On one visit to USPC when valuing their collection, Judy and I discovered a whole box of different and rather poor imitations of Bicycle decks which their patent and legal people had accumulated over the years. Lots of little companies, mainly in far off places, trying to cash in on the Bicycle brand name.

Can we deduce that the red Motor back apparently in this blue "Motor Bicycle" box is an antique replica?

http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks06/d04331/d04331box808.htm

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on October 22, 2015, 03:10:53 PM

It is just fabulous Joseph! I love the display of your decks.. Do you know the name of the maufacturer?

The really old cabinets of high-quality manufacture were in some cases handmade.  They're not something you'll find easily, even when perusing antique shops - they're highly sought-after and tend to sell quickly and at high price.

It's not so much that I wanted to buy this cabinet but I was looking for other models by having the name of the manufacturer. When I saw his display, I really wanted to see other articles by this maker for the viewing pleasure, but if it's a unique handmade piece, sure, it will be difficult..

Do you think you can just post a last photo of your cabinet (like the n°2) with the two last shelves at the bottom please? I would really love to see the rest of the decks in your cabinet more closely if possible. Thank you Joseph

That is very interesting and I really like the special sealed box too!!

I am just curious about the box pictured below and the deck which it contains. Do you have more infos about it please ? Is it the only tuck box like that in existence?

Thank you

Guys, if you have more such images that are off-copyright, send them to Fes!  He's in charge of them for CARD CULTURE and we want to print some of them - perhaps even all of them.

I have other images and if you can print them, it would be really great!! I will post some of the images here but I will contact Fes to also send them to him.

Other antique price lists recently found:

1878 - Victor Eugene Mauger
1878 - Continental Card Company
1878 - Seconds in Playing Cards
1890s - The United States Printing Company

Here is a small collection of images collected in antique american newspapers:

1: 1890 - USPCC Playing Cards
2: 1893 - Bicycle Gold Medal
3: 1893 - Bicycle Hands
4: 1893 - Special Bicycle Pack
5: 1894 - Bicycle Card Backs

Thank you very much both for your answers!! I completely missed these infos at the time of my purchase concerning the "Rainbow Series" and the transition for the printing.

I am really happy to have finally the Red edition because personally, I do not understand too much the interest to possess an almost blue deck or with minimal differences of colours for the back, apart perhaps, a really good buy with a bargain price:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N_nSY4QXrQ&feature=youtu.be&t=307

Instead, I think that a really purple version would have been much more interesting even if this goes against the principle of the "mid-print run from blue to red", as you said. But I guess that for some collectors or admirers of David Blaine and/or his work with the cards, it is necessary to respect it. However, to be quite honest, I consider more the "UV Blue" and "Purple" versions as semi-limited editions, or a business method for selling more and at the higher price while limiting the losses, in my opinion.

And I can understand the high price (https://phillymagic.com/shop/WhiteLionsSeriesARainbow) as these "rainbow" decks are apparently extremely rare but for this amount, I prefer to keep my money for other decks, for example, the Red Gatorbacks: a very nice metallic color for the back and a special card which replaces the blank card of the green model. Real modifications instead of minor details, but again, just my opinion..

Version one was the original, manufactured in Cincinnati before the plant moved to Kentucky.

Version two came later - in addition to having the Performance Coating (misspelled, as you noticed!), all decks made in Kentucky also have the "legalese" fine print on the bottom of the box, including the copyright date and name of the manufacturer (always USPC) and copyright holder (which in this case is also USPC, because the Series 1800 is just a modified Rider Back).  Performance Coating is the original code name for Magic Finish - USPC's first Magic Finish deck was Ellusionist's Gold Arcane deck, a 5,000-deck limited run.  Ellusionist preferred the code name over the common name and continues to use it instead, though I have also seen them list it as "Performance Finish" on some decks, probably by accident.  I prefer the code name as well - what magician wants to pull out a deck with the word "Magic" printed on it?  Anyway, the coating was critical in making the deck easier to use - something about the aging effect on the original cards made them get very tacky and sticky after only a little use, requiring a dusting of fanning powder to get them to perform even just adequately.  And technically, Magic Finish/Performance Coating is a coating, not a finish - all the Series 1800 decks have the same embossing, "finish" in printing being defined as the paper's texture, not the layer of varnish or plastic coating it.

Version three appears identical in all ways to version two - EXCEPT that the marked decks all have standard black USPC sticker seals, not the weathered/aged-look red and blue stickers used on the version two decks.  Technically, because it's a magic deck and not a standard deck, what you call version three really is more of a new product than a version of the original.  The box bottom has the Ellusionist "firebird" logo they use for "Ellusionist Playing Card Co." but without the wording, a small barcode on the right and a copyright date of 2014.

Collectors might find version one more desirable for its rarity, as it is no longer in print.  People who use the cards, however, will prefer version two, as the Performance Coating makes the cards much more playable and easier to use.

I could not hope a better answer!! Thank you so much Don

Quick question I'm sure someone can answer for me.

When did Bicycle cards switch from older tuck box to newer tuck box? 

Anyone have a pictoral history of Bicycle tuck boxes?

Thanks for the help.

Boxes has changed according to the evolution of the United States Playing Card Company and their decks. The first Bicycle boxes were published in 1885, four years after the creation of the company in 1881. The Aces of Spades for the decks in these boxes read "Russell & Morgan Printing Co." For the next boxes, I tried to build a small board with the photos of boxes to illustrate this evolution. It is possible that there is some errors for dates but normally, it is close to reality.

Hi everybody!

I found recently a Dougherty pricelist dated 1869 and the decks numbered on this list are exactly the same as those of the L. I. Cohen pricelist in the Hochman Supplement & Price Guide p. 6. Do you know if there is an error concerning the manufacturer for one of the two list or if the decks or a part of the stock of Lewis Cohen were acquired by Andrew Dougherty at the time of his death?

Thank you,
Crypto

Here are five other antique photos which show antique playing cards made by the United States Playing Card Company.

1: Harry Houdini plays card game with an antique USPCC deck and card holdout.
2: A woman dressed with Russell & Morgan Printing Company playing cards.
3: Two Men play cards with one of the first Bicycle Rider back decks.
4: Four cowboys play cards with an antique Bicycle Acorn Back deck.
5: Charles Ainsworth play a solitaire game with a "Russell & Morgan Factories" deck.