Cía General de Fósforos Montevideana
The design of these Spanish-suited cards is the same Spanish Catalan style as used by their sister company in Argentina, Cía General de Fósforos, S.A.
Cía General de Fósforos Montevideana S.A.
Founded 1893


Above & Left: 4 cards from 'Victoria' playing cards manufactured in Uruguay by Compañía General de Fósforos Montevideana, c.1955. The company monogram is visible on the lower half of the ace of hearts, whilst the 0.25 cents tax stamp can be seen in the upper half of the same card. A gaucho themed pack was also produced with this brand name.
Below & Right: 3 cards and the reverse from a 40-card Spanish-suited pack manufactured by Compañía General de Fósforos Montevideana for Supermercados CHIP, c.1979. The company logo, visible on the four of cups, has changed to a flame.


Compañia General de Fósforos Montevideana also produced Naipes 'ANCLA' with the same designs. The company's playing card production was succeeded in the late 1980s by Ingrapa S.A. The design of these Spanish-suited cards is the same Spanish Catalan style as used by their sister company in Argentina, Cía General de Fósforos, S.A.

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
View ArticlesCurator 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.