Interesting find - Bicycle 888 Bridge by International PCC

[Mike Ratledge]

A friend came across this yesterday, and I can't find much about it.

"V" date code, which is not in the table, but falls in the range, since there is a (C} 1932. It's an art deco with multicolor Joker:

Bridge deck, I don't find in Hochmans?

[Lee Asher]

Nice find Mike!

[Don Boyer]

A friend came across this yesterday, and I can't find much about it.

"V" date code, which is not in the table, but falls in the range, since there is a (C} 1932. It's an art deco with multicolor Joker:

Bridge deck, I don't find in Hochmans?

The copyright date isn't necessarily going to help.  For Kem decks, for instance, the aces all have a copyright date of 1935, while the replacement order cards all say either 1940 (not as common) or 1947 (very common) - the dates never change, so this year's deck and a fifty-year-old deck will have the same copyright dates.  That could be similar in this case.

The use of the letter V in the AoS code could simply have to do with the deck being made by International PCC in Canada rather than Cincinnati - decks were made in Canada for a number of years before all manufacturing was moved to Cincinnati and IPCC became the Canadian marketing arm of USPC, no longer a manufacturer.

Does Hochman cover Canadian playing cards as well as American?

[andrew daugherty]

Use the bridge scoring table as a clue. The numbers were revised again effective in 1935, so this could narrow your date. The art deco design also puts this in early 30s.  I have a similar deck and estimated it as early 30s. The multicolor joker was a rarity for USPC back then and is the model for coloring the Bicycle joker in current issues.

Does your deck have colored edges?

Nice find all around. 

[Mike Ratledge]

Does your deck have colored edges?

Yep, it does have colored edges, and looks exactly like the USPCC-branded Bridge 888 decks I have found online over the past two days, except it's branded "International" and the AoS appears to be different.

[52plusjoker]

Hochman does cover Cdn. This is a generic Ace used by IPC for many brands. Bicycle Bridge is in US Hochman chapter. Early 1930's is correct. Some of these had red or green colored edges.

[Mike Ratledge]

Yes, six colors all together.  I found this on Cypressfilms.com

(with a note that the rarest was the six deck set.)

I'm using my new e-book format, maybe just in the wrong quarter of the book?

[52plusjoker]

Am in Ireland with poor access. Not sure if in Part II Canadian chapter.

[52plusjoker]

It is Chapter 16 CDN15a with the generic Ace rather than  the Bicycle Ace. Another variation!

[Mike Ratledge]

It is Chapter 16 CDN15a with the generic Ace rather than  the Bicycle Ace. Another variation!

Excellent!  Good eyes, I always recognize when something is "different".

[skinny]

I'll throw a couple more in here. One of the decks is blue, the other red. Both are monogrammed. The jokers are off by one digit (U147 and U148 I think). I have one IPCC ace and one generic ace. Kinda odd. Both have the multicolor Joker.

Both boxes have color (red and blue) on the lower half, black on top. Notice also the Congress labels.

[Don Boyer]

Another reminder of just how much better we used to make things, and not just playing cards...