I thought it would be a bit of a challenge for the rest of this week to find cards that only showed single letters, like the ones on the scrabble tiles.
This one is a bit anthropomorphic, but its fun, and not too creepy, like some of the cards in this set. And even better we have not had it before !
This set was definitely one of the favourites of all the collectors I asked, though it is basically just letters of the alphabet. However, they are amazingly enhanced by a variety of men and monsters, which were dreamed up and constructed by none other than Norman Saunders.
In case you are wondering how letters of the alphabet result in forty eight cards, the answer is that there are different sorts of cards within the set. Some of them like ours, have a large initial filling the card, but not only letters, there are also numbers one to nine, and symbols of an exclamation mark, a question mark, an "&" or ampersand, a dollar, and a cent. Then the other twenty-two cards each had four quarter-sized letters, numbers and symbols.
Lovers of the set will also take great pleasure in telling you that these quarter-size miniatures were not just straight copies, reduced - they were in fact repainted, by Mr. Saunders, by hand, and careful examination will reveal that there are differences, if you take the time to look.
The cards came with bubble gum, so they are proper trade cards - and they originally cost just five cents a pack