Whitman Publishing is an American book publishing company which started as a subsidiary of the Western Printing & Lithographing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. In about 1915, Western began printing and binding a line of juvenile books for the Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company of Chicago.
As with the Mattel stock numbers, I'm listing MMM items by product number when known. Western Publishing licensed Major Matt Mason from Mattel and produced the following MMM paper related products. The following were produced by Western Publishing Co. under the Whitman brand.
1142 Major Matt Mason Coloring Book
The coloring book featured MMM and Sgt. Storm's encounter with aliens on the Moon. Captain Lazer saves the pair when they are captured. The cover had MMM, Sgt Storm and Captain Lazer all prominently displayed in action poses. The artwork though primitive and typical of Whitman, has a cartoon/comic feel.
1928 Major Matt Mason Pressout Book
This very cool item is one of the rarest to find in any condition, much less un-punched. Besides a very cool photo cover of Matt on a Reconojet, the interior features accurate paintings of some of the vehicles in the MMM line, as well as figures wearing various suits or on platforms.
2022 Major Matt Mason Big Little Book "Moon Mission"
Probably the most common MMM paper product, the "Moon Mission" big little book was a children's book, written in simplified style with color pictures. The story involves a test subject (Captain Otto Harvey) undergoing isolation experiments who hears strange rumblings.
4426 Major Matt Mason Boxed Round Jigsaw Puzzle
The 125 piece round jigsaw puzzle was part of Whitman's "Junior Guild" puzzle line, marketed for the less juvenile kids. This puzzle features three astronauts (MMM, Sgt Storm and another "Matt") defending the Moon with a Firebolt Space Cannon and Roto-jet guns from attacking "green-suited" marauders.
4559 Major Matt Mason Frame-Tray Puzzle
Major Matt Mason riding a Space Sled above a purple, orange and black moonscape. The background sky has a brilliant nebula illuminating it. 26 pieces...for the younger crowd.
All Mattel images and captions are copyright Mattel and used without permission. All other content, including images and editorial, is Copyright © 1997-2022 John Eaton and/or contributors unless otherwise stated. If there are any comments or objections, please contact John Eaton.
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