Bicycle Playing Cards
Bicycle Playing Cards is a brand of playing cards. Since 1885, the Bicycle brand has been manufactured by the United States Printing Company, which, in 1894, became the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC), now based in Erlanger, Kentucky. "Bicycle" is a trademark of that company. The name Bicycle was chosen to reflect the popularity of the bicycle at the end of the 19th century.[1][2]
Design
Bicycle cards follow the pattern of the French deck, containing 52 cards (13 in each of two red and two black suits), and include two jokers. The Bicycle trademark is printed on the ace of spades. Current decks contain two information/instruction cards as well.
Bicycle playing cards are sold in a variety of designs, the most popular being the Rider Back design. They are available with standard indexes in poker size (3.5 by 2.5 inches (8.9 cm × 6.4 cm)), bridge size (3.5 by 2.25 inches (8.9 cm × 5.7 cm)), and pinochle decks, "Jumbo Index" poker decks and Lo Vision cards that are designed for the visually impaired. Other types of cards with varying backs, sizes, colors and custom designs are produced for magic tricks and as novelty and collectors' items.
Numbered back designs
| No. | Name | Year(s) sold | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acorn | 1891–1943 | Reissued under "Heritage Design Series" c. 2012; also sold in UK (gold gilded) |
| 2 | All Wheel | 1907–1917 | |
| 3 | Angel | 1893 | Two variants produced |
| 4 | Arizona Plaid | 1906–1911 | Two-color back design (red/green, blue/brown) |
| 5 | Auto #1 (Locomobile) | 1901–1904 | |
| 6 | Auto #2 (Locomobile) | 1904–1913 | Also sold in British market |
| 7 | Auto #3 | 1913–1917 | Also sold in British market |
| 8 | Autobike No. 1 | 1902–1906 | Reissued 2017 (red, blue) |
| 9 | Autobike No. 2 | 1906–1913 | |
| 10 | Autobike No. 3 | 1907–1917 | Reissued 2015 as "Back No. 9" (brown, green); also sold in UK |
| 11 | Autocycle No. 1 | 1901–1906 | Reissued 2016 (green, purple) |
| 12 | Autocycle No. 2 | 1906–1919 | Also sold in UK |
| 13 | Automobile No. 1 | 1903–1919 | |
| 14 | Automobile No. 2 | 1913–1935 | |
| 15 | Big Gun | 1918 | "War Series", army; inventory destroyed; reissued 2011 (red, blue) |
| 16 | Bird | 1891 | |
| 17 | Chain | 1908–1910 | Exclusively sold in UK; two-color back design (black/brown, blue/brown) |
| 18 | Chainless | 1899–1917 | Reissued 2010 as "Heritage Series" (blue); reissued 2016 (red, blue) |
| 19 | Club | 1917–1969 | Similar to Bee No. 92 |
| 20 | Colorado Plaid | 1906–1911 | Two-color back design (red/green, blue/brown, blue/black) |
| 21 | Cupid - Sod | 1894–1896 | One-way design; reissued mid-2000s |
| 21 | Cupid - Crosshatch | 1894–1943 | Narrow version for pinochle c. 1918; reissued 1997 (red/gold, no box); reissued 2012 (red); reissued 2013 as "Heritage Design Series" (red); reissued as "Vintage Design" (red, blue) |
| 22 | Cyclist No. 1 | 1898–1908 | |
| 23 | Cyclist No. 2 | 1908–1917 | Gaff card ("STUNG!") produced by Presto Publishing and Novelty Co. |
| 24 | Cyclecar | 1914–1917 | |
| 25 | Diamond Plaid | 1906–1908 | |
| 26 | Dreadnaught | 1918 | "War Series", navy; inventory destroyed |
| 27 | Eagle | 1927–1943 | Minor redesign in 1928; reissued as spades-specific deck c. 1995 (blue, red); formerly offered under Capitol #188 brand c. 1908–1928 |
| 28 | Emblem | 1890–1943 | One-way back design; minor redesign in 1892; pinochle-specific version sold in Canada; "music deck" produced |
| 29 | Expert | 1895–1943 | Similar to Old Fan (#57); also sold in UK; reissued 2012 in Canada, distressed (green), 2013 in US, distressed (red, blue, green) |
| 30 | Flying Ace | 1918 | "War Series", air force; inventory destroyed |
| 31 | Handlebar | 1908–1910 | Exclusively sold in UK (gold gilded); two-color back design |
| 32 | Invincible (Conqueror) | 1918 | "War Series", marines; inventory destroyed |
| 33 | Lantern No. 1 | 1898–1906 | |
| 34 | Lantern No. 2 | 1906–1939 | |
| 35 | League | 1888–1960 | Likely refers to the League of American Wheelmen; minor redesign 1893; reissued c. 1980s; reissued 1990, "No. 71 Rummy" two-deck set (purple, red) |
| 36 | Oak Leaf (Leaf) | 1947–1949 | Originally created as non-Bicycle "Uncle Sam" deck during World War II, ft. unbranded Ace of Spades, joker; Consolidated Card Co., Bee No. 154; reissued 2014 as "Leaf Back" on Kickstarter (red, green) |
| 37 | Lotus | 1885–1943 | Also sold in UK (gold gilded); 60-card "music deck" by Helen Parker Ford created 1927; Krupp's promotional version created |
| 38 | Margin Snowflake | 1910–1917 | |
| 39 | Margin Star No. 1 | 1893–1907(?) | Philip Morris two-deck reproduction "Marlboro Texan No. 45" created 1984; not to be confused with Russell and Morgan No. 45 "Texan" |
| 40 | Margin Star No. 2 | 1907–1912 | |
| 41 | Margin Star No. 3 | 1912–1917 | |
| 42 | Margin Tri-Plaid | 1912–1917 | |
| 43 | Mobile No. 1 | 1901–1906 | |
| 44 | Mobile No. 2 | 1906–1913 | |
| 45 | Mobile No. 3 | 1913–1917 | |
| 46 | Model No. 1 | 1895–1907 | Features League of American Wheelmen logo; similar to Racer No. 1 |
| 47 | Model No. 2 | 1907–1927 | Used as throw-out card by Eugene Laurant; reissued as two-deck euchre set in 1991, called "Mountain Bike" design |
| 48 | Motor No. 1 | 1901–1907 | |
| 49 | Motor No. 2 | 1907–1917 | Also sold in UK; knockoff produced by C. L. Wust in Germany, c. 1907–1927 |
| 50 | Motorcar | 1906–1917 | |
| 51 | Motorcycle No. 1 | 1901–1907 | Also sold in UK; copyright 1900 |
| 52 | Motorcycle No. 2 | 1914–1917 | |
| 53 | Motorette No. 1 | 1901–1907 | |
| 54 | Motorette No. 2 | 1907–1917 | Also sold in UK |
| 55 | Nautic | 1919–1943 | Earlier sold under Army and Navy No. 3032, c. 1908 (red, blue, green, brown); modified design used c. 1924 by Peruvian Estanco de Naipes (re law no. 4936); Universal Playing Card Co. version called "Buffalo" |
| 56 | New Fan | 1891–1980 | Minor revision 1894; also sold in UK (gold gilded), Cuba; reissued c. 1960s as bridge-sized Congress cards (blue, pink); reissued c. 1990s (red, blue); reissued 2012 by Dan and Dave (red, blue); reissued 2011 by Coterie1902 (black/white, white/black); reissued as "Vintage Design" |
| 57 | Old Fan | 1885 | Possibly first Bicycle back design used; Anglo-Japanese style design; "music deck" produced |
| 58 | Pedal | 1899–1917 | Reissued 2010 as "Heritage Series" |
| 59 | Pneumatic No. 1 | 1894–1908 | Also used as Ide High Art Wheel promotional design |
| 60 | Pneumatic No. 2 | 1908–1939 | |
| 61 | Racer No. 1 | 1895–1906(?) | Possibly produced only through 1898; similar to Model No. 1; Krupp's promotional version created for 1891 Columbian Exposition |
| 62 | Racer No. 2 | 1906–1970 | Similar to No. 41 Vanity Fair transformation deck back design; major reissues c. 1980s, 1990s; pinochle version created |
| 63 | Rider | 1887–present | One-way back corrected c. 1893; also sold in UK (gold gilded), Canada, Cuba; fireproof version produced for NASA c. 1970s; other varieties include Playboy (red, blue). 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Christmas-themed cards, WWII-era aircraft spotter cards |
| 64 | Saddle | 1908–1910 | Exclusively sold in UK; two-color back design |
| 65 | Safety | 1892–1943 | Euchre-specific versions produced; "music deck" produced |
| 66 | Snowflake | 1904–1918 | Also sold under Army & Navy #3032 brand c. 1918 (red, blue) |
| 67 | Sprocket No. 1 | 1899–1905 | |
| 68 | Sprocket No. 2 | 1905–1917 | Variant Sprocket No. 2a has five rings (one-way design) instead of six |
| 69 | Stag | 1927–1943 | Sold under Capitol No. 188 brand c. 1908; similar to Sportsman, Dougherty "Outing" |
| 70 | Star Plaid No. 1 | 1906–1907(?) | Also sold under Army & Navy #3032 brand c. 1918 (red, blue) |
| 71 | Star Plaid No. 2 | 1907–1932 | |
| 72 | Tangent No. 1 | 1895–1907 | Tangent No. 1a features larger center wheel, reversed wings |
| 73 | Tangent No. 2 | 1907–1939 | |
| 74 | Thistle | 1891–1931 | Features the Brownies by Palmer Cox; two versions, one with grass in background, other with brick; "music deck" produced |
| 75 | Tri-Plaid | 1905–1943 | Also sold under Army & Navy #3032 brand c. 1918 (red, blue); line thickness may vary; used as throw-out card by T. Nelson Downs |
| 76 | Tri-Tire No. 1 | 1898–1905 | Features logo of League of American Wheelmen; also sold in UK |
| 77 | Tri-Tire No. 2 | 1905–1927 | Redesigned to be two-way; used as throw-out card by the Lingermans |
| 78 | Twig (Coral) | 1907–1908 | Called "Coral" c. 1904(?) |
| 79 | Western Plaid | 1914–1932 | Also sold under Army & Navy #3032 brand c. 1918 (red, blue) |
| 80 | Wheel No. 1 | 1887–1907 | Subtle design changes over time |
| 81 | Wheel No. 2 | 1907–1943 | Features four-winged wheel (two-way design) instead of three-winged |
| 82 | Leaf | Sometimes called "Oak Leaf" |
Significance in American wars
Toward the end of the World War I, the United States Playing Card Company produced four "War Series" decks under the Bicycle brand to represent each of the branches of the U.S. armed services: Flying Ace for the Air Force, Dreadnaught for the Navy, Invincible (aka Conqueror) for the Marine Corps, and Big Gun for the Army. The decks were printed in 1917, and apparently only given an extremely limited release before being withdrawn from circulation. It is unknown why the decks were not circulated, but one theory is that they were intended to be distributed to the troops overseas, and USPCC destroyed their inventory of the War Decks when Armistice was declared in 1918. Only a handful of these decks exist today.[4]
During World War II, cards were produced that could be peeled apart when submerged in water. Portions of a large map could be drawn on the inside surfaces, and the halves were then reassembled to form an innocuous-looking deck. These cards were supplied to POWs for use in escapes. At least one example of such a deck is known to exist, and is on display at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Modern reproductions have been sold in limited editions.[5]
The company provided crates of Ace of Spades cards for U.S. soldiers in the Vietnam War. It was erroneously believed that the Viet Cong regarded this particular card as a symbol of death and would flee at the sight of it. In actuality, it initially meant nothing to the Viet Cong, but the belief that the enemy was afraid of the cards improved the U.S. soldiers' morale.[6] The origin of the cards is attributed to a letter written by a Lt. Charles W. Brown in early 1966 to Allison F. Stanley, the President of the United States Playing Card Company. Brown had read remarks from Congressman Craig Hosmer of California that the Viet Cong held superstitions of bad luck with pictures of women and the Ace of Spades. The Bicycle design of this card featured an image of the Goddess of Liberty combined with the spade. Upon conferring with other lieutenants, Brown asked for 1,000 Aces of Spades for his company to leave for the enemy to find, as an indication that American troops had been in the area. Stanley was sympathetic to the soldiers and pulled cards from the production line to send free of charge. The story was reported by several news outlets, including the Stars and Stripes; as a result, more units began to request cards. The symbol was eventually included in the official psychological warfare operations, and thousands of special decks containing only Aces of Spades were donated by the card company to soldiers that purposely scattered them throughout the jungle and villages during raids.[6] Similar cards were produced during the Gulf War in 1991, immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq by US forces. Due to the short duration of the conflict, these cards never saw battle.[6]
References
- Dawson, Tom; Dawson, Judy (2014). The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards - Part 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Conjuring Arts Research Center. p. 492.
- Knapp, Jim. Vintage Back Designs of Bicycle Playing Cards. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
- Pierson, Joseph (February 13, 2018). "Bicycle Playing Cards". Retrieved 10 March 2022.
- Pierson, Joseph. "Bicycle Playing Cards for Collectors". BicycleCards.org. Wordpress. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- "A map inside the cards". Bicyclecards.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
- Herbert A. Friedman. "The Death Card". psywarrior.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-10-31.