The Pyramid Playing Card Company was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1920 by brothers Abdulah and Simon Barsa. They successfully introduced a number of standard brands (Winner, Pyramid Special, Mutual, Home Run, Iris, Peter Pan, Blue Nile, Blue Star, Princess, Umpire & Sunbeam) until the company was absorbed into U.S.P.C.C. and its affiliates, and finally dissolved in 1933.
Playing Dress-up All Day Long
August 17, 2010
Odette Barsa: The legend, the entrepreneur, the woman
(Interview with Simon & Odette's daughter Nadia)
Simon and Odette Barsa?s lives were very much the American dream. Both Simon and Odette were born in Damascus, Syria, the oldest city in the world and both Christians. Simon?s father was killed in Syria because of his religious beliefs. Simon?s mother decided to relocate to Lebanon and Simon, who was high school age at the time decided he wanted to come to the United States to make his way in the world.
Odette?s family also left Syria because they were Christian, however, they relocated to Egypt. Odette attended Sacred Heart Convent and there learned fine sewing and was taught in the French language. How Simon and Odette met is a real family affair.
Simon and his brother, Abdula worked for their uncle in his robe business. A few years later the brothers decided to go out on their own and started their business. The brothers named their business "A. Barsa and Brother." The brothers worked hard and did very well and made a great living with their business. They were living the American dream come true.
As Simon's daughter recalls, "Our Uncle Abdula was married to a lovely lady he had met in Cairo. This was my Aunt Marie. He told my father "say, there's another one of these ladies over there." So my dad went over and met my mother, Aunt Marie's sister. Two brothers married two sisters."
Because of large donations my father and Uncle had made to Rome, the Pope wanted our parents to be married in Rome, but Dad wanted to be married here in the United States. Our parents were married at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY in 1922.
Pictured below;
From left to right back row: Abdulah and wife Marie, Marie's mother Odette and Marie's brother and sister, Odette and Simon
Front row left to right: Michael, Joseph, Violet and Mary Claire (children of Abdulah and Marie Barsa) and then Nadia, Albert and Gabriel (children of Odette and Simon Barsa)
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