"Are You a True Blooded American? ...Which shall it be? An Army of White Mice to Combat Enemy Pneumonia or —An Army of Pneumonia Germs to Combat Our Soldiers"

Printed wraps, 8vo, 16pp. Order envelope illustrated with two guinea pigs laid in. Very Good with creasing and splitting to the ends of the wraps, mild age toning. A patriotic appeal to take on mouse-breeding operations "before the winter cold sets in" with the aim of creating "pneumonia serum" (or pneumococcal vaccine) to keep soldiers safe. According to the pamphlet, mice were also used as the "watchmen" of submarine crews, sensitive to the smell of a defective "oxidizing apparatus"; in the trenches, they could warn soldiers of gas attacks. (3)

Issued by the Laboratory Supply Co in Philadelphia, the company is essentially sub-contracting mice production, promising to buy the mice back. "Mice are too scarce and valuable to be used as play toys to amuse children." The company offered to distribute "all of the breeding white mice we can possibly spare" for individuals to breed at home, then be repurchased by the company. Page 16 is an order blank/contract that states, "It is part of the order and agreement that you, The Laboratory Supply Company, will buy back all the young I raise from the above order mice, and agree to pay a price of not less than 50 cents a pair for same and express charges when shipped in lots of 20 mice or more." Not in OCLC.