Playing Cards

Comment

Comment by Bill Gosling on November 18, 2009 at 6:58am

The deck you found is one of a series described in the "Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards". [More on that in a moment] It is one of ten beauiful card backs for Edison Mazda designed by Maxfield Parrish. "There are different jokers and Aces in this series and each deck also comes with an extra descriptive or 'picture' card. The many Parrish collectors actively collect these decks, seeking even a single card of each back." They were produced between 1919 and 1931. Encyc. p. 202.

You did extremely well to find even an incomplete Parrish deck at this price. They were issued for General Electric -Edison, and the joker shows an early electric light bulb. If the second part of the box were present, and I think it did have an outer sleeve, it would likely name the manufacturer. The most common one would have been the United States Playing Card Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, at that time, though it could have been one of several others as well.

As to the Encyclopedia, it lists American cards from earliest productions up to the mid-20th century. The paperback edition is $45.00, less expensive than the $75.00 hard cover and also has a $15.00 price guide sold separately. The full citation is:

Dawson, Tom and Judy. The Hockman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards. Stamford, CT, U.S. Games Systems,Inc., 2000. Price guide, same year and publisher.

A very good deck in the price guide lists for about $100.00.

I'll return late with more background information on cards. I currently have abobut 250 books in my reference library on the history of plaing cards, and some 3800 decks.

Bill

Comment by Dave Dubé on November 16, 2009 at 8:56am

These are FABULOUS! Looks to be an advertising deck as well. Can you contact me via my email addy, please. I'd like to get a high-res scan of the Parrish image on the card, since it incorporates the Edison advertising.
email: ddcachets@gmail.com

I put my art on old paper, btw. I now have something more to look for. I wonder who made the cards for Edison.

Comment by Paul Batchelor on November 16, 2009 at 8:25am

here ya go dave

Comment by Dave Dubé on November 16, 2009 at 6:59am

Could you post an image of one of them?

Comment by Paul Batchelor on November 16, 2009 at 6:52am

Over the weekend I found a deck of Maxfield Parrish Edison Mazda- Egypt playing cards 1922. I found the item at a local flee market and paid a extremely low price of $10.00. I was shocked and delighted at the same time. The deck is not in mint condition and lacks one card, the joker. It does not bother me though, I was really excited to have made the find. I never collected playing cards before. I think I'm going to add a new item to collect to my list of many.

Comment by Mike Ferguson on October 28, 2009 at 12:43pm

takes a while to load...guess they're busy

Comment by Mike Ferguson on October 28, 2009 at 12:42pm

http://www.ellusionist.com/arcane-deck-playing-cards.html

Comment by Dave Dubé on October 27, 2009 at 1:23pm

Mike,

The link is broken.

Comment by Mike Ferguson on October 27, 2009 at 12:10pm

I am not associated with this company in any way, but I sure like this new deck, being released today http://www.ellusionist.com/arcane

Comment by AntiquesRGreat on August 9, 2009 at 5:13pm

As soon as I'm done with listing the postcards I'll tackle my collection of playing cards.

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