Posted 10 years ago
Zuggyg
(1 item)
Picked up at an thrift store.
Wondering how old they could be.
Label:
Playing Cards
Fournier (Heraclio)
Vitoria
Plastic Coated
Made in Spain
On other side instead of pictures to show the product inside the box,
it looks like cards glued onto the box. they are labelled.
N.o 260/211 and N.o 260/212 (looks like a collectors number)
Back of cards bordered and lettered with a C, with some kind of golden ink over other color.
Front of cards looks ordinary, with a typical patterned Ace of Spades but also noticed that the 4 of clubs was unique with 'fournier-vitoria' 'plastic coated' printed on it.
The playing cards are Fournier which, as they say, are printed in Spain. This double deck is circa 1952.
Gluing cards to the box to show the contents was, and sometimes still is, a common practice among card manufacturers for a long time. It's often far simpler and more cost effective to print an extra card for the deck than attempt to print on the box.
The numbers on the cards are stock or catalog numbers. These designs were kept in stock for overprinting for advertising, and for personalisation. The cards would most likely have been given as a gift, with the "C" printed on the cards likely being the initial, or "monogram" of the person receiving them. This was a common gift when playing cards was regular pass-time.
I hope this answers your questions!
Much appreciated. Thanks again :)