For some reason the drawings by Chon Day in this booklet were so familiar to me. I found his background and learned he was a New Yorker magazine cartoonist for years, thus the connection! Amazing that such a famous cartoonist would have lent his services to the publication of Misguided Missiles, The Travelers 1955 Book of Street and Highway Accident Data.

This is a fascinating look back into the statistics around automobile accidents from 1954 and 1955, and a peak into the mind of advertisers of that time frame. The Introductory Letter form The Travelers Insurance Company President summarized the purpose of the publication as follows

Once again, in this booklet, we have portrayed some of the most common of these situations and touched with the pen of satire the human frailties of hose who sit behind the wheel. We hope they serve as a guide to the misguided...and a gentle but meaningful object lesson to you!


Publishing information is as follows:
This booklet, published annually (except for the war years) since 1931, is distributed free in the interest of street and highway safety.
The book was prepared under the direction of Harry Barsantee, Manager, Public Information and Advertising Department, The Travelers.

The front and back cover are made of medium weight card stock with an off white background and red and black images and lettering. The booklet includes 29 pages with statistical charts and color cartoons in the same color scheme as the cover.

The booklet itself is in really good condition with some very slight ruffling of the corners and edges (particularly the top right corner). No hand writing in the book anywhere. The two center staples are firmly affixed.

This would make a nice gift for a Father's Day if your dad enjoys history and is an auto buff or it would be nice to display in a mid-century bar or man cave.

Dimensions:
5 5/8" x 8 3/4"