Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-06-10
PLAYING CARDS.
An Account of the Present Mode OF
Manufacture, by an Expert.
New York World ]

A manufacturer of playing cards in
this city was asked where the most of
the cards were made and what becomes
of them. He said 81 have often Won
dered, when thinking of the vast num-
Der of packs of cards manufactured in
all parts of the world, what became of
them all, Just as the old woman was at
a loss to know what became of all the
pins. Russia has population, | be-
lieve, of about S0,000,000, and they
make the best playing cards in st. Pc
tersburg of any place in Europe. Be-
sides, the authorized mandatory there
by the government is the only one in all
the vast empire. 1t is government in
stitution, Just the same as the Mint or
the United States Treasury is govern
ment institution here. 1t is licensed by
the government, protected by the gov
ernment, and the net profits go to the
support of foundling asylum. The
same system prevails in Mexico. In
France and Germany the manufacturers
are licensed, but the business is not so
much of monopoly as it is in Russia. !"
"How is it in this country i'll this re-
spect?'
''rhe only restriction that exists in
this country is the imposition of a.reve-
nue. tax of five cents per pack, and this
tax has to be paid on all grades of cards,
regardless of their value"
"What is the extent of the mannfac-
ture of cards in this country"
Probably about5, coo, ,000paeks a year.
Of that number l supply fully 2,5OO,O 900
packs. employ l60 persons and man
ufacture my own paper. The only rival
of any importance in this country is the
United Card Company. In my day l
have seen as many as twenty concerns
started, but they have all passed out of
existence after brief time. The great
secret of the successful manufacture 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 50 that they
can be shuffled and dealt. Here is u
pack manufactured in Chicago, which
Some one brought in here as samples.
They are made of pasteboard and cut
with u 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
shuttle and deal them. The best cards
are made o-ply-that is, of two sheets
of paper pasted together. The inferior
grades are three.ply. The prices range
from 81 80 to Sl2 per dozen packs, while
forty years ago the range was from fifty
nt, t, 90 1nya,, Tho
ment 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, 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 to
make as many impressions as there We're
colors on the cards.
"How about the manufacture of
marked cards, such as gamblers some-
times use?"
"Those cards are generally marked by
the gamblers themselves. Sometimes
they make them by cutting up cards
and pasting them together in some pc
culiar way. No reputable card manu-
facturer 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 regu-
lar 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 rep
utable manufacturer will do that even.
| have not printed white backed card
for anybody in twenty years. There
are, though, believe, one or two places
in New York where they are manufac-
tured to order for gamblers.
care there any illuminated cards
manufactured in this country"
"None whatever. They are purely
French invention and are manufactured
in France"