Collecting souvenirs of trips taken has probably been a human activity since people first traveled away from home. In any event, card manufacturers recognized that throughout the world playing cards are one of the most widely used recreational devices. Consequently, commercial decks began to be designed for use as souvenirs of places visited. This Webpage includes examples of such decks from the collection.
The partially pictured deck on the left is from the Malborough Cigarette factory in Richmond, Virginia. The deck was acquired in 1978. The deck is a reproduction of a playing card deck that was used about 1870 in the western United States. Various cards have brown printed smudges which appear to be cigarette burns! The deck is sold as a souvenir of a visit to the factory.
The flap-top box (9.2cm long x 6cm wide x 1.8cm thick) has a photo from an "old west" camp site along with the "cigarette burns". The box is pictured on the bottom right of the photo. This picture is also on the back of each card in the deck. Each of 2 jokers have a bull's head and the setting sun pictured on them. All cards are 8.9cm long x 5.7cm wide. The 52 card deck uses the international suit patterns.
The partially pictured deck on the left was donated to the collection in 1981. The date printed on the box is 1909, and a look at some of the Washington, D.C. landmarks depicted on the cards indicate that they are no longer there! The Whitehouse is still there, although it looks somewhat different now. Many of the "streetscapes" are now quite different. The deck was manufactured by the US Playing Card Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The box (9.2cm long x 7.3cm wide x 1cm thick) has a top into which the slightly smaller bottom slides. Both parts are covered with a maroon textured paper. A card back (a picture of a female statue) is depicted in the upper right of the photograph. The 52 cards are 8.9cm long x 6.4cm wide, and use the international suit patterns.
In the center of each card is an oval photograph of a building that was in Washington, D.C. when the cards were manufactured. The name of each building or monument is printed beneath the picture. An extra card included in the box lists the names of these different sites. The deck was sold to tourists as a souvenir of their visit to the city.
The deck on the left was purchased by in 1981. The deck is almost identical to the previous souvenir deck of Washington, D.C., however all text is in the French language and the pictures are of buildings and sites that were around Montreal, Quebec, Canada in the past.
The box indicates that this deck was manufactured by The Canadian Playing Card Company, Inc., Montreal, Canada, probably under license from the US Playing Card Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The backs of the cards (pictured lower right) contain the Quebec coat of arms and the words Je Me Souviens. There are two jokers in the deck- one depicts a Native Canadian, the other is a map of Quebec highways. The deck uses the international suit patterns.
The size of the box and the cards are the same as the Washington deck, which suggest that the manufacturer produced souvenirs for a number of cities and other destinations in the early part of the 20th century. Note the following deck.
In the past, passengers traveling long distances on luxury liners or luxury trains could occupy their time using a deck of playing cards provided by the liner or the railroad. Often these decks included photographs of sights seen on the trip. The following is an example of a deck of this type from the collection.
This partially pictured deck was donated to the collection in 1981, although the deck is considerably older. The simulated alligator fold-over carrying case with brass fittings is 6.8cm long x 9.3cm wide. Within the fold-over is a brass holder for the deck.
This deck as others above in this group was manufactured by the US Playing Card Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
The back of each card is a painting of a horse and rider in the Canadian Rockies (upper left). The cards (8.7cm long x 6.3cm wide) are a standard 52 card deck with one joker. The international suit pattern is used. In the center of each card is a photograph depicting sights one may view from the train as it crosses Canada, and street scenes of major Canadian cities through which the train passes.
When commercial plane travel became more common, the airlines also furnished playing card decks for the use of passengers. Since there were no sights to see from an airplane window, these decks only identified the airline by name.
Acquired in 1972, this deck could be found for sale on a number of islands throughout the Caribbean area, i.e. - Jamaica, Trinidad, Tabago, Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Grenada.
The flap-top box (9cm long x 6cm wide x 2cm thick) pictured on the extreme right, includes the names of each country in a circle around the center coat of arms on the back of the box. This is the same information that appears on the backs of each card.
There are 56 cards in the deck, 8.8cm long x 5.7cm wide. This includes one blank card and 3 jokers, plus the 52 suited cards. One joker marked "The Jolly Joker" is pictured in the 2nd row on the extreme right. While the deck uses a stylized version of the international suit pattern, all text on the box and cards are in the English language.The face cards are double headed court figures with large suit indicators in the upper left and lower right. Other cards include the suit indicators in all four corners.
This deck was donated to the collection in 1972. While it appears to have been manufactured in Japan by the Dai Nippon Playing Cards Company, the front of the box informs one in the English language that this is a Souvenir of Aruba, Netherlands, Antilles.
The flap-top box is pictured on the extreme right measures 9.1cm long x 6.2cm wide x 1.7cm high.
Card backs feature a scene on an Aruba beach complete with palm trees (upper left of photograph). There are two jokers and 52 standard playing cards which use the international suit pattern.
This deck is very similar to the other "standard" decks illustrated elsewhere in this Section.
NOTE: This page was originally created and posted on the Web on March 14, 1995. Subsequently it has been modified and periodically updated. Last update: June 13, 2010