1920s Invisible Color Pictures Set (D48)

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	D48 Invisible Color Pictures
Year	1920s
Size	3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″
Images	Black and White
Type	Bakery
Number in Set	150 (50 in each of three types)

D48 Invisible Color Pictures Overview

The D48 issue is a unique set of black and white drawings featuring various subjects. Most are non-sports related but there is a baseball card in the release. They were produced by the Invisible Color Print Corporation in New York City and, thus, how the set was given its name. The cards are a bakery issue as they were distributed inside loaves of bread.

The cards state they were patented on July 12, 1921, but it is not known how much longer after that these were printed. In some cases, products were developed quickly after a patent. Sometimes, the process took years. For that reason, I have called this a 1920s issue with the exact date unknown.

The drawings on their own look quite basic. The real allure, however, is that they were to be painted to provide a color image. Each card came in a miniature envelope along with a brush. The backs of the cards included a short description of the picture as well as some instructions.

To paint the picture, collectors were to use the brush and clean water to paint the picture. By painting over the card in certain areas with water, a color would be exposed and show up on the card. A novel idea, but the problem is to get a clean picture, collectors had to be very careful to stay within the lines. Otherwise, the colors would run and make for a sloppy-looking card.

The baseball card is No. 39 in the set and shows a player sliding trying to beat out a throw to a waiting fielder. It is titled, ‘A Home Run’ and a loaf of bread is also pictured in the corner. In addition to the baseball card, the only other real known sport is card No. 46, which is a boxing card of sorts. In it, a boy is pictured with boxing gloves hanging in the background as he is making a muscle for a girl.

Three Types

While most sources only account for two types of these cards, there are at least three.

Type 1: Basic Cards
Type 2: Animal Subjects with only a number
Type 3: Animal Subjects with ‘No.’ and newspaper mention on back

The concept of adding water to color in the pictures was the same in all three sets. Type 1 includes pictures of various subjects and the cards were not meant to be cut – only colored. If you see one of these cards that mentions it is a ‘cut-out’, it is either Type 2 or Type 3.

Type 2 cards have easel/tabs attached to them and they were designed to be cut out and stood up. Type 2 card numbers also are not preceded with ‘No.’ Instead, a number is merely printed. This set appears to be all animals and insects. However, note that varying numbers are known for Type 2, presumably aligning with different brands. For that reason, I have not provided the card numbers in the checklist below for this type.

Finally, Type 3 cards also appear to be cards for animals and insects. These cards have the ‘No.’ before a card number but they should be confused with Type 1. They are cut-outs and also mention a newspaper on the back, which can be referred to for a list of rules, prizes, and directions.

A variety of bread advertising backs are seen in each type. It is not known, which backs can be found on which types. Here are the ones I have seen. Most Type 2 and Type 3 backs actually mention two different names of sponsors.

Type 1 Backs

Betsy Ross
Nafziger
Pan Dandy Bread and Toasty Bread (Tri-State Baking)
Red Wing Milling Company
Smith and Seeley’s Perfection
Sno-White Bread
Wool’s Bread

Type 2 Backs

Butter-Nut and National Bread
Hathaway’s Cream and Win-Sum Bread
Holsum Bread, Panama Cream, Cracked Wheat Tea Biscuits
Keller Baking
Wool’s Bread

Type 3 Backs

Spaulding’s and Butter-Krust

Finally, in addition to these three types, there is at least one card that seems to be a ‘sample’ and others could exist. A White Tailed Deer card exists in a similar format to Type 2 that does not have a card number and has different text on the back.

D48 Invisible Color Pictures Checklist

I have never seen a complete checklist of this set but below are the cards I have confirmed. 50 are in the entire set as is mentioned on some of the backs. Even though Type 2 and Type 3 are believed to be entirely non-sports sets, I have included them here in case any collectors are trying to determine if a card is Type 1, 2, or 3.

Type 1