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click
on any card for a larger image
Arcade
cards were first created by the Exhibit Supply Company of
Chicago, IL, in 1901 and ended in 1981. The cards were 3
3/8"x 5" and featured promotional
photos of movie stars, prize fighters, baseball players,
and cowboy-western stars. They were first printed in black
& white (as seen above) and finally in color lithography
(as seen seen here).
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Trips
to Norumbega Park
in Waltham, MA started my collection of arcade cards. The
park had a small roller coaster and a giant rotary swing
with rocket planes you took rides in. The big excitement
for me was the small arcade with its magical machines. Clutching
a few pennies I had saved, I would make a dash for one of
the arcade machines. The machine was like a box on legs
with a marquee
sign on top that said “Put one cent in slot, Push
slide in-then pull out slowly and receive card”. Excited
I inserted my penny, pushed the plunger and out came a gray
cardboard card. There in a black and white photo was The
Lone Ranger from the movie serial of 1938!
What
a treasure! It was pure luck not to get a duplicate. I
could add this one to my collection. I got three more
cards but they were not ones I wanted. I would save them
to trade with my friends. When I got home my new cards
were added to others in a cigar box. Quite often I would
take the Lone Ranger cards out and with my imagination
at full speed ride with the masked man on his adventures.
Enjoy looking at the cards and I hope you have some of
the same excitement I had.
>
see also my collection of color
lithography arcade cards <
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