The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards

punch 'em out


The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards

The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards was published by Prime Press in 1977. The punch-out book contains 137 perforated reprints of classic trading cards released from 1910–1942. The collection was compiled and authored by Topps Chewing Gum employees Woody Gelman and Len Brown.

The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards and Some Cigarette Cards

Woody Gelman and Len Brown are the creators of the Mars Attacks card series for Topps. Gelman is also co-creator of Topps bubble gum mascot Bazooka Joe. Gelman served as associate editor on Jefferson R. Burdick's 1960 edition of The American Card Catalog: The Standard Guide on All Collected Cards and Their Values.

"A Nostalgia Press Reprint" is printed on the back of each card. Prime Press was a division of Nostalgia Press, Inc. Gelman reprinted collections of vintage comic strips and other pop culture memorabilia from 1960–1979.

The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards - Superman Gum

"The Comics" subset includes a reprint from the Superman Gum series. "Superman's Arch Enemy" depicts Superman against the Golden Age Luthor. Superman Gum was first released in late 1940 by Warren Bowman's Gum, Inc. in Philadelphia. The series was illustrated by Fred Ray, known for his patriotic Superman covers during World War II.

The Great Old Bubble Gum Cards - Superman Gum


The 1910 "Baseball Cigarette Cards" subset includes one of the first mass-produced reproductions of a T206 Honus Wagner card. The Wagner card was originally distributed with packs of Piedmont and Sweet Caporal Cigarettes between 1909–1911.

The reprint is a photograph of the "Ratner-Gammon Wagner" formerly owned by Newark Evening News writer Willie Ratner. The card is also known as the "Original Wagner," the first example featured in mainstream press. A photograph of the card was published in the November 6, 1930, edition of the Newark Evening News. On June 11, 2017, the "Original Wagner" sold at auction for $609,294.


1930s-1940s: The Comics Checklist
1931 Walter H. Johnson Dick Tracy Caramels (R41) 91 Quick on the Draw
1934 Schutter-Johnson Tarzan and the Crystal Vault of Isis (R147) 32 The Fight at the Water Hole
1935 Cartoon Comics (R27) 118 Harold Teen
1935 Cartoon Comics (R27) 133 Joe Palooka
1935 Gum, Inc. Mickey Mouse Bubble Gum (R89) 9 Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse
1935 Gum, Inc. Mickey Mouse Bubble Gum (R90) 99 Mickey Mouse, Groucho Marx
1936 Cartoon Adventures (R28) 408 Tailspin Tommy
1936 Cartoon Adventures (R28) 417 Broncho Bill
1936 Cartoon Adventures (R28) 442 Buck Rogers
1937 Believe It Or Not Ripley's Believe it or Not (R21) 45 The Royal Freak
1937 Whitman Big Little Book Series (R23) 32 Flash Gordon
1940 Gum, Inc. Lone Ranger Chewing Gum (R83) 6 Ghouls at Work
1940 Gum, Inc. Superman Gum (R145) 12 Superman's Arch Enemy