bicycle playing cards - vintage back designs

7/22/2019 Bicycle Playing Cards - Vintage Back Designs

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Vintage Back Designs of Bicycle Playing Cards

Bicycle playing cards are probably the most recognizable brand of playing cards in the world. Although the average person probably associates Bicycle brand playing cards with the famous"Rider Back " design, the United States Playing Card Company , or "USPCC" (which produces theBicycle brand ) actually produced over 80 different back designs with the "Bicycle" name over thefirst few decades of the brand's existence. The Rider Back design is obviously the most familiar,having been in constant production since 1887. But this was actually the second design to carry the "Bicycle" name; the first was the Old Fan back design, which was first produced in 1885 (andrecently revived to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Bicycle brand).

Bicycle playing cards were originally produced in red, blue, green, and brown, but the green andbrown decks were discontinued in 1927.

The reader may observe that many of the designs were revised one or more times and thus appearin multiple variants (e.g. Racer Back No. 1, Racer Back No. 2 ). This usually happened for one of two key reasons. First, many of the earliest designs were "one-way" backs, i.e. the backs wereasymmetrical. For instance, several different backs contain a three-pronged wing in the middle of the card that can be oriented in 2 different ways. In the early 1900's, most of these were revisedto a four-pronged wing design to render the backs symmetrical. (The one notable exception isthe League back, which was first printed in 1893 and is the only back to retain a three-pronged

wing. It also appears that this back has never gone out of production, and is still a favoriteamong magicians because of its asymmetry.) Second, the USPCC tried to keep up with the times,so it periodically updated the decks to reflect newer designs in bicycles, automobiles, andmotorcycles.

Indeed, it was the attempt to be trendy that launched the Bicycle line in the first place. According to company lore, in the early 1880's, cycling — on unicycles, bicycles, and tricycles — was taking the country by storm. It was also around this time that Russell & Morgan, the forerunners of theUnited States Playing Card Company, decided to produce a new line of cards and askedemployees to suggest an attractive name for the new product. In light of the cycling craze, aprinter, “Gus” Berens, offered the suggestion “Bicycle.” His idea was enthusiastically accepted,and the company has been producing the Bicycle brand of cards ever since.




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In the past decade, the USPCC has begun to capitalize on the Bicycle brand's rich history, issuing a commemorative " Vintage Design Series" in 2006 and a more limited "Heritage Design Series"in 2010 and 2011, each of which featured re-printings of a number of the old back designs. TheBicycle brand has also been looking to the future in recent years, partnering with magiccompanies and other entities to produce a number of new designs. Most of these were designedby private artists and produced in fairly limited quantities, often as essentially private labelofferings for the magic companies (although still featuring the Bicycle brand name). The

company has also issued a few new Bicycle backs of its own design in recent years, perhaps mostnotably the Dragon back.

This project is focused on the historical Bicycle back designs from the first hundred years or so of Bicycle production, although I will include at the end a few of the more "modern" backs currently available.

DISCLAIMER : This project is presented for historical and educational purposes ONLY. It is in large part a collection of informationavailable elsewhere on the internet. No claim is made to original artwork produced by the United States Playing Card Company or its

predecessors, nor to any photographs thereof, which belong to their respective copyright holders.




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Table of Contents

Vintage Backs

1. Acorn

2. All Wheel

3. Angel

4. Arizona Plaid

5. Auto No. 1

6. Auto No. 2

7. Auto No. 3

8. Autobike No. 1

9. Autobike No. 2

10. Autobike No. 3

11. Autocycle No. 1

12. Autocycle No. 2

13. Automobile No. 1


15. Big Gun

16. Bird

17. Chain

18. Chainless

19. Club

20. Colorado Plaid

21. Cupid

22. Cyclist No. 1

23. Cyclist No. 2

24. Cyclecar

25. Diamond Plaid

26. Dreadnaught




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27. Eagle

28. Emblem

29. Expert

30. Flying Aces

31. Handlebar

32. Invincible

33. Lantern No. 1

34. Lantern No. 2

35. Leaf

36. League

37. Lotus

38. Margin Snowflake

39. Margin Star No. 1



42. Margin Tri-Plaid

43. Mobile No. 1

44. Mobile No. 2

45. Mobile No. 3

46. Model No. 1

47. Model No. 2

48. Motor No. 1

49. Motor No. 2

50. Motorcar

51. Motorcycle No. 1


53. Motorette No. 1

54. Motorette No. 2

55. Nautic

56. New Fan




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57. Old Fan

58. Pedal

59. Pneumatic No. 1

60. Pneumatic No. 2

61. Racer No. 1

62. Racer No. 2

63. Rider

64. Saddle

65. Safety

66. Snowflake

67. Sprocket No. 1

68. Sprocket No. 2

69. Stag

70. Star Plaid No. 1


72. Tangent No. 1

73. Tangent No. 2

74. Thistle

75. Tri Plaid

76. Tri-Tire No. 1

77. Tri-Tire No. 2

78. Twig

79. Western Plaid

80. Wheel No. 1

81. Wheel No. 2

82. Oak Leaf

Selected Modern Backs

1. Holiday

2. Santa

3. Guardians




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4. 2008 Election Edition

5. Limited Edition #1


7. Prestige

8. Mandolin

9. Dragon

10. Stick Man

Miscellaneous

References and Resources:




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Vintage Backs

1. Acorn

1891-1943(Red, blue, green, and brown.)




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2. All Wheel

Introduced in 1907 (Red and blue.)

3. Angel




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Introduced in 1893, this is a scarce deck in any color. It is one of a few with no bicycles or bicycleparts featured in the design. (Red, blue, green, and brown.)

4. Arizona Plaid

Introduced in 1906 (red/green, blue/brown)




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5. Auto No. 1

Introduced in 1901. Initially called "Locomobile." (Red, blue, green, and brown.)

6. Auto No. 2





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7. Auto No. 3


8. Autobike No. 1

Introduced in 1902 (red and blue)




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9. Autobike No. 2

Introduced in 1906 (red and blue). There is apparently some debate over whether this back wasactually ever printed.

10. Autobike No. 3

1907-1917 (red and blue)




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11. Autocycle No. 1

1901-1906 (Red, blue, green, and brown.)

12. Autocycle No. 2





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Introduced in 1913. Discontinued in 1935. (red and blue)




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15. Big Gun

Introduced in 1918. (Also re-released in a limited run in 2010; supposedly, there are plans tore-release the other three World War I back designs in the future.)

This is one of the four extremely rare World War I back designs. They were only issued for one

year and few complete decks are known to exist today. The other three designs are Dreadnaught,Flying Ace, and Invincible. (Images are of the 2010 reprints.)




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16. Bird

Introduced prior to 1891, likely discontinued within a year or two of its release. A very rare deck.(Red and blue.)




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17. Chain

Introduced in 1908. Discontinued in 1910. This is a very rare deck, and one of three figuraltwo-tone designs that appear to have been released solely in the United Kingdom. The other twoare Handlebar and Saddle. (Red/green plaid and blue/brown plaid.)

18. Chainless

Introduced in 1899. Discontinued in 1917. (Red and blue) Also reproduced as part of the "Bicycle Heritage Design Series" in 2010.




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19. Club

Introduced in 1917. Discontinued in 1969. A long run for this design, but it must not have been very popular because you don't see too many Club decks around. (Red and blue.)




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20. Colorado Plaid

Introduced in 1906. Discontinued in 1911. A very rare deck. (Red/green and blue/brown)

21. Cupid

1894-1943 (Red, blue, green, and brown.)Reprinted in 2006 as part of the " Vintage Design Series." Also reproduced c. 2010 in a limitedcustom run with gold trim by the ebay seller ace-king-1 (aka John Aragi) and featuring the vintageCupid Back design in gold on red/blue. Also reprinted as part of the 2011 edition of the"Heritage Design Series."




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22. Cyclist No. 1

Introduced in 1898. (Red and blue.)




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23. Cyclist No. 2

Introduced in 1908 (Red and blue.) This is one of the decks that was likely made for export only. Hard to find in any condition.




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24. Cyclecar

1914 (Red and blue)

25. Diamond Plaid

1906 (Red and blue).

26. Dreadnaught




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Introduced in 1918. (Red and blue.) This is one of the four extremely rare World War I back designs. They were only issued for one year and few complete decks are known to exist today.

The other three designs are Big Gun, Flying Ace, and Invincible.

27. Eagle

Introduced in 1928. (Red and blue)




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28. Emblem

Introduced in 1892. (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Also reprinted as part of the 2011 edition ofthe "Heritage Design Series."

29.

ExpertIntroduced in 1895. (Red and blue.) Similar to (and sometimes mistaken for) Old Fan Back.Indeed, on the 2010 release of the "Heritage Design Series" deck, USPCC itself misidentified onthe package the Old Fan back as the Expert back.




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30. Flying Aces

Introduced in 1918. This is one of the four extremely rare World War I back designs. They wereonly issued for one year and few complete decks are known to exist today. The other threedesigns are Dreadnaught, Big Gun, and Invincible.




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31. Handlebar

Introduced in 1908. Discontinued in 1910. This is a very rare deck, and one of three figuraltwo-tone designs that appear to have been released solely in the United Kingdom. The other twoare Chain and Saddle. (Red/green and blue/brown)

32. Invincible

Introduced in 1918. This is one of the four extremely rare World War I back designs. They wereonly issued for one year and few complete decks are known to exist today. The other threedesigns are Big Gun, Dreadnaught, and Flying Ace. (Red and blue.)




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33. Lantern No. 1





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34. Lantern No. 2


35. Leaf

Introduced in 1947. This is one of a handful of decks sold under the Bicycle brand name that actually didn't depictanything even remotely resembling a bicycle on it. Another obvious one was the "Stag " back.




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36. League

Introduced in 1893. (Also reprinted on the "Rummy" decks produced in the early 2000's.)Still being printed, although typically hard to find outside of a magic shop or specialty supplier.Unclear if they have been in continuous production since 1893 or whether they are only printedperiodically."These cards are sometimes referred to as Annemann long-distance readers. Presumably this is

because the backs are one-ways. As you've probably noticed, the three-pronged wing in themiddle of the card can be oriented in 2 different ways. This deck was first printed in 1893 and isthe only back to retain a three-pronged wing. Other Bicycle brands that had three-pronged wing symbols changed over to a symmetrical four-pronged symbol in the early 1900s."




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37. Lotus

Introduced in 1891. (Red, blue, green, and brown.)One of the earliest Bicycle backs to have nothing remotely related to bicycles on it. Another back that came out the same year with no bicycles or bicycle parts depicted is the Bird back.




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38. Margin Snowflake



Introduced in 1893. (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Appears to have been the design used onthe "Marlboro Texan No. 45 Poker Cards" produced in the 1980's as advertising decks forMarlboro.




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42. Margin Tri-Plaid


43. Mobile No. 1





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44. Mobile No. 2


45. Mobile No. 3





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46. Model No. 1

Introduced in 1895. (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Also reprinted as part of the 2011 edition ofthe "Heritage Design Series."




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47. Model No. 2

Introduced in 1907. (Red and blue.) Also used on "Euchre" decks in early 2000's, which referred to this back design as the "MountainBike" back.




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48. Motor No. 1


49. Motor No. 2





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50. Motorcar







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53.

Motorette No. 1Introduced in 1901. (Red and blue.)




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54. Motorette No. 2


55. Nautic




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Introduced in 1919. (Red, blue, green, and brown.)Some would say that Nautic should not be listed as having been issued in green and brown.

While that back design did come in those colors, they were not issued as Bicycle-branded decksand did not feature the distinctive Bicycle brand ace of spades and joker. Somewhat similar to themodern "Streamline" brand, acquired by USPCC when it bought the Arrco Playing CardCompany in the late 1980's and which it still sells today.

56. New Fan

Introduced in 1894. (Red and blue.) Produced into the 1980's, although I do not know if it




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production was continuous throughout that time. Reprinted in 2006 as part of the " VintageDesign Series" as #2. Also reprinted as part of the two-deck "Canasta" games series. And in2011, a limited run in black (5,000) and white (possibly only 1,000) was produced by magicianZennith Kok.

57. Old Fan

Introduced in 1885. Discontinued in either 1894 (Hochman) or 1943 ( see USPC Heritage Seriespackage). (Red, blue, green, and brown.)

The very first back to be produced under the "Bicycle" brand name (the second being themore familiar "Rider" back, in 1887). It was re-printed as part of the "125th Anniversary Edition"decks produced in 2010.




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58. Pedal

1899-1917. (Red and blue.) Also reproduced as part of the "Bicycle Heritage Design Series" in 2010.




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59. Pneumatic No. 1

1894-1908. (Red and blue.) Also reproduced as part of the "Bicycle Heritage Design Series" in 2010.




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60. Pneumatic No. 2


61. Racer No. 1

1895-1906 (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Reprinted as part of the " Vintage Design Series" as#1. Also reprinted in the early 2000's as part of the "games" series as Pinochle cards, with addedindices. Currently appears on the two-deck "Bicycle Euchre Set" games series.

What is commonly referred to by magicians as "Racers" is actually the Racer No. 2 back. It was very similar to the Racer No. 1 except for the wing symbol in the center of the card. On the No.1 it was a three-pronged symbol that made the deck an obvious one-way back. When the RacerNo. 2 came out in 1906 it had the four-pronged symbol shown here.




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62. Racer No. 2

Introduced in 1906 (Red, blue, green, and brown.) What is commonly referred to by magicians as "Racers" is actually the Racer No. 2 back. It was very similar to the Racer No. 1 except for the wing symbol in the center of the card. On the No. 1it was a three-pronged symbol that made the deck an obvious one-way back. When the Racer No.2 came out in 1906 it had the four-pronged symbol shown here. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 Racerbacks were originally available in red, blue, green and brown. Produced through at least 1949.




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63. Rider

1887-Present (Red, blue, green, and brown.) The back design is probably the most recognizable in the world, having been in constantproduction since 1887. They were originally produced in red, blue, green, and brown, but thegreen and brown decks were dropped in 1927. This was the second design produced under the"Bicycle" name, the first being the Old Fan backs produced in 1885.




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64. Saddle

Introduced in 1908. Discontinued in 1910. (Red/green, blue/brown.) This is a very rare deck, and one of three figural two-tone designs that appear to have beenreleased solely in the United Kingdom. The other two are Chain and Handlebar.




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65. Safety

1892-1943 (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Reprinted as part of the " Vintage Design Series" as #3. Also reprinted as part of the 2011 editionof the "Heritage Design Series."




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66. Snowflake


67. Sprocket No. 1




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68. Sprocket No. 2

Introduced in 1905. Discontinued in 1917. (Red and blue.)(There is also an extremely rare assymmetrical variant, purported to be an early design attempt

that was later replaced. Issued in 1904.)




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69. Stag

Introduced in 1927. (Red and blue.)Unclear why this back design was sold under the Bicycle brand name, since it actually didn'tdepict anything even remotely resembling a bicycle on it. Another obvious example is the "Leaf "back.




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72. Tangent No. 1


73. Tangent No. 2




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Introduced in 1907. Discontinued in 1939. (Red and blue.)First design to use the four-winged version of the American Wheelmen emblem.(Also reprinted as part of the " Vintage Design Series" as #7. Currently appears on the "BicycleRummy Set" two-deck game set.)

74. Thistle

Introduced in 1891. Discontinued in 1939. (Red and blue.) Features elves that were taken fromdesigns used by the New York Consolidated Company, which merged with The United StatesPlaying Card Company in 1894. (Also reprinted as part of the " Vintage Design Series" as #6)




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75. Tri Plaid


76. Tri-Tire No. 1




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77. Tri-Tire No. 2

1905-1927 (Red and blue.) Also reproduced as part of the "Bicycle Heritage Design Series" in 2010.




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78. Twig

Introduced in 1907. First called Coral in 1904. (Red and blue.)

79. Western Plaid





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80. Wheel No. 1

Introduced in 1887. (Red, blue, green, and brown.)

81. Wheel No. 2




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Introduced in 1907. (Red, blue, green, and brown.) Also reprinted as part of the games seriesas the "Solitaire" decks (the tuck-boxes of which refer to this design as the "High-Wheel" back).

This back design is virtually identical to the Wheel No. 1 except that the Wheel No. 1 had athree-pronged wing symbol. This was changed along with many of the other backs that containeda three-pronged symbol in or around 1907. The only three-pronged back to survive without thischange seems to be the League back.

82. Oak Leaf

This design is probably the rarest of all Bicycle decks -- so rare that it was not included in Mrs.Robinson's 1955 exhaustive catalogue of Bicycle cards. Only a couple of full decks are known toexist.




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.

Selected Modern Backs

As noted in the introduction, USPCC has been making a number of "custom" decks forcustomers in recent years under the Bicycle name. In many cases, these decks are designed by thecustomer or its independent artist, and these custom-run designs are owned by the customer, not

USPCC; USPCC is simply the manufacturer.

USPCC has also been offering a number of color variations on the Rider back (e.g. pastels,inverted color scheme, eco-"green" and breast cancer pink backs), sometimes also with minorchanges to the court cards or faces. I have not chosen to include any of those many color

variants on the basic rider back.

But in some cases, USPCC is still expanding the Bicycle offerings with its own designs (i.e.designs which it actually owns). Here is a selection of some of these more recent (relatively speaking) back designs.

1. Holiday

1994 (Red and green). A holiday twist on the traditional rider back. Even included a joker with abagful of goodies on his back. Came in a two-card set in a holiday tin.




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2. Santa

1995 (Red and green.) Another holiday twist on the traditional rider back. Came in a two-cardset in a holiday tin. Apparently much more rare than the Holiday back (above), because prices oneBay routinely exceed that back by a factor of 5 or more.




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3. Guardians

Introduced c. 2008. Designed by and produced in connection with magic supply housetheory11.com. However, it is included as part of the regular Bicycle catalog and sold in some retailstores. According to theory11.com, "This is what the classic Bicycle Angels look like onsteroids." Notably, on the tuck box, USPCC claims rights only in the Bicycle name and logos,and not any of the design elements of the deck.

4. 2008 Election Edition

For the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, USPCC released a three-deck series: "Democrat,""Republican," and "Independent," featuring a donkey, an elephant, and an eagle, respectively.(The backs and jokers of each set featured the respective animal.) The royalty cards featured

variations on George Washington (kings), Betsy Ross (queens), and Abraham Lincoln (jacks).Pictured below are the backs for the Democrat and Republican decks and the tuck box for theIndependent deck; I am still trying to locate a suitable photo for the Independent deck back.




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Introduced in 2008. The deck was the first of a supposed series of 10 Limited Edition playing card decks introduced to appeal to collectors and players; however, USPCC is reported to havediscontinued the series after only producing the first two designs. Back is a simpler, cleaner




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version of the traditional Rider Back in black and white. The jokers were redesigned specifically for this series.


Introduced in 2009. This deck was the second of a supposed series of 10 Limited Edition playing

card decks introduced to appeal to collectors and players; however, USPCC is reported to havediscontinued the series after only producing the first two designs. The jokers were redesignedspecifically for this series.




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7. Prestige

Introduced in 2009. These all-plastic cards were manufactured in Spain. The center of the designfeatures the familiar "rider angel" from the Rider Back design, but the back is otherwise adifferent design from the standard Rider Back. Not part of the "808" series, the milestone on thejoker is lacking the "808" designation. Otherwise, the faces of the cards are the standard Bicycle

faces.




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8. Mandolin

Introduced 2010. (Red and blue.)Similar to the Rider Back, but featuring an angel holding a mandolin in place of the angel riding the bicycle. Also noteworthy at the stock number for these on the box (as well as the Ace of Spades and joker) is "809," instead of the more familiar Bicycle "808." USPC brought in magician

Paul Harris to work with a world class team of artists (including Garrett Thomas) to develop thenew back. Produced by USPC and intended for the magic community, the deck is primarily distributed through Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. Despite this limited distribution model,USPCC owns the rights to this deck.




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9. Dragon

Introduced 2010 (red) and 2011 (blue, gold). This design was supposedly "discovered" recently by an employee searching through in theUSPCC archives. The Dragon Back was designed decades ago, possibly in the early 20th century,but there is no record of it ever having been produced. Distributed nationally through Target

stores. Although production was originally intended to be limited, sales have apparently beenquite good, so it may become a regular offering. (I have seen decks of the red with both 2010 and2011 copyright dates on the tuck-boxes, which suggests to me that they have had more than oneproduction run.) It has been reported that a gold version (see pic below) will be released onDecember 12th, 2011, to complement the red and blue versions, and that it will not be a "limited"release.It is also worth noting that this back is a subtle one-way design (i.e. asymmetrical), as the mouthsof the dragons are not identical.




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10. Stick Man

Introduced in 2011. Designed by USPCC. Features sword fighting stick men on the non-pipindices that appear animated when the deck is riffled. Back design also consists of many littlestick figures.




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Robocycle11.

It has been reported that this deck will be released December 1, 2011.




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Steampunk 12.

It has been reported that this deck will be released January 5, 2012. Despite the sample box in thephoto below, this will be a USPCC release and NOT a theory11 release."Steampunk" is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, or alternate history involving a setting

where steam power is still widely used; in essence, it imagines what the world would look like if technological innovations of the nuclear-powered 20th century had instead happened in thesteam-powered Victorian Era. (For more information, see here or here.)

This deck should not be confused with the steampunk-themed " Actuators" deck privately produced by artist Lance T. Miller.




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Miscellaneous

As noted previously, the USPCC has made a practice in recent years of issuing its Rider back in a variety of different colors; it is far more likely to do this to customize a deck than to actually design a new back. Here is a selection of but a few of those color variations.




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References and Resources:

Mrs. Joe Robinson: Playing Card Collector's Handbook, Description and List, Bicycle Brand Playing Cards , 1955.

Available for viewing at: http://www.cypressfilms.com/Bicycle//Robinson/Robinson.html

1.

Dawson, Tom & Judy: The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards , U.S. Games Systems Inc., 20002.

Hargrave, Catherine Perry: A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming, Dover

Publications, New York, 1966

3.

The World of Playing Cards, http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/uspcc/bicycle-808.html4.

http://www.cypressfilms.com/bicycle/index.html (Color photos and information)5.

http://web.archive.org/web/20061110072226/http://www.nls.physics.ucsb.edu/~nathanb/cards/newpictur

(Color photos and information)

6.

Playing Cards Wiki, http://playingcards.wikidot.com/7.

Bicycle Playing Cards, http://www.bicyclecards.com/about/bicycle-cards8.

International Directory of Company Histories,

http://www.enotes.com/company-histories/united-states-playing-card-company

9.

Bicycle Canada/International Playing Card Company, Ltd.

http://www.bicyclecards.ca/game-rules/playing-card-history/32.php?page_id=32

10.

http://www.bicycle-cards.co.uk/history-of-cards/11.

Official Bicycle Cards Facebook page, Note,

https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=163437777017129

12.

http://809bicycle.com/13.

USPC Bicycle 809 Mandolin Back Deck: Frequently Asked Questions, Revised October 1, 2010

http://www.murphysmagicsupplies.com/additional_files/MANDOLIN%20DECK%20FAQ.pdf

14.

http://www.unitedcardists.net/uc/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3788&start=2015.

http://www.unitedcardists.net/uc/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1922&p=24983&hilit=dragon+back#p24916.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-DECKS-Bicycle-Dragon-Back-playing-cards-/300483285702?pt=LH_DefaultDomain17.

theory11, http://www.theory11.com/playingcards/guardians.php18.

The United States Playing Card Company 2011 Product Catalog,

http://www.bicyclecards.com/catalogs/USPC_OnlineCatalog_Playing_Cards_1-7.pdf

19.

Thomas L. McDonald's State of Play blog,20.




http://www.stateofplayblog.com/2010/09/bicycle-rider-backs-808.html (photo)

World Web Playing Card Museum,

http://www.a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks06/d04331/d04331box808.htm (photos)

21.

Gambling Incorporated, http://www.gamblingincorporated.com/product.php?productid=1624022.

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