Topps started making gum in 1938, and it took them several years to come up with the cards+gum formula. We can date this one to the war years thanks to the "Avoid Careless Talk" admonition - which gets amplified in the advertising copy "Don't Talk, Chum. Chew Topps Gum". Matches have all been removed, strike strip is worn but present. A neat piece of hobby history.

Long-time friend of the company Carl Frysinger recently passed and made arrangements to consign his collection. With a collection that stretched from 1887 - 2022 and was as close to comprehensive as we've ever seen, he was one of the foremost Phillies collectors in the hobby. In his memory The Collector Connection will be donating 1% of our portion of the proceeds of the sale of his items to the Central PA Foodbank in Carl's name.