Zoom Airplane Pictures, Series 2 (200) Gum Products (R177-2) United States

1940-41 Zoom Airplane Pictures, Series 2 (R177-2)
Gum Products Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

Series Title: ZOOM Airplane Pictures, Series 2
ACC No.: R177-2
Manufactured by: Gum Products, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
Number of Cards: 200
Card Dimensions: 2½ × 3⅛ inches
Circa: 1940 and 1941
Checklist: Download

Background

The ZOOM Airplane Pictures cards issued with Zoom Bubble Gum by Gum Products, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts during 1940 to 1941, is undoubtedly one of the most challenging sets of airplane cards for collectors to acquire. Overall there are 175 images and 775 cards associated with the ZOOM Airplane Picture series. The ZOOM Airplane Pictures series is divided into three distinct subsets.

Series 1 — 75 cards, white borders, skip-numbered from 1 to 100
Series 2 — 50 card images, 4 border colors, 200 cards total, skip-numbered from 1 to 100. Same aircraft images as used in Series 1.
Series 3 — 100 card images, 5 border colors, 500 cards total, numbered from 101 to 200.

ZOOM Airplane Pictures, Series 2 (200 Cards)

ZOOM Airplane Pictures, Series 2 is a reprint of the original R177-1 series and contains the same images as presented in Series 1. However, there are only 50 images associated with this set … not 75! This series was issued with four different border colors: Yellow, Green, Orange, and Blue. According to veteran collector, the late Richard Dahlquist ^[3] of Holden, MA, the following twenty-five that were issued with the Series 1 set WERE NOT issued with the Series 2 set: 8, 9, 12, 15, 18, 19, 23, 25, 27, 28, 29, 32, 34, 39, 41, 44, 46, 54, 56, 64, 76, 79, 80, 85, and 90. Therefore, the total number of cards associated with ZOOM Airplane Pictures, Series 2 is 200 cards. Sample Series 2 cards are shown below.

Image-Guide

Checklist

ZOOM Airplane Pictures, Series 2 R177-2 Whitman Publishing Company, United States, 200 cards CHECKLIST
Border Colors Blue, Orange, Green & Yellow		Card &$8470;	Card Title
		1	Curtiss P-40
		2	Bell XFM-1
		3	Lockheed XC-35
		4	Douglas TBD-1
		5	Grumman F3F-1
		6	Canadian Fairey Battle Bomber
		11	Bristol Bolingbroke Bomber
		14	Seversky P-35
		16	Westland Lysander II
		20	Curtiss A-18
		22	Douglas A-20A
		24	Grumman F2F-1
		31	Curtiss P-36A
		35	Consolidated XPB2Y-1
		36	Curtiss P-36
		37	Vultee YA-19
		43	Vought-Sikorsky SB2U-1
		47	Consolidated PBY-1
		48	Curtiss SBC-4
		49	Boeing XB-15
		50	Curtiss A-12
		51	Curtiss-Wright
		52	Lockheed P-38
		57	Ryan S-T
		58	British Sunderland
		59	Northrop N-3PB
		60	Lockheed
		62	Lockheed B-14
		65	Douglas 8A-5
		66	Grumman Goose
		68	Lockheed P-38
		69	Bell Airacobra
		70	Consolidated XB-24
		71	Douglas DB-7A
		72	Douglas B-18-A
		73	Curtiss Falcon 22
		75	Stearman NS-1
		77	Consolidated Model 32
		82	Cessna Crane T-50
		84	Curtiss XSO3C-1
		86	Grumman Skyrocket
		87	Douglas B-19
		89	Bellanca Flash
		92	Brewster F2A2 (sic)
		93	Bellanca Cargo Aircruiser
		94	Curtiss-Wright
		96	Consolidated PBY-5
		98	Grumman G-36A
		99	Vultee
		100	Republic P-35
ZOOM Airplane Series Album & Wrappers
	ZOOM Airplane Pictures Album
	ZOOM Bubble Gum Wrapper (Four-Engine Bomber)
	ZOOM Bubble Gum Wrapper with 1¢ (Fighter)
	ZOOM Bubble Gum Wrapper no 1¢ (Fighter)

Album

Gum Products, Inc. also issued a Zoom Airplane Pictures premium album that just added to the mystique and frustration of the collectors buy only showing 72 of the 75 cards featured in the ZOOM Airplanes Series 1 in the album. These albums are very rare and command a premium price. The ZOOM Airplane Pictures album is shown below.

Gum Wrappers

There appears to be three wrappers variations associated with the ZOOM Airplanes series. The first has a red, white and blue center with six airplanes Zooming in the top panel. It does not have a copyright date printed on it and was probably used for the first series of 75 cards.

The second wrapper has a different design in the center, which is orange with green accents. It bears a copyright date of 1941 and has two different mail offers printed on the top and bottom panels. The top offer is for a 12-page album containing photographs of 72 of the finest and best airplanes in the world (25 Zoom wrappers plus 10 cents). The promotion on the bottom pane offered a choice of any two large (9½ × 12½ inch) airplane pictures, plus a surprise, also for 25 Zoom wrappers and 10 cents. Because this second wrapper advertises a New Series, collectors believe it was used to market the 101-200 sequence of cards.

ZOOM Airplanes Wrapper 2 with Dec. 31, 1941 offer expiration date

The third wrapper is a variation of the 1941 wrapper show above, without the price information. This variation also has an offer expiration date of Dec. 31, 1942 rather than the 1941 expiration date shown on the Wrapper 2 design. All of the other features of the wrapper appear to be the same as the Wrapper 2 design.

ZOOM Airplanes Wrapper 3 without the price information

References

John A. Shupek: Card images via the Skytamer Archive Digital Image Database.
Albert B. (Al) Kramer: Card images via the Kramer Non-Sports Trade Card Collection.
Richard Dick R.Dahlquist: (1 September 1939 - 11 August 2007)