Tomart's Price Guide to Radio Premiums

[Lou]

The full title is "Tomart's Price Guide to Radio Premium and Cereal Box Collectibles," by Tom Tumbusch, Wallace-Homestead Book Company, 1991. A large (8.5 x 11 inch) trade paperback.

This is one of the latest Tomart's Price Guides; but being nearly a decade old, one shouldn't rely too closely on the listed values. Woith that caveat, the book is a goldmine of information on the premiums issued by various radio (and early television) programs, aimed primarily at the subteen set. While the book also includes photos and descriptions of related items, such as comic-book and pulp-hero items, it almost always gives at least a thumbnail of each associated show. In addition to monochrome images of the majority of the listed premiums, it also has two multipage inserts with full-color photos of many premiums, grouped by type. Images include some extremely rare rings, almost legendary among collectors, such as the Blue Coal The Shadow Ring, or the Captain Midnight Mystic Aztec Sun God Ring. For anyone who is too young to have received such items in the mail, the images will reveal the creativity and versatility of these items; for those of us who have or have had these items, it is a great memory trip.

This book is updated periodically; each subsequent volume is an improvement over the previous. The book provides a highly detailed view of one aspect of Old-Time Radio, and is recommended.