NY Consolidated Bee Deck Question

[publius]

I just purchased this deck for a song, and I can't seem to find out much about it. Older Bee decks I've seen say "Standard" and "Made in the USA" on the front of the tuck - this one says "The NY Consolidated Card Co" - can someone tell me what they know about this? Thanks!

[andrew daugherty]

USPC still used the NYCC name on this deck of Bees, as it did on many NYCC brands decades after it purchased the company. Same goes for use of the Russell and Dougherty names through the middle of the twentieth century. USPC was slow to revise the well-known tuck box and other logo designs as it acquired those other companies' brands that had strong identity and equity with customers. You may see NYCC on the ace of spades and perhaps the jokers.  Other Bee decks have Consolidated Dougherty on the aces and jokers. Tax stamp with the CDC overprint for Colsolidated Dougherty puts this deck in the late 40s-1965 range. What is the date code on the ace of spades?

The inside of the tuck box should be brown cardboard and not slick, white paper stock. The cards, when new, may have been wrapped in a glassine wrapper and sealed with an embossed, gold or purple and white paper company seal.

Good eyes on the subtle difference on the front of the tuck box.  Bees of this vintage are pretty common to find, although not always in decent condition. People played with their Bees until they often were worn out. They were durable and considered a reliable, utilitarian kind of deck, much as we treat Bicycle rider backs today. They cost a bit more than other wide standard decks. Bees were a premium brand then as now. Design differences on the decks from then to today would be subtle, with use of the modern design (1960s-) face cards today and the updating of the name and address on the famous jokers. 

Chris Turner
52 Plus Joker member
AKA Andrew

[skinny]

Here's how I understand some of the differences in what is a long-running and little-changed tuck box. Corrections and additions strongly encouraged.

The bottom of your tuck probably shows "Bee" Cambric Finish. On the front, below the words Reg US Pat Off, there's a moustache-shaped area with no text in it. Your guarantee card (if you have one) is likely to have Consolidated-Dougherty with a Cincinnati 12 address.

On slightly older decks than yours (but still in the 1940+ tax stamp era), the bottom of the tuck omits the word Bee and the moustache-shape shows Made in USA. The guarantee card shows Consolidated-Dougherty, but with a New York address.

On newer decks than yours, they removed the NYCCCo reference on the front of the box, the word Standard (or Bridge Size) took its place and the Made in USA made it back into the moustache area. The bottom still says "Bee" Cambric Finish. The guarantee card finally shows USPCCo. These decks (with and without barcodes) didn't change until they finally switched from  one-color tuck printing.

[publius]

Wow great info - thanks for the replies guys.

[Don Boyer]

Don't forget the biggest change.  In 1992, to celebrate the brand's 100th anniversary, they redesigned the box to have a color design instead of a monochrome design.  The only "new" decks I see with the monochrome box these days are Chinese-made Bee counterfeits.