Introduced in 1901. Discontinued in 1907. Blue decks show up with some regularity, but I have never seen a red deck or even a red single (except the red sample card shown below).

Mrs. Robinson erroneously showed this deck as “Motorcycle No. 2.” The deck she called Motorcycle No. 1 is confirmed to be a later issue, so I have switched them. Thanks to a fellow collector for pointing out this mistake. Let me add that the resources I have at my fingertips today (including instant access to the knowledge and collections of other enthusiasts) enable me to easily research many of the nuances of the manufacture and history of Bicycle cards. For Mrs. Robinson to have achieved the high level of accuracy that she did in her pamphlet in 1955 is admirable, indeed. As Laura Cumming so aptly states in The Vanishing Velasquez, “We do not know better than these people of the past, we just know more than they could.”

An enlarged version of this beautiful back design is shown below. Note the handlebar motif at the tops and sides of the card, and the sprocket in the center. Close scrutiny also reveals that this is yet another seemingly symmetrical back designs with a subtle “one-way” element. It’s the little shaded circles that surround the sprocket in the center of the card.

Motorcycle No. 1 is one of several Bicycle back designs that were also released in the United Kingdom. Please see the example, below, and click on “UK” above for more information.

The final three images reveal an exciting discovery: the machine depicted on the Motorcycle No. 1 playing card is a Marsh motorcycle from 1900 (the same year the Motorcycle back was copyrighted). This information came to me courtesy of David Banks, a playing card and antique motorcycle collector. David also informed me that the 1900 Marsh, manufactured by the Marsh Brothers of Brockton, Massachusetts, was one of the first American production motorcycles and that the company went on to produce various other machines.

The second of these images shows a comparison between the Marsh motorcycle and the machine depicted on the Motorcycle No. 1 playing card. This very photograph of the Marsh unquestionably served as the model for the motorcycle on the Bicycle card. It may be difficult to tell on your tiny phone screen, but the sprocket, the position of the pedals and even the spokes on the wheels align perfectly on both images.

The final image shows a Marsh motorcycle advertisement from the Cycle and Automobile Trade Journal from 1905. The machines from that year look more robust and powerful than the 1900 model.