Eldar by Memco

Advertising deck by Middle East Manufacturing Co., Beirut

Promotional deck produced to advertise the products of the ‘Eldar’ upholstery fabrics store produced by the Middle East Manufacturing Co (MEMCO) of Beirut, Lebanon, c.1960. The vibrant cards have French indices and a mixture of French and English texts on the box and extra cards.

Above: ‘Eldar’ upholstery fabrics advertising deck produced (probably imported) by Middle East Manufacturing Co (MEMCO) of Beirut, Lebanon, c.1960. The legend “Memco Beirut Lebanon” is printed on the three hearts court cards and on the extra joker, which also shows a photo of the head office. The Alibaba joker holds a fan of four aces. The customs duty stamp on the ace of clubs, which is barely visible, has an inscription around a cedar tree. Images courtesy Matt Probert.

By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

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I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.