Happy birthday to Louise Brooks, who was born on this day, November 14th, in Cherryvale, Kansas in 1906.
To celebrate Brooks' birth, I thought I would share a scan of my newest treasure, a tinted arcade card. The front and back of the card are shown below. In all likelihood, this card was obtained from a vending machine located in an amusement park, a store, or some similar venue where one might find other vending machines. And in all likelihood, it cost a penny, one cent.
Like the cherry red tinted Street of Forgotten Men arcade card, which has been shown previously on this blog and is depicted in my new book, The Street of Forgotten Men: From Story to Screen and Beyond, this golden yellow tinted card was issued by the Exhibit Supply Company of Chicago, Illinois. The Street of Forgotten Men card was intended as a promotional item which could also be used as a postcard.
This newest acquisition had a different use, as is shown on its reverse. This card was a kind of coupon. Acquire 50 such coupon cards, clip the corner, and one could redeem a prize, such as an Imp bottle, trick pencil, 7" x 10" Tom Mix photo, or a Babe Ruth or Charles Lindbergh Lucky Pocket Piece. By sending in 100 coupons, one could obtain a Rubber Dagger, Referee's Whistle, or a Charlie Chaplin Squirter, among other valuable prizes. Wowza!
Here is the scan of my arcade card, showing the front and back. The card, obviously, has been clipped. I wonder what the original owner obtained in return?
This item, which I acquired through eBay, was part of a grouping of other movie star arcade cards which included major or established stars like Pola Negri, Marie Dressler, Vilma Banky, Constance Talmadge, Marguerite De La Motte, Lila Lee and Gertrude Astor.
There were also cards for up and coming actresses like Carole Lombard, Joan and Constance Bennett, and Ruth Chatterton. Since Lombard's image was printed on one of the cards, and since she didn't have credited roles in films until 1928 and 1929, I am going to guess and say these cards date from around 1929, perhaps 1930 - by which time Brooks fame in the United States was beginning to fade.
Here is an informational page about the Exhibit Supply Company from the Made in Chicago Museum. And here are examples of a whole bunch of cards from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
If anyone knows more about these specific cards, I would love to here from you. Also, I would be happy to sell any of these cards, either individually or as a group, except for the Louise Brooks card. Make me an offer. My other cards are shown below. Except for the Pola Negri card, each is in very good, though clipped, condition. A few have pencil markings on the reverse.
THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society (www.pandorasbox.com). Original contents copyright © 2023. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
