New Discovery - Broadway Card Co.

[tobyedwards]

I thought I would advise the antique playing card collectors who frequent this website about a previously unknown and unlisted card company as evidenced by two of the four photographs below, namely, Broadway Card Co. The first photo shows one of the panels from the original box for what appears to be their Pinochle # 100 brand. The second photo shows one of the panels from the original box for The Standard Playing Card Co.'s Pinochle # 904 1/2 brand. I find the highly detailed artwork here to be quite beautiful. The third photo shows the two Aces of Spades for comparison, with the early SPCC Ace of Spades being the same as the SU1 listing in the Hochman encyclopedia. What interested me about this "new" company is indicated in the fourth photo which shows the same wonderful Indian chief back design for each brand in a different color. As a result of this similarity, I believe that Broadway Card Co. is actually an offshoot of The Standard Playing Card Co. of Chicago, circa 1890, but I do not know the reason why it was created or what purpose it may have served.

[Dufus]

I have seen a few of these decks floating around, however I do not know much about them either.  All the ones I have seen are 9 spot low decks.  Also, the observant card handler will notice the backs are not mirrored reflections but different...easily spotted in the border art and very similar (if not identical) to SPCC as tobyedwards has pointed out.