Introduced in 1895. Discontinued in 1907. Not uncommon in any of its red or blue iterations, although I have seen fewer blue decks than red. Decks are rarely found in green or brown, but singles in those colors do show up from time to time. Very similar in design elements to Racer No. 1. See a comparison on the Racer No. 1 page.
As with other Bicycle back designs that featured the League of American Wheelmen logo of the wheel with three wings, the Model back was updated to include a four-winged wheel as the central motif in an attempt to make the back design fully symmetrical. The result was the next deck in the sequence, Model No. 2. Visit that page to see how the card designers didn’t quite get it right in terms of the symmetry.
To learn more about the League of American Wheelmen logo and its use on Bicycle cards, please see the League back page.
As of October 2024, Model No. 1 can now be included in the handful of US8b back designs that are known to have been issued with gilded edges. The others are Acorn and Pneumatic No. 1. Thanks to collector Bruce Johnson for sharing this information.
The last image, below, is a brown Model No. 1 deck from the collection of Martin Severin.
SALES DATA
A red US8b Model No. 1 deck in EX/NM condition with no box or joker sold on eBay for $111 on 10/12/16.
A blue Model No. 1 sample card sold on eBay for $15 on 2/03/17 (see the image, below).
A green Model No. 1 single sold on eBay for $58 on 2/04/17.
A VG green US8b Model No. 1 deck (no box/no joker) sold on eBay for $123.50 on 12/30/18–a surprisingly low price for such a rare deck.
