World War II brought rationing of almost everything you really wanted to have. Gasoline, nylons, tires, cigarettes, meat, dairy products and almost everything else was in short supply. You had to have the right ration stamps to buy things.

(A side note: When Marion and Micki's son was putting this project together, he wondered why, if things were in such short supply, the ration book covers were made out of leather. It finally dawned on him that plastics hadn't been invented yet)