This latex paint formula was invent by Judges Charles W. Fricke and Caryl Fleming, and marketed by Fleming in 1937. However, the idea of using rub-off pips is very old and is described in early conjuring texts, in which pomatum (a sticky ointment) and jet were used for the same purpose. This appears in the first issue, Aug. 1791, of The Conjuror's Magazine, although it is probably drawn from an earlier work by Pinetti or elsewhere.