THE LONE RANGER BUBBLEGUM CARDS

A collection of 48 bubblegum cards were produced in 1940, given away in packs of bubble gum, featuring the artwork of Charles H. Steinbacher. Produced by Gum, Inc., the candy and card combo was sold for a penny. The original concept was to consist of 60 different cards so that fans of the radio program could buy the candy with the intent of collecting all 60. Children who mailed in five of their wrappers could also receive 8 x 10 a photo from the series. Children who sent in 25 wrappers would receive a complete set of those five photos. Those large prints are today considered among the rarest of Lone Ranger premiums.

In the early-to-mid 1990s, the art for all 60 cards was discovered in the personal safe of the late Steinbacher, so the cards were reproduced by Dart Flipcards, Inc., in 1997, not with a reproduction of all 48 cards, but also the 12 that were never produced.

Steinbacher was the art director for the George Moll Advertising Agency, which handled the Gum, Inc., account. Steinbacher became a legend in the field of non-sports cards for producing the art for the Horrors of War set for Gum, Inc., which was produced in 1938. Steinbacher’s watercolor-on-board paintings, 7 x 6 inches, were sold off separately over the years for sums even larger than the cost of the original bubble gum cards.