The Phantom Oil Painting By Numbers set was produced by Hassenfeld Bros, Inc in USA in 1967. The set is a self-contained painting activity kit which requires the owner to paint images of the Phantom which are pre-printed with each image section numbered, requiring a predetermined color. The set was numbered 2181 by Hassenfeld Bros, Inc and is fully licensed by King Features Syndicate.
Hassenfeld Brothers was founded by three brothers, Herman, Hillel, and Henry Hassenfeld in Providence, Rhode Island, USA in 1923. The company initially sold textile remnants then expanded to produce pencil cases and school supplies.
The company commenced producing plastic toys during World War II. Hassenfeld Brothers first popular toy was Mr. Potato Head, which the company purchased from George Lerner in 1952. In 1954, the company became a major licensee for Disney.
In 1964, Hassenfeld Brothers produced the G.I. Joe toy ranged which they penned as an ‘action figure’ in order to market it to boys. In 1964 and 1965, G.I. Joe accounted for two-thirds of the companies sales.
From 1968, the company was renamed from Hassenfeld Brothers to Hasbro Industries, then in 1984 it was renamed to Hasbro Bradley, then Hasbro, Inc from 1985.
Hasbro, Inc continues to be a major player in the toy and entertainment industry, producing toys, puzzles, board games, wargames, RPG, sports equipment and electronic games. Well known brands which they produce include G.I. Joe, Monopoly, Nerf, Playskool, My Little Pony, Transformers, Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, Power Rangers, Jem and The Holograms, Littlest Pet Shop and Tonka, just to name a few.
Hasbro, Inc is still in operation to this day, employing 5,600 as at 2021 with a reported revenue of $5.86USD billion in 2022.
The Phantom Oil Painting By Numbers set was sold in a cardboard tray wrapped in clear transparent plastic. Found in the tray are 5 pre-sketched and pre-numbered images, 10 oil paints in recappable vials, an artist quality brush plus an instructions sheet.
The removable colorful panel found on top of the tray was not only used to attract buyers to the kit in retail outlets, but it also shows an example of one of the images after it’s been painted. Once the panel is removed from the tray, we see the full panel of Paining By Numbers (one of the 5 images), plus the instruction sheet.
The Paint By Numbers panel is removable from the tray, folding open with 4 smaller images image on one side, and one large image on the opposite side. The images are in separate sections, requiring the owner to cut out the images.
A removable section is located at the bottom of the tray which holds 10 oil paints and a brush. The recappable vials are all labeled with the name of the color found within the vial, alongside a number which corresponds with the numbers in the illustrations requiring paining.
The Phantom 