Artifact Gallery:
Battleship USS Iowa Museum Los Angeles collects relevant artifacts to help tell the story of the ship and the Surface Navy to a broad audience. Below you will find some of our accessioned artifacts in our collection. Not all items are on display and are monitored according to our collections management policy.
We accept new items in the collection on a case-by-case basis. Click here for more information.
War Ration Books
Object/Artifact
Six US war ration books. Three are 'War Ration Book No. 3' and the other three are 'War Ration Book Four'.
During World War II, the US Government Office of Price Administration established a system of rationing to fairly distribute foods that were in short supply. Every American was issued a series of ration books during the war. The ration books contained removable stamps good for certain rationed items, like sugar, meat, cooking oil, and canned goods. A person could not buy a rationed item without also giving the grocer the correct ration stamp. Once a person’s ration stamps were used up for a month, she couldn’t buy any more of that type of food.
These ration books belonged to the Pakusich family. Each member of the family was issued a number three and four ration book. Given that the books are missing stamps, they appear to have been used, though lightly. Information on the family members is given on the No.3 books, including street number, occupation, age, and physical dimensions.
These books help illustrate the civilian efforts in maintaining supplies for the fighting men abroad, as the book urges its holder to recycle all materials, and "If you don't need it, don't buy it".
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