Cracker Jack Sand Picture

Click on the prize to shift the sand; then click it again.

This Cracker Jack Sand Picture from 1962 is approximately 1 1/8" x 1 5/8" x 1/8" and came from the Makatoy Company. It is made of thick cardboard with a cavity, partially filled with a white sandy material, covered with clear plastic. Then on top of that is the picture with cutouts for the hair and beard. With a tilt of the prize, the sand shifts to create a change of image. Tilt it in one direction, and the man appears to have hair and no beard; tilt it the other way, and he now has a bald head and a beard. Click on the picture above to see the effect.

This prize is one of a series of fourteen sand pictures. Others are not faces, but rather a varied group of images. For example, the series includes a plane being refueled by another, a cat being given milk, a grain elevator and a railroad car, hogs being fed, a gas pump, and a soda fountain.

There is no printing on the paper backings whatsoever to indicate that the sand pictures are Cracker Jack prizes, but there is no doubt that they are, based on Cracker Jack archival records.