Chinese Bombs Rain Death in Shanghai, part of the Horrors of War series (R69)

The Horrors of War was issued by Gum Inc. (later Bowman), in early 1938 and was intended to comprise 240 cards. Initially conceived as a way to graphically illustrate and inform the public about the atrocities of the Chinese-Japanese War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and the Spanish Civil War, the set proved so popular that an additional 48 cards were added about Germany and the beginning of World War II. The set was the brainchild of the company's president Warren Bowman and advertising counsel George Moll, who said they created the cards so that people would know the horrors of war and want peace-as each card has printed on its reverse. The first series of 24 cards (they came out in installments of 24 and were released every two weeks) caught the attention of President Franklin D. Roosevelt who used them to explain the horror of what actually went on in war-ravished countries.