Tatoo Boo Hoo

Lonnie Cummins, a close, personal Friend o'the Archive, has been sending along some stellar stuff lately as your blogmeister has been dealing with real world issues, which are now happily concluded! However, I must caution you that both Lonnie and I missed this unbelievable box a couple of months ago, because, well, the internet.

I have written here extensively about Tatoo, a set issued in 1948, 1949 and 1953 by Topps and limned for a good couple of decades after that. Click the tags over to the right to see - the 1948 ur-issue was the first Topps novelty set, issued 70 years ago.

Anyhoo, while I have the uber-difficult round counter display canister the gum was displayed in as part of my collection (among other related goodies), I do not have the outerbox it resided in when shipped.  A really, really nice one got away as it turns out, and at a pretty reasonable price.

Here she is:

That's remarkably good shape for 70 year old pulped cardboard!  The graphics match the canister to a "T":

The box top shows off the Al Capp artwork that adorned this issue and it's related advertising :

I think we can all agree clean fun is the best kind of fun! And who doesn't like a cavalcade? I just looked it up, a cavalcade is a formal procession of people walking, riding horses, or in vehicles. I guess the horse theme went with the overarching "circus" motif Topps had going on in 1948-49.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the box bottom, sometimes a very important source of information among the indicia:

Alas, nothing there we didn't already know.  Topps used Bubbles Inc. on their non-core Topps Gum brands including Bazooka, until they phased out their former flagship product in tab from around 1949-50.  I believe 1948 Tatoo was the last product issued this way by Topps as they went to a square display after.  While it's possible some of their 1949 issues came "in the round", I don't think they did-it squaresville thereafter man!

Now can someone find me a scan of the 1948 Tatoo Tourist Pouch?! That was the 10 cent configuration used for kids parties as best as I can guess.