Torys Western Cards
Promotional pack for a brand of Japanese whisky, featuring comic Wild West characters.
Torys is a brand of “extra whisky” blended and bottled by Suntory Limited. To promote it, Suntory employed Ryohei Yanagihara to create a series of comic portraits of characters from the American Wild West. These include Jesse James, Calamity Jane, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, and Billy the Kid. Davy Crockett and Geronimo appear on the Jokers. A different background colour has been used for each of the court cards and Jokers. There are small, additional touches on the Aces and some of the pip cards. An advert for Torys whisky is featured on the reverse.
Above: Torys Western Cards made by Nintendo PC Co. Ltd, Kyoto, Japan, 1967, for Suntory Limited. 52 cards + 2 Jokers in plastic box, in cardboard sleeve. Size: 71 x 95 mm. The illustration on the sleeve is simply a copy of the back design.
“Presumably the Japanese consider the Americans of the Wild West to be the greatest ever drinkers of whisky (or should I say "whiskey", since the Japanese shouldn't really spell it the Scottish way!)” - RS.
By Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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