Picture story albums: Tony Sarg’s animal circus
Shredded Wheat box inserts up to now, with the exception of the Alphabet cards which ended in 1929, had been largely targeted at adults. The cards which followed advertised other products, or suggested reasons for using Shredded Wheat. In 1936 or 1937, however, the company began a new strategy aimed at children with the introduction of Picture Story Albums. There are three of these: Nursery Rhymes, Boys and Girls of All Nations, and Tony Sarg’s Animal Circus. These were each sets of 36 cards, a cover and 35 cards to color, with instructions for assembling into an “album.”
The popularity of the previous two sets led The National Biscuit Company to introduce a third set, for which they enlisted the popular artist, Tony Sarg. These cards are numbered, and each is a humorous view of some animal, often engaged in various sports or playing a musical instrument. These cards probably were issued in 1938. [Listing follows illustrations.]
 |
|
 |
 |
Cover, plus:
- Hippo
- Wolf [golf]
- Lion & Unicorn [boxing]
- Monkey
- Seal
- Elephant
- Lion [playing saxophone]
- Goat
- Elephant
- Tigress
- Bear
- Hippo
- Bear
- Giraffe
- Pig
- Bear cub
- Dog
- Black Bear [tight-rope walking]
- Fish [fishing]
- Dogs
- Jack Rabbit
- Turtles
- Chimpanzee [harp]
- Tiger
- Pigs [playing baseball]
- Hippo
- Tiger & Elephants
- Monkeys
- Dinosaur
- Elephant [playing football]
- Rooster
- Bucking Bronco & monkey
- Pelican
- Zebra
- Whale