SHREDDED WHEAT BOX INSERTS [CARDS]

[Many of these cards, which are printed on a soft tan or gray cardboard, resemble blotters - they are not.  Please check the BLOTTERS list for true blotters]

 

This is a brief description of Shredded Wheat Card box inserts from The Shredded Wheat Company, and its successors, National Biscuit Shredded Wheat, then Nabisco Shredded Wheat, and the current Post Shredded Wheat.  We will also include the Canadian Shredded Wheat Company, now also part of Post [Kraft-General Foods].  British box inserts will be listed at a future time. The British company is now part of Nestlé.

 

While Shredded Wheat was an early entry into the field of box inserts and premiums to draw continued purchase, its efforts seem to have waned by the end of the 50’s, at least for Shredded Wheat and its variants, Spoon Size and Frosted Shredded Wheat.  With the beginnings of “The Age of Plastic,” Nabisco seems to have chosen to include this type of premium in Rice & Wheat Honeys, instead of Shredded Wheat - no doubt viewing those cereals as more kid-friendly.  In Canada and Great Britain, the same can be seen in an emphasis away from the basic Shredded Wheat product for premiums, and their more frequent inclusion in Shreddies - a product which never quite succeeded in the States, but is still very much alive in these only other countries where the original Shredded Wheat was made. 

 

We have arbitrarily decided to include only Shredded Wheat and its direct line extensions, and Shreddies, leaving other Nabisco premiums to be covered by others.  To that end, a number of links are provided to other useful cereal sites.  We have further divided the Shredded Wheat box inserts into CARDS and PLASTIC premiums [the latter including some other non-card inserts - such as metal flags, pressed paper items and skill ball games].  The list below contains all cards we know of.  For other items included in boxes of Shredded Wheat and some mail-in premiums, check out the PLASTIC PREMIUMS list.

 

The sets below are listed chronologically - as best as we know.  Any further information on dates of specific sets is welcome, or of sets not yet listed here.  This is very much a “work in progress.”

 

For an expanded listing of each set and some illustrations, please click on the DETAILS link at each set.

 

192?  Slogan cards                                                 DETAILS

The Shredded Wheat Company, Niagara Falls, NY

brown printing on buff card stock (as alphabet cards below)

These cards feature slogans and messages re: SW, Triscuit, etc.

Common element:  “Use other side for grocery list”

 

1927? alphabet cardS                                             DETAILS

The Shredded Wheat Co., Niagara Falls, NY, The Pacific Coast Shredded Wheat Company, Oakland, Ca. & The Canadian Shredded Wheat Company, NF, Ont

brown printing on buff card stock

features alphabet pictures to color for prizes

 

1930?  UNEEDA CARDS                                                DETAILS

National Biscuit Co.

Brown printing on gray card stock

These cards feature both Shredded Wheat and other products produced by National Biscuit Co.  For example: Visit us in Oakland & NF, SW w/all the bran of the whole wheat, SW & Uneeda grocery list, Uneeda Boy Biscuit and Crackers

 

1930?  BROWN RECIPE CARDS                                    DETAILS

 

Recipe and picture of recipe on each card; printed in brown on gray cardboard.

Shredded Wheat with sliced bananas, strawberries, creamed chicken, creamed dried beef, & poached egg

Across bottom: “Put this card in your recipe file”

 

1932? HOT BREAKFAST HINTS RECIPES                      DETAILS

 

Hot Breakfast Hints - 2 recipes on each card; printed in blue on gray cardboard with blue banners top and bottom.

Across bottom: “East Shredded Wheat Daily - The Natural Energy Food”

 

1933?  sloganS                                                          DETAILS

 

Printed in blue on gray cardboard, Title & text, for example:

A Man's Success May/Depend on his Food!

Popularity Usually/Begins at Breakfast

Your Skin Shows/What You Eat! Etc.

 

1933 blue recipes                                                     DETAILS

National Biscuit Co.

449 West 14th Street, New York, NY

 “Vitally Different” heading; printed in blue on gray cardboard, 2 recipes per card

 

1936 Picture Story Album -

nursery rhymes                                                       DETAILS

National Biscuit Company

printed in blue on gray cardboard

nursery rhymes printed in blue, title card + 35 others

 

1937? Picture Story Album -                                  DETAILS

boys & girls of all Nations

National Biscuit Company

printed in blue on gray cardboard

title card + 35 others

(also an extra Chinese card - I suspect one withdrawn and a second issued, and a 2nd Scotland card)

 

1937? Picture Story Album -                                  DETAILS

Tony Sarg’s animal circus

National Biscuit Company

printed in blue on gray cardboard

Tony Sarg's Animal Circus, title card & 35 others

 

1942? blue numbered recipes                                DETAILS

Nabisco

449 W. 14th Street, New York, NY

printed in blue on gray cardboard

1 recipe per card, to cut out; 36 recipes to collect

mentions meat shortages and rationing

 

1942? How America Travels cards                       DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

36 forms of transportation

 

1943? How Canada Travels cards                        DETAILS

Canadian Shredded Wheat Company

36 forms of transportation

 

1946 Toytown &                                                         DETAILS

Toytown Carnival cards

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

2 sets of 36 houses & buildings & circus acts, animals etc. to color and cut out

 

1946 Canadian Toytown &                                       DETAILS

Toytown Carnival cards

Canadian Nabisco Shredded Wheat

28 houses & buildings to color & cut out

 

1948 Flying Circus cards                                       DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

12 notebook cards + 24 paper airplanes

 

1949 - '52 Straight Arrow cards                           DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

4 "books" of 36 cards each, with an extra #19 in book 1 [first two books printed in blue, 2nd 2 in green]

 

Canadian Straight Arrow cards                         DETAILS

 

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

1 book of 28 cards

 

1953 Nabisco TV Theater cards                             DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

2 sets:  Straight Arrow & Big Fun Filled Show

2 double cards of finger puppets & props, instructions, commercials, & scripts + 2 box stages)

 

195os?  Birds of Canada cards                             DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

at least 2 books of 28 cards each, both English only and bilingual (Eng. & French)

 

1953 Wild Animal 3-D cards                                    DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

10 cards which could also be ordered by mail + 3-D glasses and order card

 

1953 Arthur Godfrey coupon                                DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

10¢ off coupon on Shredded Wheat

 

1954 Model Sports Car cARDS                               DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

Assembly card, wheel card, Jaguar, Corvette, & Buick Skylark

 

1954 Sound Jet cards                                              DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

3 cards in one box (complete)

 

1954 Sound Jet cards - canadian                          DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

3 cards in one box (complete)

 

1950’s howdy doody cards                                    details

Canadian Nabisco Shredded Wheat

Puzzles and cutouts featuring Howdy Doody and friends

 

1956 Trailblazers of America cards                   DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

9 sets of 3 cards, to build trucks

 

1956 Train-o-Rama cards                                         DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

12 sets of 3 cards, making up a train diorama

 

1957 Locomotive Hall of Fame cards                  DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

7 slot together train replicas, hinged tri-fold die cut sheets + plain cardboard platform

 

1956-7 Rin-tin-tin cards                                            DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

13 order forms, printed in green:

 

1957 western Comics                                               DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

a gift from Rin-Tin-Tin

6 comics, about the size & shape of box insert, on rodeo champions

 

1958 Rin -Tin-Tin insignia patches                          DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

7 stick-on patches featuring Rin-Tin-Tin characters

 

1958 Foldabird cards                                              DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

a total of 8 bird construction cards, which could also be ordered by mail

 

1958 Foldabird cards - canadian                          DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

a total of 8 bird construction cards, which could also be ordered by mail

 

1958 & 1959 Defenders of America cards             DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

2 sets of shiny chrome cards of US defense weapons

packed one to a box, no date on first, 1959 on 2nd

 

1959 SHIPS IN BOTTLES                                              DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat Juniors

4 different ships on cards

 

1959 Aircraft Carriers & jets                               DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat Juniors

paper constructed carriers on box backs & jets

 

1960 Wonders of the World cards                      DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

24 cards, packed one to a box

 

1960  historical diorama cards                           DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

8 dioramas of American History

 

1960  historical diorama cards - canadian        DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat

8 dioramas of Canadian History

 

1963 marvels of nature cards                             DETAILS

Nabisco Shredded Wheat?

10 Marvels of Natural History/shiny cards

 

1992 Baseball cards                                               DETAILS

Nabisco Canada

36 artist drawn cards packed 3 to a box

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