One, Two, Tray

If you want obscure, boy do I have it for you in spades today!  Some of the earliest Topps "insert" issues were printed on the little cardboard trays that came with a nickel roll of Bazooka. These trays had a small "stamp" or historical subject on them as sometimes a premium offer but in reality it was just a hunk of cardboard with some monotone color added.

Four different series were issued, in this likely order:

The Story Of The Atom Bomb, ACC # R709-3:

Thanks to Jeff Shepherd for that one.  Yes, they did a set about the ultimate killing machine!  Eighteen in the set, although I can't confirm that yet. Premiums #101-108 were the first group offered by Topps and the address is an early one used by them.  Bazooka was originally sold in 1947 under the Bubbles, Inc. nom de gomme. This tray could be from that year or 1948.

World Famous Stamps, ACC # R714-4:

Also Shep's.  This may have been the first one as no premium offer is shown but certainly in the same time period. Twelve in the set.

Famous American Heroes, ACC# R714-3:

More Shep goodness as it's nicer than the one I have.  The style is the same as Story Of The Atom Bomb so they could be related but this uses a later address for the premium offer and references Bazooka.  A low # premium indicates an early issue and eighteen subjects are in it, as confirmed by the above example.

 Collect Bazooka Stamps-Famous American Heroes, no ACC #:

Rockne is the only sports figure in this one and a checklist is known.  Nine trays, 18 "stamps", presumably all cribbed from Famous American Heroes.  Likely the last of the line and it certainly has the most modern look of all the tray sets. The checklist comes from Shep, as he sent it:

1 George Washington

2 Nathan Hale

3 Robert E. Peary

4 Knute Rockne

5 Stonewall Jackson

6 Daniel Webster

7 Alexander Hamilton

8 Luther Burbank

9 Sam Huston

10 Robert E. Lee

11 Francis Scott Key

12 Betsy Ross

13 Thomas Paine

14 Buffalo Bill Cody

15 Paul Revere

16 James M. Whistler

17 Davey Crockett

18 Benjamin Franklin

The backs of all of these are blank, unfinished cardboard, this one has a little water damage:

All four series are scarce but not widely collected.