Hello Fellow Collectors
My name is Tom Dawson and I have been collecting playing cards since, I suspect, before the majority of you were born. It started in 1976 when tired of sitting in the car while she who must be obeyed [Judy] stopped at every antique store, I decided I had to collect something! It started as a defensive move, became a hobby then an avocation. Along the way Judy became more and more interested in the history and variety of old cards and now shares the collection with as much interest and enthusiasm as I do.
We collect mainly antique and vintage cards from 1930 back - and primarily ones made by US manufacturers. Our collection is extensive and includes maybe 100 old European decks and albums full of ephemera [transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved]. Lately we have become quite fascinated by the superb designs of many of the newer decks that so many of you post about and have acquired some from CARC, Jackson Robinson, Alex Chin and Paul Carpenter to name a few.
Along the way we wrote the definitive catalogue of all the brands published by American makers from the beginning until about 1940 [
http://www.dawson-on-playingcards.info/Hochman/index.htm ]. We are always available to try and answer any questions you might have on old cards.
We are both very involved with the premier American Playing Card Collectors Club - 52 Plus Joker. You might want to visit the club site
http://www.52plusjoker.org/dnn We hope to set up a category for 'discourse' on antique and vintage cards on this site as time goes on. Meanwhile here are a few items from our collection to whet your appetite!
Cheers
Tom [&Judy]