Excelsior
Excelsior by A. Dougherty, c.1870.
Excelsior brand by A. Dougherty, 26 Beekman St, New York, c.1870.
This is a difficult deck to date. The shaded ace of spades is early. The Dougherty card-manufactory was moved to 26 Beekman Street in c.1858. The courts also appears to be early but the round corners should be later.
Above: Excelsior brand by A. Dougherty, 26 Beekman St, New York, c.1870. Images courtesy Gene Barry.
REFERENCES
Dawson, Tom & Judy: The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards, U.S. Games Systems Inc., 2000
By Simon Wintle
Spain • Member since February 01, 1996
I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.
Activity for Excelsior
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Paper Empires by Jason McKinstry
A review of Jason McKinstry’s Paper Empires, Volume I, an illustrated study of early American...
Great Mogul Playing Cards
The origins of the 'Great Mogul' brand playing cards.
Shuffle Along With History
A brief chronological note linking the introduction of familiar American decks (1848–1908) with cont...
A. Dougherty’s Triplicate Recreation
A recreated of the original 1876, No. 18, Triplicate deck by A. Dougherty by Michael Scott in 2014. ...
Corner Indices
Corner Indices were a major innovation in playing card production.
42: Andrew Dougherty
Andrew Dougherty was one of the biggest American card-makers in the 19th century
Army & Navy
Andrew Dougherty’s Army & Navy deck from the Civil War era, c.1865.
Union Playing Card Co.
Not much is known about this early manufacturer who is reckoned to have traded between c.1860s-1890s...
Tally-Ho
The earliest Ace of Spades had the Centre Street address and the Jolly Joker was used until the “Tal...
Indicator No.50
No.50 appears at the bottom of the Ace of Spades and the cards have corner indices and miniature sui...
Triplicate No.18
Dougherty first secured a patent for “Triplicates” in 1876, a novel type of indices with a miniature...
Andrew Dougherty c.1850
The idiosyncratic courts used in this deck were used by several other U.S. manufacturers, including ...
Ivorette
Dougherty was at the forefront of innovation, adding Best Bowers and then Jokers, rounded corners an...
Cruiser Playing Cards
Dougherty's ‘Cruiser No.96’, first published c.1897, was dedicated to the U.S. Navy..
13: Some North American Cards
I deal with some of the US makers in more detail on other pages, but here is a brief introduction.
Bertrand Domec page 6
Playing Cards imported into Argentina by Casa Bertrand Domec de Fagoaga y Fernández (Sucesores) Bs. ...
Illuminated Playing Cards, c.1865
Facsimile edition of Andrew Dougherty's Illuminated deck, c.1865, published by U.S. Games Systems, I...
Andrew Dougherty 1848-1930
Andrew Dougherty was born in Donegal in Northern Ireland in 1827. He started his playing card busine...
Squeezers No.35
By 1877 the New York Consolidated Card Co's "Squeezers" were a great success on account of the indic...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
