The
first series of Dark Shadows Trading Cards (measuring
2 1/2" x 3 1/2") was issued in 1968, at the height
of Dark Shadows merchandising. The set consisted of
66 different black-and-white publicity stills from the show's
storylines up until 1968.
Some
of these shots were taken on the actual set at ABC Studio
16, while others were taken as generic portrait shots against
blank drapes, probably a temporary set-up, located either
on the set or possibly the rehearsal area. These photos are
discernible from the studio floor shots by the absence of
any background scenery. All these shots were probably taken
during dress rehearsal or after taping, when full make-up
and costumes were readily available. Colour shots of some
of the "portrait" card photo sessions survive and
can be seen in some of the Pomegranate Press reference books
and recent series calendars.
The shots were framed by a thin red (or pink) border, and
the bottom edge of the border contained, from left to right,
the number of the card, followed by the words "©
1968 DAN CURTIS PRODUCTIONS INC © PCGC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRTD IN U.S.A" in black letters. In the lower right hand
corner of each "wallet photo", as they were named
at the time, was a facsimile autograph of the character depicted,
with the "handwriting" presented in the same red
colour as the border. The backs of the cards could be assembled
to form a likeness of Barnabas Collins, re-using the image
from card 1 of the set.
This
view featured the vampire's face framed by his cane, his fangs
bared, and a small bat flying in the glow of a murky moon
to the left. Instead of the standard black-and-white, this
puzzle-picture sported a sepia hue. A red autograph graced
the lower left corner of the puzzle, the opposite of the right-cornered
cards. In both of the Philadelphia Gum card sets, the incidence
of perfectly centred cards is relatively low, but they are
especially hard to come by in the pink set.
The cards were originally packaged in boxes of 24 packs, with
each pack containing five random cards and one stick of bubble
gum. The wrapper illustration featured a centre panel, the
size of a card, with a photo of Barnabas Collins holding his
cane and baring his fangs. He faced to the left, and was situated
in the lower right of the panel. Above this graphic, in red
liquid letters, was the word "BARNABAS". Above that,
in a solid field of what looks like dripping red blood, are
white block letters which form the words "TV' S COOL
GHOUL," by then one of ABC Merchandising's preferred
promotional taglines for the character.
To
the vampire's immediate right, a small, rather innocuous black
bat flew above the red words "WALLET PHOTOS". "AND
BUBBLE GUM" followed below this, in simple black letters,
as did the price,"5¢". On either side of this
center panel were the borders, which were wrapped around the
cards and used to display ads and manufacturer information
on the backs of unopened packs. The right border contained
ads for hot pepper gum, fly spoon, trick black soap, and onion
gum. The left border strip announced that Philly Gum was located
in Havertown, PA, and reiterated Dan Curtis' copyright. The
photo of Barnabas can also be found in mirror-reverse on card
7.
The
card boxes bore similar graphics to the packs, with the same
photo on the top of the display box, to the right. The blood
and bat motif was also present (with the phrase "TV'S
COOL GHOUL" written across the bat in white letters),
and below the bat, left centre, was the "BARNABAS"
logo and brief description of product ("WALLET PHOTOS
and BUBBLE GUM 5¢")far left. The white-type words
"STAR OF DARK SHADOWS. ABC-TV" were also present,
in a field of red to the right. Below this was a Dan Curtis
copyright. The front side of the box was primarily black,
with a red-tone photo of Barnabas (pink card 1, mirror-reverse)
in the left half of the panel. To the left of this, and above,
the red phrase "TV'S COOL GHOUL" was positioned.
The center left to center area had the bloody red "BARNABAS"
logo in a wavy white box. Right and under the "BARNABAS"
logo are the words "WALLET PHOTOS" in red, while
far right is ". . .and BUBBLE GUM" in white letters.
Lowest and farthest right is the "5¢" price,
also in white.
Retailers
who ordered these boxes received bonus advertising material
in each box, in the form of an 11" x 36" Barnabas
display poster (also showing the card 1 pose) with
the words "We have it!", along with a note saying:
"Mr. Retailer: Kids love Barnabas! Put this poster on
your window to create big sales quickly." These items
are extremely rare, as they were unavailable to the general
public.
The Cards: A Description
The inaugural set of Dark Shadows gum cards depicts
scenes from the 1967, 1795, and 1968 storylines, with emphasis
on characters, rather than story. The first 23 cards depict
Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins with the facsimile autograph
"Barnabas" written in the lower right corner. These
cards show Barnabas alone. The vampire's autograph is also
emblazoned on cards 24-36, though many of these
cards show the vampire with the various heroines of the show.
Card 24 shows "Old Barnabas" with a terrified
Carolyn, a scene from episode 350 (taped on October 23 1967,
and aired October 27 1967); 27 and 33 reveal
Barnabas with Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (publicity stills
from late June 1967), Card 28 shows the foyer portrait;
30 and 31 depict Barnabas with Victoria Winters,
and cards 29, 32, 34, 35 and 36
show the infamous mausoleum scene between Barnabas and Maggie
Evans from episode 248 (taped May 25 1967, aired June 7 1967).
Cards 30 and 31 depict Barnabas kissing Vicki's
hand, and she is wearing a sleeveless plaid dress, apparently
taken during the production of episode 465 (Taped April 3
1968, aired April 9 1968). The plaid dress is not used in
the episode, and was presumably from Alexandra Moltke's own
wardrobe.
Cards 1 and 7 were taken from the 1967 ABC promo
series in which Barnabas appears in front of a murky moon
(which is red in the colour versions) with a bat flying in
front of it. Card 1 is the same as the puzzle found
on the card backs, and 7 is a mirror-reverse of the
photo on the wrapper and box. The 13 card, Barnabas
on the great staircase, is from Episode 331 (taped September
21 1967, aired October 2 1967). Cards 6, 12
and 18, showing "old" Barnabas, are from Episode
350. Cards 3, 4, 10, 16, 23
and 25 are from a photo shoot done during Episode 532
(taped June 27 1968, aired July 10 1968). Cards 2,
5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15,
17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26
and 30 were also done on a single day, most probably
Episode 465 (taped April 1 1968, aired April 5 1968), in which
Barnabas and Vicki are involved in an auto accident. This
was Frid's last episode as a vampiric present day Barnabas
for 1968.
The emphasis on cards 37-66 shifts from the
famous vampire to the other characters of the show, particularly
the women. Cards 37-39 show the 1795 Angelique,
although she appears grossly aged in 39. The first
two of these three were studio shots, probably taken around
episode 400 (taped January 1 1968, aired January 5 1968).
The third card, 39, was probably taken by the studio
art department as a prop template for the 1968 sequence in
which Sam Evans ages Angelique's portrait, around May 1968.
Cards 40-42 show Julia Hoffman. Card 40 was
probably taken on or around episode 462 (taped March 27 1968,
aired April 2 1968), which was the first show in which Julia
had short hair. The frock she is wearing is green with yellow
trim, and can be found in other studio fan photos. The shots
on cards 41 and 42 were probably taken during
dress rehearsal for episode 569 (taped August 22 1968, aired
August 29 1968), in which Julia stumbles into Collinwood,
dazed after vampire Tom Jennings begins to summon her. This
sequence continues with card 43, which shows a bewildered
Roger Collins trying to deal with the entranced Julia (the
card bears Roger's autograph).
Cards 44 and 45 are existing stills of a slightly
menacing Roger and his sister Elizabeth amidst cobwebs on
the set for the Collinwood basement. A photo from this shoot
was used for the July 30, 1967 New York Times article
on the show entitled Out in Detergent Land: A Hard Day's
Fright. Card 44 bears Roger's signature, while
45 bears that of "Elizabeth Stoddard" (sic).
This shoot was conducted sometime during the taping of episodes
271-273 (taped, in order between June 23-25 1967; Aired between
July 8-12 1967). It was during this shoot that one of the
only Dark Shadows cast photographs was taken, with
the cast assembled on the Drawing Room set.
Cards 46 and 47 show Elizabeth in the woods-cemetery
scene from episode 569. The following three cards are taken
from episode 248, with Maggie terrorized by the evil, early
Barnabas. In cards 48 and 49, Maggie is in the
coffin in the mausoleum, while 50 shows her in Josette's
room with a desperate Willie trying to calm her, John Karlen's
only appearance on any of the gum cards.
Card 51 and 52 feature Nicholas Blair, but although
they bear his signature, these cards also depict Mrs. Johnson
in a scene from episode 569. Card 53 is of 1795's Abigail
Collins, Clarice Blackburn's only solo card, taken against
the "tree" where she was found dead by Daniel Collins.
This was in episode 432 (taped February 14 1968, Aired February
20 1968). In another 1795 scene, Naomi Collins is seen with
Nathan Forbes (Joel Crothers only gum card appearance) on
card 54; both were taken during the taping of episode
448 (taped March 7 1968, aired March 13 1968). This card bears
her name. Adam comes next, on 55 and 56, with shots taken
in an off-set photo shoot. The signature is an amusing crayon-like
scrawl. 57-59 are solo portraits of Nicholas
Blair; 57 probably originates from episode 569. The next two
cards were shot off the set, with the usual neutral backdrop.
Card 60 shows David Collins in a location shot at Seaview
Terrace in May 1966. Cards 61-64 feature the
show's early heroine, Victoria Winters; 61 is a 1966
exterior view at Seaview Terrace, while cards 62 and
63 were shot in 1968 on the foyer set during Episode
465, while 64 is another 1966 promo shot. Maggie Evans
is found on 65, another 1968 foyer photo. The final
card of the series, 66, features Victoria in the classic
1966 shot of her running in a trench coat, the mansion of
Collinwood looming behind.
The Philadelphia Chewing Gum Corporation relied heavily on
previously shot publicity stills for the first card series.
However, according to company president Edward Fenimore (in
an article by Jeff and Bob Marks which appears in The Wrapper
issue 166), a photographer was sent to gather material
for this as well as all other Dark Shadows products
issued by the company.
Based
on episode 569 having the highest frequency of cards from
a single show rehearsal in 1968 (eight), and that this show
bears the latest tape date in the set, August 22, 1968 seems
to be the best guess for the date of the Philadelphia Gum
shoot for this set. The cards for this shoot are 41-43,
46, 47, 51, 52 and 57.
The cards are somewhat unique for their 'touch-ups', the practice
of adding grey lines of definition to most of the shots, though
the results are mixed. Interestingly, all the off-studio photographs
of Barnabas feature his ring on his left hand, rather than
the more usual right.
Images
· Click on the thumbnails
to
view the full-size image
|
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An
example of the Countertop Display Box the card
packs a were originally issued
in |
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TV's
Cool Ghoul! An original Wax Paper Wrapper for the
cards
. |
Read about the Second Series
of Gum Cards >
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