The United States Playing Card Company
Subsidiary
Industry	Playing card manufacturer
Founded	1867; 153 years ago
Headquarters	Erlanger, Kentucky ,
Key people	Michael Slaughter (President)
Products	playing cards
Revenue	US$ 130 million (2003 est.)
750
Parent	Cartamundi
Website	www.usplayingcard.com

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The United States Playing Card Company (USPC), established in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co. and founded in its current incarnation in 1885, is a large producer and distributor of playing cards. Its many brands include Bicycle, Bee, Tally-Ho, Congress, Hoyle, Aviator, Aristocrat, KEM, and several others.^[1] It also produces novelty and custom cards, and other playing card accessories such as poker chips. The company was once based in Cincinnati, Ohio, but is now headquartered in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, Kentucky.

In December 2019, The United States Playing Card Company became a subsidiary of Belgian card manufacturer Cartamundi.

2Product lines
3Discontinued brands

History[edit]

Bicycle brand Bridge playing cards featuring jumbo indexes (1907).

A revenue stamp from a deck of Russell, Morgan & Co. playing cards.

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Former factory at Norwood

The company was founded in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co., a printing company.^[2] In 1881, Colonel Robert J. Morgan, recruited a talented, young inventor from New York named Samuel J. Murray, whose patented inventions increased the output of cards at the company's Norwood, Ohio plant fourfold and cut labor costs by 66 percent. Murray also created a two-sided enameling machine.^[3]

The company began printing four brands of playing cards in 1881: Tigers (No. 101), Sportsman's (No. 202), Army and Navy (both No. 303, No. 505 with Gold Edges), and Congress (No. 404, No. 606 with gold edges).^[4] They began printing Bicycle cards, which would become their most popular line, in 1885.^[5] Business boomed and in 1891 Russel, Morgan, & Co. changed its name to the United States Printing Company. The playing card business was successful enough that it was spun off as a separate business in 1894, as The United States Playing Card Company.^[2]

The same year, the company began its long history of acquiring smaller playing card manufacturers when it acquired the Standard Playing Card Company, the Perfection Playing Card Company, and the New York Consolidated Card Company (makers of Bee and innovators of the 'squeezer' card identifications in the corners: a design still in use today). Acquisitions continued throughout its history: Andrew Dougherty in 1907 (adding Tally-Ho), Russell Playing Card Co. in 1929 (adding Aristocrat), Heraclio Fournier, S.A in 1986, Arrco (formerly Arrow) Playing Card Company in 1987, Hoyle Products in 2001, and finally KEM Playing Cards in 2004. In 1930, USPC subsidiaries Consolidated Card Co., Standard Playing Card Co., and Andrew Dougherty merged into Consolidated-Dougherty which continues to produce cards from all three brands including Bee and Tally-Ho.

Meanwhile, the company would itself be acquired several times during its history: starting with Diamond International in 1969, Jessup & Lamont in 1982, Frontenac in 1989, and then a return to self-ownership in 1994 before finally becoming a subsidiary of Jarden which was in turn acquired by Newell. Free paint for mac.

The USPC has historically supported wartime soldiers, starting with the inexpensive Canteen brand of cards during the Spanish–American War and the Pickett brand during World War I. During World War II, USPC manufactured spotter cards so soldiers can identify enemy units and cooperated with the U.S. Government in creating clandestine decks given to POWs; these cards could be moistened and peeled apart to reveal escape maps.

In May 2011, Marc Hill was named president of The United States Playing Cards Company.^[6] In October 2011, the United States Playing Card Company in a partnership with Encore Software announced that they are launching the 2012 Hoyle product line - Hoyle Card Games 2012, Hoyle Casino Games 2012 and Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2012.^[7]

In June 2019, Newell Brands agreed to sell USPC to Belgian card manufacturer Cartamundi, including its two plants in Erlanger, Kentucky and Vitoria, Spain.^[8]

Product lines[edit]

The company offers several card brands, including:^[9]

Aristocrat[edit]

The Aristocrat brand was created in 1915 by the Russell Playing Card Company of New York, which was acquired by the USPC in 1929. It was best known for its higher quality of card stock and varied but always intricate scroll work, in particular the 'bank note' back, which resembled the design of currency notes at the time it was introduced, as Russell had acquired the playing card business of the American Bank Note Company in 1914. While the cards sold to the public carried the unique scroll-work, Aristocrat also produced the 'Club Special' line of Aristocrat cards specifically for casinos. These were similar to Bee cards in that their backs were borderless with a diamond pattern and could optionally have casino logos added to the backs. Aristocrat was discontinued as a retail brand in the 1980s, but continues to be used for direct sales to casinos.^[10]

Aviator[edit]

Introduced in 1927 in commemoration of Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis, Aviator playing cards (stock No. 914) feature a bordered, monochrome back design of predominantly circles. They are lower-quality and less expensive compared to Bee and Bicycle cards and are available in the same general assortment of back colors, card sizes, and configurations. The card stock is thinner than Bee or Bicycle and has a smooth finish, unlike the textured 'air-cushion' finish used in many of the company's other brands. Until around 1989, the Aviator Ace of Spades and Joker carried no specific branding, so Aviator cards were often used as a generic card for limited-run promotional/advertising decks or to fill in leftover boxes for retired brands. Ati mobility radeon hd 3670 driver.

Bee[edit]

A deck of Bee 'Narrow Size' Playing Cards

Bee is a casino card brand also sold at retail. They were first manufactured by the New York Consolidated Card Company in 1892, hence the number '92' on the Ace of Spades; the USPC acquired the company two years later, but it continued to operate independently, even after merging with Andrew Dougherty and Standard Playing Card Company to form Consolidated-Dougherty. Standard Bee playing cards have a diamond back, typically blue or red, though casinos frequently use cu