Morning journal and courier., 1882-05-02
Playing Cards.
Their Hfstory-How They Are sIanu-
 factured.

AoJlhS SoAuSs Their History-How They Are Manu- factured.
 From the New York World manufacturer of playing cards in this city was asked where the most of the cards were made and what becomes of them. He said ''I have often wondered, when think ing of the vast number of packs of cards manufactured in all parts of the world what became of them all, just as the old woman was at loss to know what became of all the pins Russia has population, I believe. of about SO,0OO, GOO, and they make the best playing cards in St Petersburg of any place in Europe. Besides, the authorized manu- factory there by the government is the only one in all that vast empire. It Is a govern ment institution just the same as the mint or the United States Treasury Is a government institution here It is licensed by the gov ernment, protected by the government ard the net profits go to the support of 6 founding asylum. The same system pre- vails in Mexico. In France and Germany the manufacturers are licensed. but the busi ness is not so much of monopoly there as is in Russia"
 How is it Tn this country in this respsctzn
 ''The only restriction that exists in this country is the imposition of g revenue tax of five cents per pack and this tax has to be paid on all grades of cards regardless of their vaIue''
 'When and where and by whom were cards invented 2'
 ''The idea, which has finally besn develop ed into the playing cards of the present day, as we know them here in this country, is supposed to have originated in Hindoostan, and the seeds which have produced such an enormous crop in Europe and America were undoubtedly sown by the gypsies who mi grated from that far eastern cline about the beginning of the fourteenth century. It Is pretty generally established that they found their way to Spain and Italy first. then to France and Germany and finally into Eng land, in which latter country they probably arrived sometime in the first half of the ff- teenth century. It is claimed. however, that cards were known in China at least early as the twelfth century. The cards introduc- ed by the gypEies, however, were sery differ ent from those in use nov in this country, Mnd were used by them for the purpose of telling and not for playing games of amusement or chance. It is to the Spanisrds we are indebted for the invention of gam bling while to the French belongs the credit of transforming the original 'tarots,' pack of which consisted of seventy-eight cards, into the present more comprehensive com pass of four suits and fifty-two cards"
 "When was the manufacture Of playing cards introduced into this country ?''
 That is a question can hardly snsEer. All the data have given thus far I have gleaned from history of playing cards pub lished in England The subject has never been extensively gone into by anyone ambi- tious of enlightening the world 30 far as this country is concerned. Cards have no doubt existed in this country for more than cen tury The first reputable manufacturer of playing cards I have any knowledge of in America was Thomas Crehor, of Boston. and he was burnt out in 1S+4. A man named Calvin Bartlett carried on the business in this
  named Zanrade was also here from 1S4O to lS44 But the best goods at that time were manufactured in Boston by Crehor."
 How long have you been in the busi- ness P.
 "Thirty-four years. And there has been a great change in it during that time. In France and Spain there has been no improvement in the methods of manufacturing cards for the last hundred years. They use the same old hand presses, printing the sheets in black and putting in the colors with stencils. The presses, too are small, because large sheets cannot be printed on hand press, and con- sequently 1t requires several impressions to complete pack. use steam presses, print a whole pack at one impression, and, what Is more. print sll the colors at ouce.'
 'Do the styles ever changer"
 No, not so far as the figures are con cerned. Attempts have been made to change the styles of the face cards and the spots, but they have invariably resulted in failure It is, in my opinion, practically impossible to improve on what we have been familiar with for so many years and which has proved so satisfactory for so many generations About the only change has been in the style of back and general improvement in quality
 What is the extent of the manufacture of cards in this country"
 Probably about j, ,OOO, GOO packs a year. Of that number I supply fully 2,5OO,OOO packs. I. employ 16O persons and mauufac- ture my own paper. The only rival of any importance in this country is heUnited Card company. In my day have seen many twenty concerns started, but they have all passed out of existence after a brief time. The great secret of the successful manufac- ture of playing cards is in the manufacture and preparation of the paper So as to secure the required elasticity, and the cutting and finishing of the cards so that they can be shuffied and dealt. Here is pack manufac- tured in Chicago, which some one brought 1n here as samples. They are made of paste board and cut with die The consequence is that they are not of uniform size. and the edges on one side are pressed down and left jagged so that it is impossible to shufle and deal them. The best cards made two ply that is, of two sheets of paper pasted to- gether. The inferior grades are three-ply. The prices range from Sl 90 to SIP per doZ- sn packs, while forty years ago the range was
  provement has been constant and steady, so that the third grade of cards now are as good as the best were thirty years ago The best goods are handled thirty times after the paper is made before they are completed and ready for market As to the demand, l do not suppose there are any more cards made now than there were thirty years ago But one pack now will last as long as a dozen would that were made then Up to twenty years ago we used hand presses, printed less than pack at time, and had 10 make as many impressions as there were colors on the cards"
 How about the manufacture of marked cards. such as gamblers sometimes use = Those cards are generally marked by the them by cutting up cards and pasting them together in some peculiar way. No reputable card manufacturer will manufacture marked cards or have anything to do with them The gamblers who use marked cards used to resort to the dodge of getting the regular manufacturers to print the face of the cards, leaving the backs white and they would get the backs printed and marked somewhere else. Now. no reputable manufacturer will do that even have not printed white back card for anybody in twenty years There are though, believe, one or two places in New York where they are manufactured to order for gamblers
 Are there any illuminated cards msnufac- tured in this country 7"
 None whateser. They are purely a French invention and manufactured in France"
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