Gum Wrapper, Superman Super Bubble Gum and Trading Cards
Gum Wrapper, Superman Super Bubble Gum and Trading Cards
Usage conditions apply
- Description (Brief)
- This wrapper was for a package of Superman themed bubble gum and trading cards. Made in 1940 by Gum Inc., the 72 collectible “adventure story” cards were one of the earliest examples of merchandise featuring the iconic superhero. The wrapper contains instructions on how to join the “Supermen of America Club,” a fan organization that promised a membership card, raffles and special premiums.
- The character of Superman first flew into action in 1938. The costumed superhero was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland Ohio, who used, among other things, Classical mythology, philosopher Fredrich Nietzche’s concept of the “uber mensch,” and the era’s popular science fiction and adventure writing, for inspiration.
- With his debut in Action Comics #1, Superman became an instant sensation with audiences, inspired by the “Man of Tomorrow’s” virtue and heroics at time when the Nation was slowly emerging from the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression and moving closer to World War.
- Born on the doomed planet Krypton, Superman was sent to Earth as a child, where our world’s yellow sun granted him extraordinary powers such as flight, super-strength, near-invulnerability, as well as other extraordinary abilities including heat and X-Ray vision. As an adult living in the city of Metropolis, the alien, born Kal-El, protects his identity by assuming the persona of Clark Kent, a “mild-mannered” journalist.
- Fighting for “Truth and Justice,” Superman birthed a cultural fascination with superheroes, and has become one of the most recognizable and influential fictional characters in history. In addition to comic books, the character has been explored in all forms of media, including radio, television, and film, and has been used to promote a variety of successful consumer products, educational initiatives and public service campaigns.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- Wrapper, Chewing Gum
- Date made
- 1940
- associated institution
- Superman of America Club
- maker
- Gum, Inc.
- Gum, Inc.
- place made
- United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- Physical Description
- paper (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: 6 in x 4 1/2 in; 15.24 cm x 11.43 cm
- ID Number
- 1987.0213.044
- accession number
- 1987.0213
- catalog number
- 1987.0213.044
- Credit Line
- DC Comics, Incorporated
- subject
- Radio
- Superman
- See more items in
- Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
- Advertising
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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