[QUOTE=nolemmings;2111926]Although I guess this could be a fantasy piece in the sense that this specific display was never used in 1934, I find it less and less believable that the product itself did not exist (Baseball Gum), and that the baseball pictures currently catalogued as R310s were not sold with that product. There is an undeniable tie between General Gum and Curtiss Candy–the addresses used for the plant and general offices/HQ both match up. It seems far-fetched to me that someone completely made up a display piece thinking it would be clever to make this connection in hopes that it would be discovered by savvy collectors down the road and falsely used to support claims of authenticity. I suppose it’s possible that Curtiss Candy initially thought to distribute the R310 pictures through its gum affiliate and that it generated prototype advertising that never hit the stores, opting instead to tie the pictures to its Butterfinger candy bars and only those candy bars. If so, I guess that could be construed as a “fantasy” piece in the same vein as phantom World Series tickets– actually from the period and real but never put
Some additional research shows that in 1931 Curtis candy faced Bankruptcy. They were allowed to continue but were forced to rein in their finances. Looking over Chicago phonebooks I only find General gum using same address as Curtiss after 1931. I can find no indication that General gum was ever a subsidiary of Curtiss candy. I am of course open to one being found but the Curtiss candy Museum has no reference.
Second if Curtiss wanted to issue R310's with Gum they would have used Baby Ruth Gum which they issued as far back as 1926. The ACC and some early giides such as Sterling list R310's as being issued by Curtiss candy and Baby Ruth Gum. But the Butterfinger cardboard displays are the only item that I know of discovered in the past 87 years directly tying a licence to R310's.
Just because you live on Pennsylvania ave in DC dose not make you president. It just makes you a neighbor General Gum clearly produced products in Chicago at Curtis factory. But I have not seen any evidence they were owned by Curtiss. So the fact that there is no set of cards tied to this sign along with the 2 sticks of gum make me doubt this sign... time will tell
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