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Poker, Blackjack, Solitare, Rummy, Etc.

Donated to the collection in 1980, the decks at the left were manufactured by the United States Playing Card Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. The cards are 8.9cm long x 6.3cm wide. The boxes (9cm long x 6.5cm wide) have a top flap closing.

Within each box are 52 standard playing cards, with 2 "joker" cards. (All of the cards are not illustrated in the photograph.) On the back of each card in the blue "Fan Deck" is the same blue design as the one illustrated. The same is so for the "Red Fan Deck". Though the decks are called "Fan Back Decks", the manufacturer refers to each as a "Bicycle Deck" and pictures a king riding a bicycle on one of the joker cards. The 52 standard cards are divided into the 4 international patterns - spades, hearts, dimonds, and clubs. The "face" cards for each suit are the king, the queen, and the jack - each with a slightly different design. The "ace" of each suit has an elaborate design. Number cards for each suit are similar to the 10 of spades illustrated. Often players of games such as Poker, Rummy, or Euchre will alternate each deal in those games by using a "blue deck" and a "red deck". Decks such as these are used in a variety of other games - Blackjack, Hearts, and the many variations of Solitare.

The illustration at the left is of a similar deck made by the United States Playing Card Company - the only variation is that the backs have a different design. The manufacturer also provides an identical red back deck.

Because the game of Bridge requires players to hold a hand of thirteen cards, standard decks have been modified (such as the ones illustrated on the right) so that players would have less difficulty holding such a hand of cards. Although the face of the cards are the same as other North American decks, the physical cards are somewhat narrower, making it easier to hold the cards. The illustrated decks have cards that are 8.8cm long x 5.7cm wide - making it somewhat easier to hold the required number of cards. These three Bridge decks in the collection were manufactured in Canada.

Sometimes Bridge decks are sold in packages of 2 decks, and the backs will have related designs. Some Bridge decks have gold tinted edges on each card. This older deck in the collection (pictured on the left) includes a card with instructions for an older version of the game of Bridge called "Auction Bridge". Contemporary play of the game is the version known as "Contract Bridge". The instruction card in this older set also includes instructions for the game of "500 Rummy".