Gum Wrapper, Superman Super Bubble Gum and Trading Cards
date: label: Date made
content: 1940
name: label: associated institution
content: Superman of America Club
label: maker
content: Gum, Inc.
label: maker
content: Gum, Inc.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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 and the era's popular science fiction and adventure writing for inspiration.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Description (Brief)
content: 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.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
topic: label: Subject
content: Radio
label: Subject
content: Superman
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Advertising
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: DC Comics, Incorporated
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1987.0213.044
label: accession number
content: 1987.0213
label: catalog number
content: 1987.0213.044
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Wrapper, Chewing Gum
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 6 in x 4 1/2 in; 15.24 cm x 11.43 cm