Norwood 85

[Watson7]

Tom Dawson invited me to join the party so this is my first post. After consultation with Tom, he thought that my choice of topic would be of interest not withstanding the fact that I have written about it at least twice in the pages of the 52 Plus Joker News Letter, Clear the Decks, the last time being about six years ago. However, since this forum reaches those who may not be members of 52 Plus Joker, this post may, hopefully, be well received. With those non members chiefly in mind, I will begin.
The Norwood 85 deck was produced by the United States Playing Card Company c.1919 and is described in the Hochman Encyclopedia as being one of the most beautiful decks produced by that company. For reasons that years of research have failed to discover, the deck was never released for general sale and as far as I have been able to ascertain there are less than a dozen copies known to exist. One copy, of course is held by the United States Playing Card Company. There is also one copy each in the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale University, The New York Historical Society and the library of Columbia University in New York City. The few remaining copies are in the hands of collectors. There are two very puzzling things about the rarity of the deck. First is the fact that it is known to exist with two different back designs. Second, among the known copies of the deck, some are gold edged and some are not. That would seem to be odd state of affairs for a deck that was never released for general sale. In fact, the deck has never been found in its own identifiable box. The copies of the deck that I have been able to locate have been found either without a box at all or found in a nameless generic box. There is one exception. One deck exists in a box designed for the Bijou No.1 deck and that adds further interest to the matter because both the Norwood 85 deck and the Bijou No.1 deck have the same unusual pip card format. The two back designs were taken from famous works of art. All but one of the copies that I have been able to document have a back design from a painting named "The Storm" shown here. The remaining copy has a back design taken from a painting variously known as "Cupid and Psyche" or "Armor and Psyche". That particular copy is the one in the Columbia University library.

[jwats01]

This is very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

I am more intrigued by playing cards every single day.

It's funny, as a kid, I could care less about history. Of anything. Perhaps it was the way it was presented to me? I don't know. As an adult, I'm fascinated by the history of many things.

[Don Boyer]

That is an exceptionally attractive pack of cards.  I think I've seen it once before - not in person, of course!  I've probably seen photos of your deck somewhere - maybe at the World of Playing Cards website?

We're glad to have you aboard.  May I suggest that you create a new topic in the "Introduce Yourself" board?  It'll give the others (especially the non-52+J members) a chance to get to know you better.

[52plusjoker]

What a spectacular deck! The courts, we believe were printed in 12 colors, not the usual four. You can even discern the color of the eyes in the courts. Watson7 is an 'expert' on this deck and knows where all the copies are, where the paitings are that were the inspiration for the back designs, etc. Tomorrow, I will photograph something else that is relevant to the Norwood #85 and post it here.

[Daniel Wilson]

Your post prompted me to look through my old bookmarks.

There was a seller on Ruby Lane whose shop goes by the name of "Two For His Heels"
who had an incomplete copy of the Norwood 85 for sale (it was missing the two or three
of hearts, IIRC), which he claimed was the tenth extant copy of this deck.  Unfortunately,
it's no longer listed in his shop; one can only assume it must have been sold.

The item ID and description is all I can offer, since the page is no longer available:
T0000457, USPC “Norwood 85” Playing Cards (51/52 + J), “The Storm” Back Design (Pierre-Auguste Cot), c.1909
Internet Wayback Machine and Google archive are no help in retrieving the page.

Were you aware of this copy of the Norwood deck, and would it be worthwhile to try
to ask the seller what became of it?

[Watson7]

Yes,, I was aware of the existence of that Norwood deck. The exact number of copies that exist is a little uncertain because there is at lest one copy that has changed hands a couple of times so that it possibly gets counted more than once but I am of the opinion that ten or less known copies is about right, As I write this, I can only account for eight copies: one each with the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale University, the Library at Columbia University, The New York Historical Society, the United States Playing Card company and three in the hands of individual collectors.

[52plusjoker]

My recollection is that USPC has three incomplete, and no complete, copies. There are likely more than three in private hands, maybe 5 or 6, but overall the number of complete Norwood decks in excellent or better condition probably is five or less. What does Judy think?

[athomas16]

Fascinating

[HeartQ]

I am sure it wouldn't hurt to try to find out about the Norwood deck but bear in mind it has always been difficult to assess the value of an incomplete deck. Here are my thoughts on a very rare non-standard deck; without its special joker but mint, reduce by 1/4 to 1/2 of the value; same deck missing a pip card only, 1/8; a court card 1/4 - 1/2. Condition is tougher. Slightly used, reduce by 1/4-1/8. Very good with no faults probably reduce 1/3. After that its your call!

USPC has one complete Norwood deck (without a box(?))  When we last assessed their collection we were able to put together a complete matching one. They have two more partials, each with a different back design.

[52plusjoker]

As always her memory is better than mine. She and the curator, Ron Decker, went through three partials to make a full deck which matched well.

[Mike Ratledge]

I have to assume that "Norwood" is in some way a reference to the part of Cincinnati that the old USPCC factory was located?  Interesting, I've seen these pix somewhere before.  (maybe in my Hochman's Encyclopedia?)

[52plusjoker]

I have to assume that "Norwood" is in some way a reference to the part of Cincinnati that the old USPCC factory was located?  Interesting, I've seen these pix somewhere before.  (maybe in my Hochman's Encyclopedia?)

Right on Mike - the factory for about 100 years was in Norwood, a suburb of Cinncinati.

The poster of these pics has the deck, as well as a longtime fascination with the deck.

[Herb]

Geez---Now I'll know what to look for at the garage sales. What a stunning deck. Thanks for the post.

[52plusjoker]

You never, never know what you'll find where!!!!!