This card contains authentic specimens of Blue Coal (long-time sponsor of the Golden Age of Radio's The Shadow series) with some of the trademark blue still visible.  Obtained from the estate of a Glen Alden Coal Company salesman (from a sample bag given out to prospective clients), the card is a Vault Collectibles exclusive. In addition to the coal fragments, the card features on its reverse side a brief history of radio program and its association with Blue Coal. The card is in near mint condition and will be shipped with the utmost care.  The text on the reverse of the card reads:

The Shadow debuted on July 31, 1930 as the mysterious announcer of Street & Smith’s Detective Story Hour.  James La Curto first voiced the character but in September of that year, Frank Readick, Jr. assumed the roll as the host of the The Blue Coal Radio Revue.  Thus began the Shadow’s long association with the Glen Alden Coal Company’s trademark blue colored anthracite. 

The character that ultimately emerged from these humble beginnings as narrator - created by Walter B. Gibson at the behest of Street & Smith’s Henry William Ralston - was a noir antihero that was perfectly suited for adaptation into a fully developed radio protagonist.  

The program’s first episode, The Death House Rescue, debuted on September 26, 1937 with Orson Welles as the title character and Agnes Moorehead as Margo Lane.  Sponsored by Blue Coal, the Shadow became a radio sensation.  Welles left the following year to be followed by Bill Johnstone (for five seasons), then Bret Morrison (who had the longest tenure, with 10 years in two separate runs), and then John Archer and Steve Courtleigh.  

The Shadow did not go off the air until December 26, 1954, making it one of the longest running programs of the Golden Age of Radio.  And while other companies would sporadically sponsor certain Shadow seasons, such as Goodrich Safety Silvertown Tires and Carey Salt, no single product is more closely associated with the Shadow than Blue Coal.  Not only did Blue Coal generate the largest amount of Shadow-related advertising materials (everything from ink blotters to matchbooks) but also popular premiums as well (such as the highly prized 1941 season “Blue Coal” Shadow ring).  

This card is a VaultCollectibles exclusive and certifies that this is an authentic specimen of Blue Coal, originally obtained from a Glen Alden Coal Company of Pennsylvania salesman sample bag (used to promote Blue Coal to prospective customers).  This item sold from from collector to collector. No rights given or implied.