Item Description
Original Items: Only One Lot of 5 Available. Necessary items to survive in the field during WWII. These are items that were given to the soldiers by the Red Cross, or items bought by soldiers at the Post Exchange. Everything you need to complete a great barracks and field display. These “creature comfort” items would have aided in the mental breaks soldiers needed while fighting a war such as WWII. Something as small as smoking a cigarette and playing cards with your comrades made a world of difference and served as a brief getaway from the conflict.
The items in this lot:
- Unopened Lucky Strike Cigarettes: The brand was first introduced by R. A. Patterson of Richmond, Virginia, in 1871 as cut plug and later a cigarette. In 1905, the company was acquired by the American Tobacco Company.
In 1917, the brand debuted the slogan "It's Toasted" to tout the manufacturing method of toasting, rather than sun drying, the tobacco, a process claimed to improve the flavor of the product. In an attempt to counter that popular campaign, competitor Camel went in the other direction, claiming that Camel was a "fresh" cigarette "never parched or toasted.
Beginning in the fall of 1944, Lucky Strike was also a sponsor of comedian Jack Benny's radio and TV show, The Jack Benny Program, which was also introduced as The Lucky Strike Program.
The brand's signature dark-green pack was changed to white in 1942. In a famous advertising campaign that used the slogan "Lucky Strike Green has gone to war", the company claimed the change was made because the copper used in the green color was needed for World War II. American Tobacco actually used chromium to produce the green ink, and copper to produce the gold-colored trim. A limited supply of each was available, and substitute materials made the package look drab.
The white package actually was introduced to modernize the label and to increase the appeal of the package among female smokers; market studies showed that the green package was not found attractive by women, who had become important consumers of tobacco products. The war effort became a convenient way to make the product more marketable while appearing patriotic at the same time.
Idiot Clause - the contents of this pack are pre-1945 manufacture and are NOT suitable for consumption. They are being sold as novelty collector pieces only. Even though some people on YouTube have tried.
- Complete Gillette Safety Razor Set With Box (Marked “Property U.S.Army”): The first safety razor was patented by King Gillette in 1901. It was created as an alternative to the straight razor, which required skill to wield, making a shave the purview of the local barber. Gillette's invention, which used disposable blades, eliminated the need for sharpening the blade and allowed the user to shave himself without fear of serious injury. He founded the American Safety Razor Company that same year. The Gillette Company was a player in the market for 101 years, until is was purchased by the Proctor & Gamble Company in 2005. Savvy marketing by the company, plus a good product, was the reason for the longevity.
One of those products, the U.S. Service Set, was introduced by the Gillette Safety Razor Company (as it was known then) during World War I. There were two versions, the khaki set like this one and the metal set. The Gillette khaki set was issued to the soldier, but the metal set was available for the purchase price of five dollars from retailers such as Sears Roebuck and Company. It was marketed as the gift the soldier in service would like to have, and many were purchased by family and friends. The set comes with a handle, razor head, a pack of blades, and a mirror on the interior of the lid.
The last three items include a field mirror, spool of “boobytrap” wire and a cloth rag.
A lovely set of items ready for display.
- This product is not available for international shipping.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon