. / One free with each piece. / BLATZ GUM CO. / CHICAGO, ILLINOIS"

Measurements: Object:
    Length: 2.875 in, Width: 2.25 in

Credit

Gift of Howard Rossen, 1993.44.1b

Display Status

Not On View

Blatz Gum Card

About: Blatz Gum Card

About: Blatz Gum Card

Made by Blatz Brewery, these collectable bubblegum cards display the colorful buildings from the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition. The Blatz Brewery Company was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Johann Braun in 1846 and was originally named City Brewery. In 1850, Valentin Blatz established a brewery next door and merged both breweries together upon Braun’s death in 1852. By 1884, Blatz was ranked as the third largest beer producer in Milwaukee and was one of the big four Milwaukee breweries, along with Miller, Pabst, and Schlitz. When Prohibition was ratified by the U.S. on January 16, 1919, and went into effect on January 17, 1920, Blatz and many other Milwaukee breweries transitioned to selling juice, sodas, and even gum to stay in business. The practice of pairing packs of gum with bubblegum cards, such as baseball cards or trading cards, goes back to the 1880s. Originally, bubblegum cards were cigarette cards and were included in packs of cigarettes, but as tobacco companies stopped marketing cigarettes to children, gum companies took to the practice. Starting in the 1930s, many gum companies, including Blatz, began including bubblegum cards with their gum. During the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, packs of Blatz gum came with bubblegum cards with views of the Exposition. These colorful cards displayed the realistic and vibrant colors used on the exterior of the Exposition’s buildings. This card from the set is of the Hall of Science building.

Additional information

Copyright information

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