This puzzle-piece collector's card is part of a set paying tribute to "Lost in Space," Irwin Allen's popular science fiction TV show presented on CBS from 1965 to 1968. Since collector's cards were often sold in small packs, encouraging collectors to buy more packs in order to try to complete their sets, the cards often included multiple cards that, when put together, formed a larger photo from the show. Such puzzle cards encouraged collectors to keep buying packs in order to complete the image.
"Lost in Space" was a space-age adaptation of the 1812 novel "Swiss Family Robinson" (Der Schweizerische Robinson) by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss. Wyss wrote the book to teach self-reliance, family values, and other virtues to his sons. "Lost in Space" transposed these themes into a space setting in which a modern Robinson family faced and survived a variety of ordeals while stranded in deep space by their own self-reliance and family cooperation. Although "Lost in Space" was cancelled after three seasons, like "Star Trek," it developed a loyal following of fans interested in merchandise and fan clubs.
In 1998, New Line Cinema released an updated movie based on the same stories, also called "Lost in Space." To promote that movie, InkWorks released a new set of collector's cards featuring images from the late 1960s television program.
This card was donated to the Smithsonian in 2005 by Gregory K. H. Bryant.
This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.