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Messages - Daniel Wilson

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1
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Ask the Experts at 52 Plus Joker
« on: June 18, 2019, 10:31:31 PM »
Not really sure where to put this, but I have a couple of nomenclature questions.

A friend of mine today asked me if there was a name for a deck (similar to the ones on the “Card Sharks” reboot on ABC) in which the spades and clubs are blue in color instead of black.  I couldn’t answer him, so I came here.

Similarly, is there a name for a deck in which the face cards have the same art across ranks, or in which they are recolored versions of the same base art?  I submit as an example the Saks Fifth Avenue Art Deco-era cards.

2
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: King of Hearts - why the keyboard?
« on: December 30, 2018, 11:44:22 AM »
Semi-related question: who is the manufacturer of the second king shown in the original post?  I saw the king of diamonds in that style earlier this week, and when asked which deck that was from I found myself unable to answer.

3
I think I cracked it, but the answer is underwhelming.  Unknown back is "Feather".  See price list from 1920 with mention of Feather back

Not underwhelming; any new information is always valuable.

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Help Identifying Older Playing Cards
« on: December 27, 2017, 09:49:29 PM »
Really difficult to do this without the face cards or aces, but I’ll give a couple of them a shot.

A) The shape of the clubs signify a German maker, likely Wust around 1860 or so, given the lack of indices.  I’d guess Hamburg pattern, but it’s just a guess.

E) Your DeLand deck is a marked deck, used by magicians.  Don may be better at explaining this than I (as I don’t own a DeLand deck), but there are white spots on the various circles and flowers that denote the rank and suit of the card.

F) This deck is the Belgian-Genoese pattern, based on the Parisian pattern.  It’s almost certainly a European manufacturer, but without the Jack of Clubs there’s no way to know which one (makers are typically listed on the Jack’s shield).

5
Introduce Yourself / Re: Need some expert advice
« on: November 18, 2017, 10:11:20 AM »
For those of us who (like myself) were curious...

The OP opened the box a couple of weeks later.   Inside were 144 unused and uncancelled blue Bee Caesar's branded playing cards, each sealed with a plain white sticker.  AoS date code says they were manufactured in 1973.  He then went back to the eBay seller who he had purchased the case from, asking about more cards.  The seller was representing a retired Caesar's employee who also had about 30 red decks (from a case the retiree had himself opened and given decks out to friends) from the same time period.  OP made a deal to purchase those as well, then sold several sets of the red/blue combinations back on his poker forum at $45 a pop.

All in all, quite a find and quite a story!

6
And anyone know what kind of a bird that is on the joker?  I thought seagull, but I don't think seagulls hunt other birds.

Short beak and carrying prey in its talons suggests hawk, but I can't place it any closer than that.

7
Magical Cardistry Bonanza / Abbott's Magic Get Together questions
« on: July 22, 2017, 12:15:41 PM »
I grew up about an hour from Colon, Michigan (near the American Museum of Magic in Marshall), and still live within easy driving distance of the area.  I've always enjoyed watching magic and cardistry; although I never developed the necessary skills to perform it myself, I've still been fascinated by the art and its history.  For many years I've toyed with the notion of attending the Magic Get Together festival, even if it's purely at the level of a spectator.  This year, I've finally decided to go, especially since I learned that Richard Turner will be one of the performers and speakers in attendance.

For those of you magicians who've gone to the Get Together, what would you suggest a novice focus on?  Would it be worth attending any of the lectures, even if I'm not a practitioner?

8
Playing Card Plethora / Re: 7-Eleven Playing Cards
« on: April 02, 2017, 01:01:39 PM »
2016 copyright date on the box, X code on the Ace (if it still matters?), printed in Erlanger.
The two ad cards are coupons for chips and candy that expire on 12/31/17.

I didn't notice the one-way back until you pointed it out, Don.
Funny how magicians tend to have better observational skills than we "muggles"...
(or is it a more active imagination for deviousness and trickery, I ask in jest?)

9
Found mine at the 7-Eleven in Alma, MI.
Unless they've restocked though, they're currently all out.  ^_^;

If you don't have a 7-Eleven nearby or can't find the decks in your area, I'd be willing to part with some of mine, for the right price.

10
Playing Card Plethora / Re: 7-Eleven Playing Cards
« on: April 01, 2017, 05:03:47 PM »
iPhone pic, so not the best, but here you go.

11
I did manage to muddle my way through the process well enough to place a couple of bids.  We'll see how successful they were later.   Thanks again for posting the link, Lee.

12
I wish my French wasn't non-existent.
I see a couple of lots that I wouldn't mind adding to my collection.

13
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Hermes Cassandre
« on: April 29, 2016, 09:34:51 PM »
How to tell the difference between the various editions of the Hermes deck
can be found at link #4 on this page:

http://www.dxpo-playingcards.com/xpo/variations/pages/variations.htm

14
Don: I've added a couple of my own pictures to the bottom of this post.
Thank you for posting the auction ones already.

It's funny that you mention the mentality of "nobody would want these,
so why save them".  Game shows themselves suffered the same fate;
videotape was expensive, so tapes containing shows considered to have
no future value were wiped so the videotape could be reused.  Gambit
aired 910 episodes during its CBS run, but for decades only SIX of those
were known to have survived.  Within the past couple of years, original
host Wink Martindale discovered several episodes on Betamax tape in his
personal archive and has since posted them to YouTube.

One of those episodes suggests that at least three decks were on the set
(main game/bonus round/next main game); my fellow game show fans have
strongly suggested that a fourth was kept backstage to quickly replace
damaged cards without having to stop filming.  Still, to their extensive game
show contacts and knowledge, no others were known to remain in existence
at the time I asked (Wink's staff told me even he didn't have one).

Regarding smaller-sized promotional decks, I do know that one was made
for "Card Sharks", but unfortunately it did not feature the same faces as the
cards on the show.  Interestingly enough, this deck is certainly related to a
deck used on one other game show, and may (if my surmise proves accurate)
be related to Card Sharks as well.  Still researching...

Below is a picture showing all the face cards (you can see the QD and AD
missing from the eBay deck, as well as the Snidely Whiplash-inspired Jack),
and also the middle of a Solitaire game which takes up an entire living room.
I notice that the pips are designed to be as vertical as possible (the pips on
the fives are arranged in a single column); this allows the index numerals to
be maximized so they can be seen easily by a studio audience.

15
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / My Avatar - cards from the Gambit TV game show
« on: December 09, 2015, 07:20:57 PM »
(Mods, please feel free to move this topic wherever you think best, since it's both informational and also includes an eBay auction that is not mine.)

I've had a couple of people ask me what deck the cards in my avatar picture are from.  They come from an oversized deck produced for the old TV game show Gambit, which originally ran from 1972 to 1976 on CBS.   When I purchased the deck back in 2012, I believed that it was the only one remaining in existence.  Recently, however, another (partial) deck has appeared for sale on eBay:

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/ORIGINAL-GAMBIT-TV-GAME-SHOW-DECK-OF-CARDS-RARE-FIND-TELEVISION-MEMORABILIA-/141844106468?hash=item2106914ce4:g:7igAAOSwAKxWYLN9

I am currently in the process of writing up an article detailing how I acquired my Gambit deck and all the information I have been able to obtain about it, since it was through game shows that I became interested in card collecting.   I'll be sure to send it to Judy or Don when I've finished.

16
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Chancellor - Encarded Signature Series
« on: November 29, 2015, 11:01:03 PM »
PrincessTrouble:

It's based off the Trophy Whist design from 1895, which apparently didn't catch on because it was too radical a departure from the "traditional" courts for players of the time.
Paul's done some amazing work in updating it for a modern audience.

Simon Wintle has some pictures of the Trophy Whist deck at his site:
http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/uspcc/trophy-whist

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A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Help identifying deck?
« on: February 16, 2015, 09:23:23 PM »
Browsing Pinterest recently, I came upon a striking deck, the queens of which
are the first four images on the following page:
http://mypetarts.blogspot.com.au/2009/10/playing-card-queens.html

The jacks and kings from the same deck are at the top of this page:
http://mypetarts.blogspot.com.au/search/label/playing%20cards

They're reminiscent of the Saks Fifth Avenue art deco decks from the 1930s,
but they're not that deck, and I've been unable to identify it.
Does anyone have any idea what deck it is?

18
If I may offer an alternate explanation...

I believe the second deck reads "P Gow 2".  Pai gow poker is a fairly popular casino game, particularly among Asian players.  Casino decks, particularly for games where the players actually handle the cards themselves, are frequently changed so as to prevent marking and other forms of cheating.  When a deck is retired from play, it is sorted to ensure all cards are still present, then replaced in the box.  The box is labeled with the time and date the deck was used in play, what game it was used for, and signed off by the boss in charge of the pit.  The decks are often sold off in casino gift shops, though the cards are marked so they can't be brought back into play (typically by clipping corners or drilling a hole through the deck).

I'm afraid your signatures are only those of casino employees.

19
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Potter & Potter Auction
« on: June 04, 2014, 07:50:49 PM »
Well, we missed seeing most of you at the Potter & Potter reception and auction - as most of you weren't there physically. I suspect many were bidding by phone, internet or left advance bids. There is nothing like being there in person and being able to see a large room bursting with playing cards, ephemera, porcelain, gambling apparatus, etc. 845 lots and all beautifully displayed for all to see. Bidding was very strong in some categories and weaker in others. For playing card collectors it was a chance to scoop up a large number of bargains - many decks went for less than half their true value. On the other hand many went for very large numbers relative to the norm. All in all a great success and I'm very pleased I went [and with what I won!].

I was able to bid from home, but was rather quickly outbid on all three lots I was interested in
(the two Hanzel decks [Green Club/Blue Spade] and the Einar Nerman deck).
Perhaps next time.

Any forum members willing to admit what they purchased?

20
I believe this pattern is commonly referred to as the Berlin pattern.
Written along the sides of the Jack of Clubs is the following:
"Vereinigte Altenburger und Stralsunder Spielkarten-Fabriken AG
Stuttgart Leinfelden".
"Vereinigte" means "united"; "Spielkarten-Fabriken" is "playing card
factory"; "AG" is short for "Aktiengesellschaft", or a type of shareholding
company; and Stuttgart and Leinfelden are neighboring cities.
Altenburger and Stralsunder is referred to by the acronym "ASS"; the
company was eventually sold to Cartamundi in the early 2000s.
ASS moved production to Leinfelden in 1956, so the cards can be dated
no earlier than that.

21
A Cellar of Fine Vintages / Re: Past L Eze (c 1935)
« on: May 05, 2014, 07:58:45 PM »
Sorry it took a while to get back to this; my camera was being...less than cooperative.

This set was in worse condition than I would have liked; the gold-bordered cards have
all turned brown on the face, while the silver deck has become yellowish.  Both decks
are also quite warped, but I hope a bit of time in my newly devised card press will fix that.

The courts are all repetitive throughout, with only a color change for each respective suit.
(Is there a term for this?)  According to a card seen in other double-deck sets, the courts
are meant to "reflect suspicion, flirtation and worry".  (Perhaps the Jack is worried that the
King is becoming suspicious that the Queen is flirting with him.  Who knows?)

Don--yes, these cards can be seen on the WoPC website:
http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/fairchild/past-l-eze.html
Interestingly, the set pictured there has the Pan back with gold and the goat back with
silver; the reverse of mine.  Very strange...

22
I finally found my copy of this deck; sure enough, it was in the last place I looked.

My copy comes without 13-spots, oddly enough.  The back is one I don't recognize,
nor is it in the database of Bicycle backs. 

Tax stamps are 2-cent stamps, but printed over them is lettering reading as follows:
"10-4-1917  7 CENTS  USP(C)Co" (the C in the last line is on a missing portion
of the stamp, but can be reasonably inferred.)  Unsure why two stamps were
necessary; any ideas?

AoS code reads "1 17", while the Joker reads "X 167".  If the Joker code is the
same as the customary AoS code, this also points to a 1917 date for this deck.

23
Mike; your second deck is a DeLand Nifty deck; I recognized the Joker.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/3729612163364031/

My copy of Hochman lists it as N3, 1925 or after (since it has the baseball Ace).

24
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Anti-KS : Encarded Zenith
« on: April 24, 2014, 08:16:48 PM »
I didn't miss THIS window!  Order #1288!
(Unfortunately Boss Lady told me I could only get 2 instead of the full allotment of 4.)
Keep up the great work, Paul!

You should have bought 2 pair at $40 a pair.  ;)

....she was looking over my shoulder at the time.
Might have worked otherwise.    ^_^;

25
Playing Card Plethora / Re: Anti-KS : Encarded Zenith
« on: April 24, 2014, 08:08:42 PM »
I didn't miss THIS window!  Order #1288!
(Unfortunately Boss Lady told me I could only get 2 instead of the full allotment of 4.)
Keep up the great work, Paul!


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