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Cryptocard27 · « **on:** September 23, 2015, 11:52:55 PM »

How about antique cabinets to store and display your playing card collection in beautiful drawers and window displays? Some time ago, I won an antique Apollo #33 deck made by the National playing Card Co. This blue copy is "sealed" with a tax stamp intact and protected in advertising leather box, initially addressed to "J. D. Warren Mfg Co", Chicago USA.

With a bit of research, I found some information and "J. D. Warren Mfg Company" was in the manufacture of Hardware store equipments, oak cabinets, boxes, cases, drawers, etc., in Chicago, in the early 1900s. When I received the Apollo deck, I considered it very nice already, but by seeing some of the products made by J. D. Warren, I also discovered a very interesting company with fabulous items that could even be useful to store a playing card collection (with sufficient place

) !!

I attached some pictures of the deck and the company below.
Crypto

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #1 on:** September 23, 2015, 11:57:33 PM »

Some additional pictures of Warren cabinets

Don Boyer · « **Reply #2 on:** September 24, 2015, 12:01:39 AM »

I've seen some of the collections of Bill Kalush and Tom Dawson - both make excellent use of vintage display cases and storage cabinets to house some of their decks. Not being in a position to afford them (and not wanting to deal with transporting the added weight when I move!), I use modern plastic drawer units from Staples that are interchangeable and stackable.

The drawers are semi-transparent plastic, allowing me to show off a few of the decks inside - they have a capacity of 45 decks per drawer in a single layer for the thinner drawers. The "duplex" drawers are considerably more spacious, almost to the point of being inconvenient when storing decks because they're so deep. They're capable of the same 45 decks-per-layer capacity, but can hold perhaps three or four layers!

BTW: that's excellent condition for a 110-year-old deck!

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #3 on:** September 24, 2015, 09:22:17 AM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on September 24, 2015, 12:01:39 AM

I've seen some of the collections of Bill Kalush and Tom Dawson - both make excellent use of vintage display cases and storage cabinets to house some of their decks. Not being in a position to afford them (and not wanting to deal with transporting the added weight when I move!), I use modern plastic drawer units from Staples that are interchangeable and stackable.

The drawers are semi-transparent plastic, allowing me to show off a few of the decks inside - they have a capacity of 45 decks per drawer in a single layer for the thinner drawers. The "duplex" drawers are considerably more spacious, almost to the point of being inconvenient when storing decks because they're so deep. They're capable of the same 45 decks-per-layer capacity, but can hold perhaps three or four layers!

BTW: that's excellent condition for a 110-year-old deck!

I am in the same situation as you for the storage but I have seen a cabinet of Tom on some pictures and this touch of antique to store the cards stimulate the desire to possess this type of furniture. However it need a lot of space and for the moment, I simply put my collection in a small glazed cabinet with three shelves and in some other boxes for the decks without significant value. Could you put a photo of your storage boxes?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #4 on:** September 25, 2015, 05:56:14 AM »

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on September 24, 2015, 09:22:17 AM

Could you put a photo of your storage boxes?

Sure. They're on sale at Staples, a national office supply chain store. Their stackability makes them very versatile. They come with wheels on casters, but I don't recommend them if you're storing cards - the weight will only break them off at the anchor post holes.

The large white boxes are known in the trading card hobby as "Super Monster Boxes." Ultra-Pro is the industry leader in making protective storage equipment for sports and gaming cards. One such box would hold 5,000 baseball cards - in my case, they hold 125 decks each.

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2015, 03:19:33 AM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on September 25, 2015, 05:56:14 AM

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on September 24, 2015, 09:22:17 AM

Could you put a photo of your storage boxes?

Sure. They're on sale at Staples, a national office supply chain store. Their stackability makes them very versatile. They come with wheels on casters, but I don't recommend then if you're storing cards - the weight will only break them off at the anchor post holes.

The large white boxes are known in the trading card hobby as "Super Monster Boxes." Ultra-Pro is the industry leader in making protective storage equipment for sports and gaming cards. One such box would hold 5,000 baseball cards - in my case, they hold 125 decks each.

Thank you for the photos Don, it's very cool!! The "Super Monster Boxes" are very interesting. I don't have enough decks in my collection for the moment to buy it but it will be maybe a future purchase. You must have a lot of decks to have many boxes, right?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #6 on:** September 27, 2015, 07:03:09 AM »

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on September 27, 2015, 03:19:33 AM

Thank you for the photos Don, it's very cool!! The "Super Monster Boxes" are very interesting. I don't have enough decks in my collection for the moment to buy it but it will be maybe a future purchase. You must have a lot of decks to have many boxes, right?

The drawers idea is actually from Kevin Reylek - he uses the same ones to house his collection.

At present, including decks I'm holding to give away at the hospital, I have around 2,000 decks. My own collection is around 1,700 or so, in about 700+ different designs including color variations.

Pip Nosher · « **Reply #7 on:** October 22, 2015, 01:00:04 PM »

Antique cabinets are great, at least for the best display items. Here's a terrific one I found. I'm not sure what it was originally built for, but it's perfect for two rows of playing cards.

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 22, 2015, 03:10:53 PM »

It is just fabulous Joseph! I love the display of your decks.. Do you know the name of the maufacturer?

Many thanks for these photos

Pip Nosher · « **Reply #9 on:** October 22, 2015, 05:21:51 PM »

Thanks, Max! No, unfortunately there is no manufacturer's information on the case.

CBJ · « **Reply #10 on:** October 22, 2015, 07:04:32 PM »

Quote from: Pip Nosher on October 22, 2015, 01:00:04 PM

Antique cabinets are great, at least for the best display items. Here's a terrific one I found. I'm not sure what it was originally built for, but it's perfect for two rows of playing cards.

Sweet Jesus!! I love the Bicycle decks in your collection!

I've slowly started building my vintage collection, but I'm very VERY jealous of yours

If you ever decide to sell... please contact me

Jay

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 22, 2015, 08:18:20 PM »

Do you think you can just post a last photo of your cabinet (like the n°2) with the two last shelves at the bottom please? I would really love to see the rest of the decks in your cabinet more closely if possible. Thank you Joseph

Don Boyer · « **Reply #12 on:** October 22, 2015, 08:59:23 PM »

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on October 22, 2015, 03:10:53 PM

It is just fabulous Joseph! I love the display of your decks.. Do you know the name of the maufacturer?

The really old cabinets of high-quality manufacture were in some cases handmade. They're not something you'll find easily, even when perusing antique shops - they're highly sought-after and tend to sell quickly and at high price.

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 22, 2015, 09:19:14 PM »

Quote from: Don Boyer on October 22, 2015, 08:59:23 PM

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on October 22, 2015, 03:10:53 PM

It is just fabulous Joseph! I love the display of your decks.. Do you know the name of the maufacturer?

The really old cabinets of high-quality manufacture were in some cases handmade. They're not something you'll find easily, even when perusing antique shops - they're highly sought-after and tend to sell quickly and at high price.

It's not so much that I wanted to buy this cabinet but I was looking for other models by having the name of the manufacturer. When I saw his display, I really wanted to see other articles by this maker for the viewing pleasure, but if it's a unique handmade piece, sure, it will be difficult..

Don Boyer · « **Reply #14 on:** October 22, 2015, 09:24:08 PM »

Quote from: Cryptocard27 on October 22, 2015, 09:19:14 PM

It's not so much that I wanted to buy this cabinet but I was looking for other models by having the name of the manufacturer. When I saw his display, I really wanted to see other articles by this maker for the viewing pleasure, but if it's a unique handmade piece, sure, it will be difficult..

It might be easier to find a modern craftsman who'll custom-make one for you. You can add features like custom-sized shelving and museum-grade glass or acrylic designed to filter out harmful UV light. There seems to be a bit of a resurgence in well-made, hand-crafted modern goods.

Pip Nosher · « **Reply #15 on:** October 26, 2015, 08:54:12 AM »

Having custom cabinets made is a great idea. A playing card collection is an investment, and features such as UV glass and acid-free shelves are a wise choice. I have another old wooden cabinet that stores the decks I don't display and I put acid-free blotter paper in each drawer so the cards have some protection from the wood and old paint.

Here is a photo of the lower shelves of my display cabinet... Note that a number of the boxes were home made by me, including the gold edge one in the top row center, the brown one right below it, the green one to the left below that, etc. Lots of great decks come without boxes!

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #16 on:** October 28, 2015, 04:49:44 PM »

Quote from: Pip Nosher on October 26, 2015, 08:54:12 AM

Having custom cabinets made is a great idea. A playing card collection is an investment, and features such as UV glass and acid-free shelves are a wise choice. I have another old wooden cabinet that stores the decks I don't display and I put acid-free blotter paper in each drawer so the cards have some protection from the wood and old paint.

Here is a photo of the lower shelves of my display cabinet... Note that a number of the boxes were home made by me, including the gold edge one in the top row center, the brown one right below it, the green one to the left below that, etc. Lots of great decks come without boxes!

Thank you for this additional photo Joseph. It is exciting and very beautiful to see. Your work with the boxes is truly remarkable! How much time it takes to create one box?

Pip Nosher · « **Reply #17 on:** October 29, 2015, 09:23:03 PM »

The box designs took some time. Now that they are done, it's just a matter of choosing the right color, changing the descriptions of the cards and printing the boxes on matt finish heavyweight paper, which is not quite as thick as an actual tuck box. Then I cut and glue. The gold boxes were printed on a LaserJet with gold foil. The background color is printed first, then the graphics are printed in black, then the foil adheres to the black.

Cryptocard27 · « **Reply #18 on:** October 30, 2015, 06:10:28 PM »

Quote from: Pip Nosher on October 29, 2015, 09:23:03 PM

The box designs took some time. Now that they are done, it's just a matter of choosing the right color, changing the descriptions of the cards and printing the boxes on matt finish heavyweight paper, which is not quite as thick as an actual tuck box. Then I cut and glue. The gold boxes were printed on a LaserJet with gold foil. The background color is printed first, then the graphics are printed in black, then the foil adheres to the black.

This is a fantastic work! Do you make these boxes exclusively for your private decks or could you consider selling some non-Bicycle boxes for other collectors?

Don Boyer · « **Reply #19 on:** October 30, 2015, 11:39:40 PM »

Quote from: Pip Nosher on October 29, 2015, 09:23:03 PM

The box designs took some time. Now that they are done, it's just a matter of choosing the right color, changing the descriptions of the cards and printing the boxes on matt finish heavyweight paper, which is not quite as thick as an actual tuck box. Then I cut and glue. The gold boxes were printed on a LaserJet with gold foil. The background color is printed first, then the graphics are printed in black, then the foil adheres to the black.

Some collectors on the forum and in the club would pay you for work of that caliber. How much would remain to be seen.