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Lot 543
[CIVIL WAR]. Full deck of "Union Cards" with original box. New York: American Card Co., 1862.
Sale 960 - American Historical Ephemera & Photography
Nov 15, 2021 11:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
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Estimate
$1,000 - 2,000
Price Realized
$4,375
Sold prices are inclusive of Buyer’s Premium
Lot Description
[CIVIL WAR]. Full deck of "Union Cards" with original box. New York: American Card Co., 1862.

2 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. playing cards printed in red and blue. Housed in original printed cardboard slipcase box (minor chipping at edges). Publisher information and marketing blurb printed to box verso. Box with tax stamp canceled and dated October 1863. 

A complete set of 52 playing cards. Suits include blue Federal eagles, blue 13-star shields, red stars, and red American flags. Jacks are represented by majors, Queens by the Goddess of Liberty, and colonels in place of Kings. The backs of cards are decorated with more patriotic motifs of four flags with a shield and anchor among acorns with oak leaves. The box, decorated with the same design of the Goddess of Liberty used for the Queen, touts "National emblems!! Something new in the card world! Time for a change! Foreign emblems used long enough in the U.S. Nationality everything!!"

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