A family’s WWII ration books

When I came upon the handful of books on the auction table, I wasn’t sure what they were. Then I saw the title: War Ration Book 4. And then I saw Book 3 and several others.

They were coupon books issued to U.S citizens during a time when homegrown and imported goods became scarce as the country fought a war in Europe. I had not seen any of these thin postcard-size books at auction before, but I was familiar with what they were – even though they were distributed some years before I was born.

The books belonged to a couple who had lived just outside Philadelphia during World War II. I can only assume that their descendants were cleaning out a house and decided to trash these relics, which they considered of little value or use any more.

I found the books interesting because the personal information on the front told so much about who these people were:

Philomena, the wife, was 22 years old, 5 feet tall, weighed 115 pounds and was a store keeper. Her husband, Francis, was 29 years old, 5 feet 7, weighed 148 pounds and was a cost clerk. Both signed their names in a very clear and smooth script.

The books warned the couple and all who used them that it was the property of the U.S. government, should not be sold, and must be returned to the rationing board if lost and found. It warned them to never buy rationed goods without the stamps and to only pay the legal price.

“This book is your Government’s assurance of your right to buy your fair share of certain goods made scarce by war. Price ceilings have also been established for your protection. Dealers must post these prices conspicuously. Don’t pay more. … ‘If you don’t need it, DON’T BUY IT.'”

And by the way, it added: “When you have used your ration, save the TIN CANS and WASTE FATS. They are needed to make munitions for our fighting men.”

How the heck do you make guns from fats? Answer: Cooking fat was used to make glycerine, which was a key element in explosives. Women were urged to turn it in to their butchers.

The rations lot contained Books 1, 3 and 4, which still had some coupons in them.

These books were among the 100 million issued by the government from 1942 to 1945 as goods became scarce and imports slackened or dried up. The aim was to make sure that everyone got his or her “fair share” and to free up resources to fight the war, which the country had entered in 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Each member of a family was issued the ration books, even children and babies. The family shopper would select the rationed product – which consisted of such things as meat, sugar, coffee, shoes, canned goods, fuel, shoes – give up the coupon and pay a specified price for it. Stores had to post both the price and the coupon value of a product.

Sugar (1 ½ cups per person per week) was the first to be rationed in Book 1 in 1942. Then came Book Two in January 1943, Book Three in October 1943 and Book Four near the end of 1943 – all of which contained various items. Rationing remained a way of life until the summer of 1945, although sugar continued to be controlled in some places until 1947.

The wholesale rationing of goods had been preceded by tires and automobile. Gasoline was rationed in 1942 to save tires and rubber. If you wanted a new car, a bicycle or a new stove, you needed both a special certificate and a good reason for buying it. Shoes were also rationed, along with farm equipment, chicken wire and other supplies. Here’s one newspaper’s roundup of rationed items for Nov. 12, 1943.

At an auction less than a week later, I found another group of ration books for a family with children: Housewife mother Edith; attorney father Charles; son Steven, 6, and Ruth, possibly a daughter. They had Books 3 and 4, all in a leather pouch.

These books also offered personal information about the family, and a genealogy site on the web suggested that they were a good source for family-history research. The site Genealogy Today offered a database to search for ration books.

At auction, the two sets of ration books did not generate a lot of bids. Both groupings sold for around $15. One site on the web said individual books were worth no more than $10 each, most of them less. On eBay, a large lot of ration books, coupons and tokens sold for $71 (the highest price), and some individual books sold for as low as 99 cents. Many more went unsold.