Side Car

Naipes Side Car

Luis A. Fourvel's standard English style Naipes Side Car were published over several decades, featuring a distinctive Joker based on Goodall's cross-legged Joker riding a motorcycle. The motorcycle & sidecar motif which appears on the boxes, wrappers, backs and Ace of Spades was also inspired by a Goodall back design from the 1920s, which in turn may have been inspired by USPCC's Bicycle brand. The same brand name was also used on Spanish-suited versions of Naipes Side Car and Belgian/Genoese versions.

As an additional endorsement of quality, the manufacturer's signature often appears on the Ace of Diamonds along with a guarantee that the cards are made using English cardboard.

Above: cards from standard English version of Naipes Side Car, manufactured by Luis A. Fourvel y Cía, Buenos Aires, c.1948. The Ace of Diamonds guarantees that the cards are made using English cardboard; this must have been after the wartime restrictions had been lifted. The outer wrappers usually have a blue or orange 1 Peso tax band referring to Decree 18,235 [1944-1964]. The Ace of Hearts has the 'Mercury' tax stamp.

Above: cards from Naipes Side Car, manufactured by Luis A. Fourvel y Cía, Buenos Aires, c.1954. The Ace of Diamonds guarantees that the cards are made using English cardboard. The Ace of Hearts has the 'Liberty' tax stamp.

Above: back designs from Naipes Side Car, manufactured by Luis A. Fourvel y Cía, Buenos Aires. Each one is designated by a number on the box. The motorcycle and sidecar motif is featured in all the designs.

3ª Selección - 3rd Grade

Above 3rd grade quality Naipes Side Car, manufactured by Luis A. Fourvel y Cía, Buenos Aires, c.1948, in a box without the Side Car branding. The Ace of Hearts has the "Mercury" tax stamp and an overstamp which reads "3ª Selección". The cards are certainly of inferior quality, but the Ace of Diamonds states that English cardboard is guaranteed. The reference to Canasta is the game which had only recently been invented in Uruguay.

The Side Car motif and brand name are now produced by Justo Rodero e Hijos as Naipes Casino Sidecar►

REFERENCES

Marotta, Florencia: Sellados e Impuestos en Naipes Argentinos, Buenos Aires, 2007

See also: Fourvel homepage • Naipynt • Side Car Spanish-suited • Naipes Estelares • Side Car Genoese style

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

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Curator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.