Naipes ‘El Leon’ 1897
Naipes ‘El Leon’ manufactured by Federico Hidalgo (Barcelona, 1897-1899).
Cadiz pattern pack published by, or for, Federico Hidalgo (Barcelona, 1897-1899), including exhibition medals, legends and the well-known 'El Leon' trade mark. The ace of coins shows a trade mark lion with two hemispheres and a sun which had been registered by Jaime García Fossas in 1894, so the pack was probably printed at his factory *. The cards are preserved inside a leather pouch with the legend ‘Atlanta’, suggesting the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition whose goals were to foster trade between southern states and South American nations as well as to show the products and facilities of the region to the rest of the nation and to Europe.
* Victor Ferro comments: "García Fossas was a business owner. His brother-in-law Alejo Gabarró ran the factory (Alejo Gabarró was married to Mª Teresa García Fossas, Jaime's sister). I don't think that the Fábrica León or the Fábrica Sol (see below), located on the same street and number, was really a factory, but rather a warehouse, despite the bombastic announcement".
The demand in Spanish-speaking and ex-colonial countries for such cards, for use in casinos and at home, was attractive not only to Spanish manufacturers, but also to Belgian, French and American makers who regularly produced cards for the Philippines, North Africa and Latin & South American nations where there was no playing card manufacturing industry.
By Alberto Pérez González
Member since December 21, 2016
I am a researcher and my primary interest lies in playing cards manufactured in Cádiz (not the 'Cádiz' type in general). I have authored several articles in the annual Asescoin magazine 'La Sota'. Among them are: “Madrid’s Playing Cards from the 17th to the 20th Century”; “New Contributions to the Study of Playing Cards in the Valencian Country”; “The Fouquets: 'Navarra pattern' in the Netherlands”; “Divided Playing Cards: Combining Ingenuity with Skill”; “Here Be Dragons: Speculations on the Evolution of the so-called 'Portuguese' Pattern”; “Playing Cards in Chile: News and Chronicles from the Viceroyalty Era”...
I have written and designed the book “Los Naipes de Cádiz” (296 pp). Additionally, I have contributed to the design, layout, and collaboration in Enrique García Martín’s book “Naipes, Arte y Fantasía” (444 pp).
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