Horrors of War Trading Cards
Over the weekend I was checking out Illustration magazine back issues when the description for issue 33 caught my eye and soon had me searching the web. The issue has an article on the Horrors of War gum card art of the thirties? Okay, how could I not dig into this and try to learn more?
The 1938 Horror of War cards are described by cardboardconnection.com as the cards that truly launched the non-sports cards we know today. According to the blog post:
“Horrors of War created a stir in the mainstream media at the time of its release, but it also grabbed the attention of America’s most powerful man — the President.”
Okay, that definitely sparked my interest and I just had to see more of these crudely-illustrated cards. Fortunately, Deke’s Collection has the cards, so we don’t need to go all of the way back to 1938 to check these out. Enjoy the art, and you may also sit there and wonder just how I managed to go so many years without knowing that these even existed.
These should be in a book!
Related articles
- Celebrating Horror with the I LIKE TOYS: Horror Edition Special + Start of Illustration Contest! (toysrevil.blogspot.com)
- You’ll Die Laughing: MAD artist Jack Davis’ wonderfully funny horror trading cards (dangerousminds.net)