Playing Card Manufacturers

Over the years the pressures of competition and other market forces have led to many smaller manufacturers being taken over by larger ones. The outcome is that the U.S.P.C.C. is now the largest manufacturer in the United States.

De La Rue introduced letter-press printing into playing card production and his patent was granted in 1831. He produced his first playing cards in 1832.

Carta Mundi was founded in Turnhout on 27 June 1970 by pooling the production and sales facilities of the three surviving companies: Brepols, Van Genechten and Leonard Biermans.

Ferdinand Piatnik was born in Ofen on October 14, 1819.

John Waddington Limited was a leading producer of playing cards and card games in the UK during the period 1922-1995. The company had been founded in the nineteenth century by Mr John Waddington and Wilson Barratt as Waddingtons Ltd.

Today nothing remains of Charles Goodall's Camden Works, where three-quarters of the playing cards printed in Britain were produced.

Founded in 1868, today it is part of Cartamundi.

The Story of Pepys Games by Rex Pitts

B.P. Grimaud is a major French maker and publisher whose catalogue ranges from standard patterns and export packs to advertising issues, facsimiles and artist-led designs. Examples include Spanish-suited packs for South America, political and educational sets, English-pattern adaptations with early corner indices, and numerous publicity decks for shops, industries and public bodies. The brand also issued tarot and cartomancy packs, as well as film, transport and regional themes, often crediting contemporary illustrators and designers.

A.S.S., the united Altenburg and Stralsund factories, was a leading German maker spanning standard patterns and specialist issues. Output includes Skat and Schafkopf packs in German suits, North German and Viennese patterns, Rommé/Bridge sets, and teaching and family games such as quartet and Schwarzer Peter. The firm also issued publicity and licensed packs—Mercedes-Benz, Hansaplast, Bahlsen, Asterix, The Muppet Show—and political caricature series like Polit-Poker, alongside facsimiles such as the “Kaiserkarte.” After acquiring Wüst material, A.S.S. continued house marks and designs in later editions.

The luxury playing card factory founded in Frankfurt am Main by Bernhard Dondorf in 1833 existed for 100 years.

The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards was founded by Royal Charter in 1628.

It was called "Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik" from 1945 to 1990, "Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik GmbH" from 1991 to 1995, and "Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg GmbH" from 1996 to 2000. The design of the ‘coeur’ logo, which often appeared on a pip card or box, also changed over time.

C. W. Faulkner & Co Ltd, London, an important publisher of games, pictorial souvenirs, children’s books, and postcards.

In 1889, Fusajirô Yamauchi began manufacturing “Hanafuda” or “flower cards” under the brand name Nintendō Koppai. Cards were hand crafted using the bark from mulberry and mitsu-mata trees. Around 1902 the firm began producing Western style playing cards.

After WWII, Nintendō managed to survive a period of heavy taxation on playing-cards, which killed off many smaller manufacturers. In the second half of the 20th century they diversified into children’s toys and, later on, video games.

In 1868 Saul David Modiano (1834-1922) founded a company in Trieste to import and export cigarette papers. His company flourished, adopting the new lithographic printing process which facilitated diversification into production of postcards. Acquisitions of competing companies benefitted the playing card department. Today, Modiano is one of the two (main) remaining manufacturers of traditional Italian card designs.

Karl Gerich's interest in playing-card production came to the fore while studying at Bath Academy of Art from 1975. Karl produced a unique range of hand-made playing cards during the period 1980-1998.

SPIELKARTENFABRIEK VON C.L. WÜST, 1811 - 1927. A short history of the Wüst factory by Martin Shaw & Paul Symons.

Chad Valley Co. Ltd (incorporating Johnson Brothers (Harborne) Ltd, the long-established UK brand bought by Woolworths in 1988 and now sold at Argos.

Éditions Dusserre, Paris.

Alf Cooke was an important producer of playing cards and card games in the UK during the period 1920-1970.

AGMüller is a Swiss playing-card manufacturer founded in 1828 by Colonel Johann Bernhard Zündel. It built a reputation as a leading European cardmaker, specializing in traditional Swiss-suited decks and esoteric tarot and fortune-telling cards. In 1999 its playing-card business was acquired by Belgium’s Carta Mundi (Cartamundi).

The firm of Thomas Woolley lasted for many years from 1836-1904 in several different guises.

Willis & Company was formed in 1869, having been preceded by Charles Steer at the same address (80 Long Acre, London), who also manufactured playing cards during the 1850s and 60s.

Joseph Reynolds had been producing playing cards in the traditional method since c.1809.

A. Van Genechten ran a flourishing business, supplying various kinds of cards both inside the country and abroad including England, Spain, France, Denmark, South-East Asia, China and Japan.

The Mesmaekers firm had been established in Turnhout in 1859 by the partnership of Gustaaf Mesmaekers and Louis-François Moentack.

The national Czech enterprise Obchodní Tiskárny Kolín was created in 1949 with a winged horse or pegasus logo, as a succssor to the former Ritter & Co playing card workshop. more►

Jacob Wolfe Spear founded his company manufacturing fancy goods in 1879 near Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany

Brown & Bigelow of St Paul, Minnesota, was a leading producer of playing cards in the U.S. from the late 1920s - 1980s.

The New York Consolidated Card Company was formed in 1871 by the merging of Lawrence & Cohen, Samuel Hart & Co and John J. Levy.

Gibson’s only became Ltd in 1919. The International Card Company was established by Harry Percy Gibson in 1903, supplying stationers with card and printed products. In 1919 the I.C. company was sold to De La Rue and H.P. Gibson & Sons Limited was formed in the same year. The HPG series produced a number of games including L’Attaque, Dover Patrol, The History of England, Countries of the World, etc and a variety of bezique boxed sets.

The distinctive Ace of Spades features the Statue of the Goddess of Freedom, based on the bronze statue designed by Thomas Crawford (1814-1857) that, since 1863, has crowned the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Léonard Biermans had been employed by Brepols from 1871-1874 before opening his own playing card factory in 1875.

Legends Playing Card Company, founded in 2013 by magician Lawrence Sullivan in Hong Kong, was established to raise playing card quality standards in response to subpar "premium" decks. The company specializes in luxury playing card production with innovative card stock and high-end packaging.

Originally known as Cappellano Hnos in the 1920s, and undergoing several changes of name and address, the company produced catalan style packs with the brand names "Naipes Triunfo" and "Torcacita" as well as an Anglo-American style pack titled "VELCAP".

Brepols started making playing cards in 1826, although he had been in the printing trade since 1800. In 1833 the firm was called Brepols & Dierckx (the former's son-in-law). Biermans (1875-1970) was a relatively late arrival on the Turnhout playing card scene.

Founded in 1889 as Compañía General de Fósforos, and favoured by certain economic factors, the firm provided a range of general printing and publishing services, with interests in textiles and other industrial processes. In 1929 the firm became known as Compañía General Fabril Financiera S.A.

Games & Print Services Limited, of Canvey Island, now part of Cartamundi.

Samuel Hart was a prolific manufacturer of playing cards who commenced business sometime around 1845 in Philadelphia. He had previously worked for L.I. Cohen.

The BBC has issued a small number of playing card packs and related promotional decks based on its television, radio and magazine properties, including Doctor Who, Little Britain and Woman’s Hour. Most were produced as licensed merchandise or publicity items, with manufacture undertaken by outside firms such as Carta Mundi, David Westnedge Ltd or Games & Print Services.

In 1848, Joseph Glanz (1795-1866) bought the established card manufacturing company Max Uffenheimer with the address Kohlmarkt No. 282 Vienna.

After the death of Joseph Glanz, his son-in-law Stanislaus von Abrahamsberg (1819-1910) took over the management of the company.

In 1867-1868, an attempt was made to merge with the manufacturer Georg Geiselreiter from Wiener Neustadt and create a joint company J. Glanz & Geiselreiter. After this unsuccessful attempt, the name was slightly changed to Josef Glanz.

Under the leadership of von Abrahamsberg, the company also tries to expand by acquiring other companies (Johann Ritter/Prague 1870, Österr. Spielkarten-Fabriks-Ges.(Samuel Königsgarten)/Vienna 1887, Vannak Jàtékkártyagyár Jànos Vàradi/Budapest 1906). Over time, however, it gradually sold these parts to the company Ferd. Piatnik & Söhne.

In 1897, a long-term purchase agreement was also concluded for the entire company, which was fulfilled in 1912. This means that the brand, which, together with Piatnik, was the most important card manufacturer in the second half of the 19th century in Austria-Hungary, ceases to exist.

The company's own address has changed over time. It is documented in reference no. 2 and can serve as a guide for dating a specific deck of cards.

1. Repository : Die Hersteller von Spielkarten im 2. Viertel des 19. Jahrhunderts in Wien►
2. Database of card makers in Vienna in the 19th century►

Daveluy produced card games between c.1840 and 1890. Many of his playing cards are in neo-medieval style with landscape backgrounds.

Theory11 is an American playing card and magic company founded by Jonathan Bayme in 2007 in Charleston, South Carolina. It began as an online magic collective focused on advancing the art through modern, high-quality playing card design. Today, Theory11 is known for producing luxury designer decks and has collaborated on playing card projects with popular franchises such as James Bond, Star Wars, and Harry Potter.

Gráfica 2001 (Naipes ‘La Española’), successors to Naipes Vigor founded in 1945.

Kings Wild Project is an independent American playing-card publisher founded in 2012 by illustrator Jackson Robinson. The company originated from a gas-mask-wearing king motif developed during Robinson’s illustration work, which became the brand’s defining visual mark.

Kings Wild Project entered the playing-card market in 2013 with Federal 52, a currency-inspired deck funded via Kickstarter. Since then, the company has released a large number of decks through crowdfunding, direct sales, and a subscription model. Kings Wild Project operates from Cleveland, Tennessee, where it maintains its own warehouse and handles storage, packing, and distribution for its products, alongside related fulfilment services.

Expert Playing Card Company (EPCC) is a specialist playing card publisher founded in 2013 by William (Bill) Kalush of the Conjuring Arts Research Center. Based in New York, the company was established to produce technically precise, high-quality playing cards and works with specialist manufacturing partners, primarily in Taiwan and mainland China, rather than operating its own printing facilities. EPCC has also collaborated closely with Legends Playing Card Company, with both firms sharing manufacturing approaches and production standards.

Antique English woodblock playing cards by a card maker named C. Hewson, mid-17th century.

A series of card games for children published by Tower Press during the 1950s which evoke the optimism and love of fun of that era.

Clifford Toys is a brand name of F. Levy & Co., Ltd, London, sellers of toys and fancy goods.

MPC (MakePlayingCards.com) is a Hong Kong–based print-on-demand manufacturer of custom playing cards, tarot and oracle decks, operated by QP Group, a paper-product manufacturing and printing services company founded in 1982. Through its online platform (launched in mid-2012), customers can upload artwork and specifications for small-run deck printing with no minimum order quantities, with options such as custom tuck boxes and booklet inserts. Production and fulfilment are handled through the company’s facilities, and the service is commonly used for Kickstarter and other crowdfunded deck projects.

Éditions Philibert published an outstanding series of exotic, artistic playing cards in Paris from 1954 to 1960

The 'Old Frizzle' Ace of Spades shows the duty paid as one shilling, and the manufacturer's name is engraved at the bottom of the ace.

Card games produced in Germany by Oppenheimer und Sulzbacher.

Compañía General de Fósforos Montevideana, founded in 1893.

Stancraft Playing Cards were manufactured by Brown & Bigelow of whom they were a subsidiary.

Thomas Creswick was a paper-maker and wholesale stationer. Playing cards were produced from c.1820 onwards.

Ferdinando Gumppenberg (active 1809-c.1846) is one of the great innovators and inventors in the field of playing card production during the 19th century. He learned his trade in Munich then moved to Milan in 1809. He became famous for producing finely engraved, hand-coloured tarot and playing-card packs. Examples of his work survive in museum collections (e.g. the British Museum) and appear in auction catalogues.

The Mullord Brothers, Alick and Henry Mullord, innovative game designers and manufacturers, were renowned for their successful "Multum in Parvo" company, which significantly advanced the trade in games with their creative and popular products.

Warren Paper Products Co., Lafayette, Indiana, publishers of Built-Rite toys, games and puzzles.

Catel & Farcy was a Paris-based French card publisher and manufacturer. The firm produced standard French-style packs as well as promotional decks, and later published tarots and illustrated card games.

After the family printing business had been handed down for several generations, in 1794 Ernst Wilhelm Gottlieb Kircher founded a playing card factory in Goslar am Harz

Difusora S.A is a distributor of smokers' materials. Around 1970-80 they also distributed "Minifusor" playing cards.

Astra Games was a subsidiary of the McCorquodale Group of Companies, producing playing cards during the period 1982-87.

ARRCO Playing Card Co., Chicago, c.1935 - 1987, when acquired by USPCC.

The National Card Co. was formed in c.1886 by Samuel J Murray, who as a young man had worked in England in Charles Goodall's playing card factory.

WJPC is a custom offset printing company specializing in the printing of custom playing cards, custom tarot cards, custom gaming and board games, and educational flashcards. The Acelion brand is a high-end brand under the WJPC Corporation. Acelion Corporation and WJPC company are owned by the same owner - Jack Yang.

A small publisher founded in the Czech Republic in 2020. Two friends publish cards in small editions as a hobby. For the joy of participating in the century-old history of the cultural phenomenon that cards are, and for the joy of the game.

Chiefton Products Ltd, toy manufacturers, Pauls Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1QT.

Carreras issued a number of advertising packs, cigarette and trade cards, miniature packs, etc during the 1920s and 30s.

The American Bank Note Company was a long-established firm producing national currency, finely engraved stock certificates and other security printing, including postage stamps. They also entered the playing card market c.1908-1914.

This firm commenced producing playing cards with the name Kalamazoo Paper Box & Card Co in 1903.

'Thames Side' Playing Cards manufactured by The Universal Playing Card Co., Ltd for L. G. Sloan, Ltd., 1930s.

Brotherton is recorded as operating at 13 Little Britain (London) from 1789-1840. In 1851 his factory was burnt down.

Berger also produced a Hungarian-type "Seasons" pack with the brand name "La Estrella" and a six-pointed star logo, which was subsequently used by Domicelj and Vigor, suggesting some sort of business succession.

In the late 18th century, Antoine Court de Gébelin asserted in "Monde Primitif" that Tarot cards had philosophical and divinatory origins linked to ancient Egypt, influencing the modern variety of tarot interpretations​.

Irish Playing Card Manufacturing Company.

Robert Whitfield, who is recorded as Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing cards in 1671 and again from 1685-7.

The Royal Playing Card Factory of Macharaviaya (Málaga) was founded in 1776 by José de Gálvez, minister for the Indies under Carlos III. Run until 1806 by Félix Solesio, it held a monopoly supplying cards to Spain’s American colonies, a privilege retained until 1811, though the factory continued operating until 1821. [Pérez González, Alberto: “Los Naipes de Cádiz”, 1ª edición Octubre, 2015, Punto Rojo Libros].

Cards of the Spanish National Pattern manufactured by Pedro Bosio, Genova (Italy) during the late 18th and early 19th century for export to Spanish colonies.

Naipes Argentinos 'La Partida' y 'Aparcero' published by Obsequios Empresarios Argentinos, Santa Fe.

Dainippon Playing Cards, also known as Dai Nippon (大日本), was a Japanese playing card manufacturer based in Yōkaichi, Shiga Prefecture operating during the period c.1950-1980s.

IELLO Games was founded in 2004 and is now part of the global board and card game industry.

The founder of Ariel Productions, Philip Marx, was a prolific publisher of children’s books and comics towards the end of and just after the Second World War.

Impressão Règia, Real Fábrica de Lisboa.

The Real Fábrica de Cartas de Jogar was founded in 1769, along with a paper mill, by Royal Charter of King José, under the master craftsman Lorenzo Solezio, brother of Félix Solesio who ran the Spanish Real Fábrica at Macharaviaya. Lorenzo received permission to make cards and sell them in Portugal and overseas territories. The production and sale of playing cards was a profitable business. In 1769 the Royal Playing Card Factory was annexed to the Impressão Régia (Royal Press). The name changed to Imprenta Nacional in 1820.

The Varangot dynasty of cardmakers originated in Bayonne (Basque Country region of southwest France) in the late 17th century and certain members were also active in San Sebastián & Pamplona (Northern Spain) during the 18th century. These included J.M. Varangot (b.1708) and Pierre (Pedro) Varangot (1718 - c.1786) who had settled in Pamplona.

Woodpecker Press is believed to have started up in 1987 as a spin-off from the closure of Astra Games.

Luis Marchand was a French card maker and several packs are known, the earliest being a Cadiz pattern dated 1812 in the WCMPC Collection : L Marchand, Cadiz, 1812 ►

Andersons of Edinburgh began publishing playing cards in the late 1920s and several brands are known, including ‘Clan Tartan’, ‘Masquerade’ and ‘Thistle’

Coimexpor Spanish-suited playing cards by Industria Gráfica Pesout, S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina, c.2008.