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Awesome find .

Beautiful collection. I really like the Russell Smart Set cards. Thanks for sharing.

Here's more ephemera - some Salesman's Sample sets from the General Card Company - Chicago (which was ARRCO). Great to see the different packaging for these sort of off brand decks. Guessing these are from 1930s, maybe 1940s. Update - I found a 1934 ad promoting these cards

Here are a couple of antique forcing decks, one in a Rambler tuck and one in an American Bank Note 105 tuck. Not sure who made the cards, but the Queen of Spades looks like the ABN Queen of Spades, which would put these around 1917.

Those sample sets! Would love some of those in my collection

Chuqii wrote: ↑Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:33 pm ABN Queen of Spades, which would put these around 1917.

What does ABN stand for? I just knew that queen from 60s Congress decks before. Always nice to see where the roots of those classic courts are. And until this day it boogles my mind why USPCC chooses the most ugly ones as their Bicycle standards, lol.

ABN is American Bank Note Co. Below is a comparison of a Congress 606 Queen of Spades and an American Bank Note Queen of Spades. My mystery deck is more like the ABN Queen. However, the back design on my mystery deck is a generic design mostly used on various Steamboat decks, and I'm not aware that ABN made Steamboat-style decks. Well, I wasn't, until I just checked out the World of Playing Cards "The Steamboat Brand" page ( https://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/steamboat-brand ) and they have ABN listed. Learn something new every day.

I've got no box and no joker for this pinochle deck, but searching through my trusty Hochman's I found this Ace to go with National / USPCC Indian brand, US45 / US45a, c1895. It's got a great Asian back, similar to the Apollo Japanese Fan deck shown in the second photo, but not as detailed and lesser quality card.

I just had to laugh when I saw these royalty.
They look like they were seriously drunk the night before, especially the queen.

I agree, that back design is cool and the top AoS is amazing.

Back in Feb of 2019 I posted a really strange backed card from Perfection Playing Card Co, and now I have a companion deck in a different color. I assume the back has baseball scenes, but the lack of gloves puzzled me. I've since learned that baseball gloves were not originally a part of the game equipment. Players slowly adopted gloves throughout the 1880s and 1890s. see https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-cul ... -12799848/

This deck is from the early 1890s when Perfection moved to New York.

Another antique Russell & Morgan deck to add to the collection. Congress 606 Storm lacquer back deck with the case and Dundreary joker. A bit soiled, but still a nice deck.

Here's one for you Bicycle collectors out there - Russell & Morgan Bicycle Margin Star No. 1 in Blue with the US8 Ace of Spades.

It's become really hard for me to find any more of the pre-War KEM cards that started me on my collecting journey, so imagine my pleasant surprise when a deck popped up on ebay that I had forgotten about. Last time I saw a deck like this was doing some digging on past sales on Worthpoint about 6 years ago. That was the only place I've ever seen the deck, and I've never found any advertising for this particular deck, so it sort of slipped from my mind. I have no idea what the name is, but I'm calling it Old Roses until the real name surfaces. Deck is from the KEM Card Sales Corp era, 1937-1939.

Here's a selection of really nice NYCCC De Luxe card backs, c1920s. This was NYCCC's entry in the popular category of narrow bridge cards such as USPCC's narrow Congress cards and Dougherty's Maugerite decks. Had some nice court cards.

Oooh those back designs are nice!

+1 those back design are so good!! decks from c1920s wow!

Let's ring in the New Year with one of my all-time favorite decks, the GE Refrigeration deck, c1920s. Great graphics, gilded, and back from when Brown & Bigelow actually made some good decks. Can't believe I never posted this one before.

That joker is amazing

Here are a few additions to some posts I had last summer on 500 decks and Smart Set Decks. I found a new back design on the 500 decks (haven't tracked down a name for it yet, but I do know this design was originally a National Card Co design from its Full House line of playing cards for 500) and a new girl in the Smart Set Series - The Fan Tan Girl.

Back to the Bikes. Got my first United States Printing Company deck (lotus back) and added a few US8 decks as well (though only the Thistle back has a joker). And some newer Bikes below. From Canada, a set of Bicycle 86 bridge size in the Rugby back design that was first used in the short-lived Victors line (note the 86 on the colored joker) and a Bicycle Jumbo Index 88 in an interesting, almost generic tuck case I've never seen before.

From old Bikes to old Bees. Here's a great complete set of the Bee Back No. 126 c1920. The old Bees came in lots of great backs, but they are really hard to find. Below is a page from my 1922 NYCCC Hoyle's Rules for Card Games book that shows some of them.

Here are a few more c1920s NYCCC Deluxe card backs to go with the ones a few posts up. Hard to show in these pics, but the purple one really pops with the gold metallic inks. Update - And that got me thinking about another purple and gold deck that pops, my Florsheim Shoe deck from 1928 - For the Man Who Cares. Update 2 - added another De Luxe back

Antique decks from Davenport’s Magic Shop in London, the world’s oldest family run magic shop. These decks are from 1920s, 1930s. The L D on the Ace of Spades refers to Lewis Davenport, owner of the magic shop. I believe cards were made by USPCC, but not certain. Very, thin stock.

Here's one for the Whiskey lovers - Sam Thompson Old Monogahela Pure Rye Whiskey Playing Cards - West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA. Not sure of the date, but I'd guess early 1900s. Salud!

It's been a little dead here on Show Us Your Cards in 2022. I'll be posting a deck a day until someone else posts something in their own thread. And I'm not promising quality, just quantity.


Kalamazoo Smart Set 400 - Old Oaken Bucket - Hand written fortune telling deck - c1910. Interesting that only Ace - Seven in each suit have fortunes added.

Here's a sealed double deck set of BP Grimaud Playing Cards from the Concorde in their velvet two deck drawer box.

Those aces with the kings being painted are excellent

Chuqii wrote: ↑Wed Feb 09, 2022 4:55 pm I'll be posting a deck a day until someone else posts something in their own thread. And I'm not promising quality, just quantity.

No one else post, I want to see Chuqii's entire collection

Two decks for today, A Bijou Whist deck from The National Card Co. (1901 from the tax stamp) with a great, if a bit grimy, back design. The second deck is also a Bijou deck, but this has the post - USPCC buyout of The National Card Co. case, and it is a deck for 500 with 11 and 12 spots in each suit. Both telescoping tucks have a nice fluer-de-lis imprint on the inner and outer slip cases, but easier to see on the inner. Bijou 500 deck even has the Gimbels 50 cent price tag.

Even though I am really not a fan of the shrunken, post-1954 USPCC courts, here's a 1970 Aladdin 1002 Gilded deck with the Feather back.

Here is an excellent condition No. 220 Steamboat from New York Consolidated Card Co ( NYCCC ) with the Samuel Hart Ace of Spades, c1913 from the tax stamp. Sadly missing the joker.