ALL AMERICAN PLAYING CARDS
After seeing a picture of this deck from Scott Kruse on a Facebook card collecting page it got my interest. This story begins with an article I found shortly after that.............
WALDEN'S STATIONER AND PRINTER MAGAZINE
August 1920
New Faces on Playing Cards
Some wonderful new playing cards have come on the market and it is all due to the collapse of royalty in Germany. It began during a game of bridge in the Arctic Club in Seattle at a gathering of rugged pioneers from the land of Rex Beach, Jack London and the Northern Lights. The great World War was then, early in 1918, at its height but the American troops had reached the firing line and the doom of monarchy was foreshadowed. One of the players asked “What are we going to do for playing cards now that kings and queens have passed out of existence?” J. C. Gaffney, hardy pioneer of the land of malamutes and golden sands in whose veins courses a full tide of red American blood answered. “It will be simple enough. In place of the old kings and queens, who have illuminated cards since the first game was played, we will construct an All American deck by using the intrepid Ace of the American air forces for the Ace. The Boy in Khaki, the king of all men, for the king. For the queen we will use the queen of all women our brave nurses who succored our boys on the field of battle and administered every comfort that Divine care could provide. And as for the jack, the real Jack of the seas, the lad who took them over and brought them back, a sailor boy in costume will well serve for the jack in this new American deck of playing cards."
Modern writers on the history of playing cards, Mr. Gaffney observed, have repeatedly asked the question “Why do we still remain satisfied with the grotesque meaningless faces used on our playing cards? Numerous demands have been made heretofore to change the faces on playing cards but without success. But never has a combination like the group originated by me in Seattle been created to appeal to the public. The American appeal or originality in playing cards is meeting with such success that it has been extended to other countries using the Ace, the Soldier, the Nurse and the Sailor in the national uniforms of the respective foreign countries. “I have some wonderful letters from Senators, Congressmen and Governors all over the country endorsing the idea of bringing into use in this country a hundred percent American deck of cards. One good point in the success of the card which is assured from a player's standpoint is that the index does not interfere in the playing of all games of cards.”
This novel and patriotic line of playing cards is being sold by the Democracy Playing Card Co. of 110 W. 40th Street, New York, and is permanently exhibited in the Bush Terminal Sales Building.
August 1920
New Faces on Playing Cards
Some wonderful new playing cards have come on the market and it is all due to the collapse of royalty in Germany. It began during a game of bridge in the Arctic Club in Seattle at a gathering of rugged pioneers from the land of Rex Beach, Jack London and the Northern Lights. The great World War was then, early in 1918, at its height but the American troops had reached the firing line and the doom of monarchy was foreshadowed. One of the players asked “What are we going to do for playing cards now that kings and queens have passed out of existence?” J. C. Gaffney, hardy pioneer of the land of malamutes and golden sands in whose veins courses a full tide of red American blood answered. “It will be simple enough. In place of the old kings and queens, who have illuminated cards since the first game was played, we will construct an All American deck by using the intrepid Ace of the American air forces for the Ace. The Boy in Khaki, the king of all men, for the king. For the queen we will use the queen of all women our brave nurses who succored our boys on the field of battle and administered every comfort that Divine care could provide. And as for the jack, the real Jack of the seas, the lad who took them over and brought them back, a sailor boy in costume will well serve for the jack in this new American deck of playing cards."
Modern writers on the history of playing cards, Mr. Gaffney observed, have repeatedly asked the question “Why do we still remain satisfied with the grotesque meaningless faces used on our playing cards? Numerous demands have been made heretofore to change the faces on playing cards but without success. But never has a combination like the group originated by me in Seattle been created to appeal to the public. The American appeal or originality in playing cards is meeting with such success that it has been extended to other countries using the Ace, the Soldier, the Nurse and the Sailor in the national uniforms of the respective foreign countries. “I have some wonderful letters from Senators, Congressmen and Governors all over the country endorsing the idea of bringing into use in this country a hundred percent American deck of cards. One good point in the success of the card which is assured from a player's standpoint is that the index does not interfere in the playing of all games of cards.”
This novel and patriotic line of playing cards is being sold by the Democracy Playing Card Co. of 110 W. 40th Street, New York, and is permanently exhibited in the Bush Terminal Sales Building.
What was the Arctic Club and who was J. C. Gaffney and what did these cards actually look like?
James Cornelius Gaffney was born in Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, Iowa, in 1875. His father, Thomas, was a lawyer from Guelph, Wellington, Ontario, Canada and had just moved the family to Iowa in 1874. After a short stay the family moved again to the Dakota Territory. The Gaffneys settled in Pembina near the border with Canada in present day North Dakota.
After finishing his public schooling James attended the new University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. After college his first business experience was in the drug line which he followed for over four years. Subsequently he became associated with a general merchandise business in Grand Forks.
University of North Dakota (Circa 1900)
In 1900 James left Grand Forks and headed to Alaska with his father and his future Father-in-law George H McPherrin . In May they boarded the S. S. Centennial in Seattle for the trip to Nome, Alaska.
Six years later the S. S, Centennial was reported missing. In 1912, Russian explorers found the Centennial frozen in the ice and abandoned in the Sea of Okhotsk off of Sakhalin Island near Japan. There were no lifeboats aboard and no sign of her crew.
First settled in 1898 Nome was known as Anvil City and then as Nome City. It was the metropolis of the rich mineral district known as the Cape Nome mining district. It was situated on Norton sound, between the Nome and Snake rivers, and was connected by a railroad 6 miles long with the original mining claims on Anvil creek. It had 3 banks, 3 newspapers and a full complement of general stores usually found in a mining camp. It had steamer connections with all Alaskan points, also with Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. Estimated population in 1900 was 12,486.
James became manager of a mercantile institution in Nome. In September 1903, he bought out the business and was now one of the prominent merchants of the city. On November 27, 1902, he and Miss Marguerite McPherren were married in Nome. Then in 1905 disaster struck.
At 3 a.m. on September 13, 1905 a fire started, supposedly by a fallen kerosene lantern in the Alaska Saloon. Sixty buildings were destroyed causing a loss of $200,000 at the time, The city half of the town was destroyed including Gaffney's clothing business.
James rebuilt with the insurance money and stayed in Nome a few more years. He also travelled back and forth to Seattle a lot for business. Since he was a charter member of the Alaska Club in Nome he also became a charter member of the Arctic Club in Seattle.
The Arctic Club was formed in 1908 by successful veterans of the Klondike Gold Rush. The existing Alaska Club of Nome was merged that year into the Arctic Club. In Seattle, it was a fraternal men's club for businessmen with Gold Rush or Alaska connections. Another Arctic Club was established in New York City, with membership based on exploration of wilderness areas in the Arctic. The Arctic Club in Seattle was initially located on 3rd Avenue and Jefferson Street in the Morrison Hotel, also known as the Arctic Club Building. The building is now a high end Hilton Hotel.
James rebuilt with the insurance money and stayed in Nome a few more years. He also travelled back and forth to Seattle a lot for business. Since he was a charter member of the Alaska Club in Nome he also became a charter member of the Arctic Club in Seattle.
The Arctic Club was formed in 1908 by successful veterans of the Klondike Gold Rush. The existing Alaska Club of Nome was merged that year into the Arctic Club. In Seattle, it was a fraternal men's club for businessmen with Gold Rush or Alaska connections. Another Arctic Club was established in New York City, with membership based on exploration of wilderness areas in the Arctic. The Arctic Club in Seattle was initially located on 3rd Avenue and Jefferson Street in the Morrison Hotel, also known as the Arctic Club Building. The building is now a high end Hilton Hotel.
The Arctic Club ca. 1920
In 1908 James moved to Seattle. He went into business with H. F. Bennett who had a hat and men's furnishings store at 708 First Avenue. The firm was renamed Bennett & Gaffney. Shortly after James bought out Bennett.
Then in 1912 James decided to get out of the business and sold the store to his competitor C. A. Van Natter. James then went into the fire insurance business with a company in Seattle but spent most of his time working for them in Alaska.
By 1917 James had gone back into the men's clothing business. After leaving Juneau, Alaska, he settled in New York City. On a return visit to Seattle in 1918 he had his idea during that bridge game at the Arctic Club.
At first it was just an idea and not a deck of cards. The next year in New York City he had some investors that wanted to make it a deck and sell them. The name of the company would be The Democracy Playing Card Company, Incorporated.
Gaffney went on to design two card backs, a Joker and an Ace of Spades for the deck.
The Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards
W25 DEMOCRACY PLAYING CARDS, Democracy Playing Card Co., New York, 1918. It seems that each new deck issued for WWI was brought out by a new and different company, but it is probable that a larger manufacturer made the cards for these companies. The Democracy deck is loaded with slogans. “Make the world safe for democracy” and “Out with the Kings and Queens” to mention just a few. The kings show soldiers, the queens are Nurses and the jacks, Sailors. The Aces are ‘Our Aces of the Air’. The backs feature insets which relate to the different branches of the Armed Forces.
The card backs were printed in four different colors.
By 1923 the corporation was listed as defunct by New York State. The reasons were probably partially the fault of the incorporators as you will soon learn.
If you have not already read the story about Freedom Playing Cards you should. There are a number of similarities. Is it a coincidence?
The Democracy Playing Card Company (DPCCo) appears to have not done the printing themselves. The decks have been found to have Russell Playing Card Company tax revenue stamps on them.
The DPCCo was located at 110 West 40th street in a building called The World's Tower. Constructed just 6 years earlier it was, at the time, the tallest building in the world constructed on a plot only 50-feet wide—the width of two New York City residential plots.
James C. Gaffney would go on to have a clothing business in New York City for another 25 years. During that time he organized the Alaska-Yukon Club. In 1944 he retired back to Seattle. But in 1951, at age 76, missing the business he went back to work for Littler's Apparel and Gift Shop.
James passed away in 1962, at age 87 in Seattle, one year after losing his wife 0f 59 years.
THE DEMOCRACY PLAYING CARD CORPORATION
Who were these men, Reilly, Higgins and Parker that started the card company? Higgins and Parker have proven very elusive. Mr. Reilly has left us a very interesting story.
H. L. Higgins and G. M. Parker (we never learn what the initials stand for) first appeared together in business in 1918. They incorporated a business called the Allied Foreign Trade Corporation of New York City with a man named E. A. Carlin. The new venture wanted to capitalize on business with Europe during the latter years of World War I. They tried to get different items to export for profit. They may have come in contact with Gaffney at this time when they were advertising for someone that had men's clothing and hats in New York City to sell in Europe. Unfortunately the war caused many shipping problems and the business failed by 1920.
During this same time Higgins and Carlin partnered up with Frank A. Reilly in a new car company called ReVere.
Who were these men, Reilly, Higgins and Parker that started the card company? Higgins and Parker have proven very elusive. Mr. Reilly has left us a very interesting story.
H. L. Higgins and G. M. Parker (we never learn what the initials stand for) first appeared together in business in 1918. They incorporated a business called the Allied Foreign Trade Corporation of New York City with a man named E. A. Carlin. The new venture wanted to capitalize on business with Europe during the latter years of World War I. They tried to get different items to export for profit. They may have come in contact with Gaffney at this time when they were advertising for someone that had men's clothing and hats in New York City to sell in Europe. Unfortunately the war caused many shipping problems and the business failed by 1920.
During this same time Higgins and Carlin partnered up with Frank A. Reilly in a new car company called ReVere.
The ReVere Motor Car Corporation of Logansport, Indiana, may have been one of America’s first supercar makers. The marque was founded by Adolph Monsen, who toured the streets of Logansport in the first bare chassis on August 25, 1917.
Monsen was a vehicular obsessive who got his start in the Chicago bicycle business late in the late 19th century, parlaying that into a dangerously explosive interest in steam-powered race cars before transitioning to a salesman and racing driver for Indianapolis-based brand Marion.
When he started ReVere, Monsen brought in some colleagues from the racing world. This including Indianapolis 500 driver Tom Rooney, to help develop an innovative chassis and other components. He also included the Duesenberg brothers. The ReVere cars utilized the premier racing engine of the era, an odd but potent walking beam four-cylinder designed and manufactured by the Duesenberg brothers before they founded their own car company. This powerplant gave the vehicle the highest output of any American car of the era, a whopping 103 horsepower. The car was good for 85 mph, helped by the ReVere’s advanced aluminum-encased four-speed transmission and 3.5:1 rear axle ratio.
Monsen was a vehicular obsessive who got his start in the Chicago bicycle business late in the late 19th century, parlaying that into a dangerously explosive interest in steam-powered race cars before transitioning to a salesman and racing driver for Indianapolis-based brand Marion.
When he started ReVere, Monsen brought in some colleagues from the racing world. This including Indianapolis 500 driver Tom Rooney, to help develop an innovative chassis and other components. He also included the Duesenberg brothers. The ReVere cars utilized the premier racing engine of the era, an odd but potent walking beam four-cylinder designed and manufactured by the Duesenberg brothers before they founded their own car company. This powerplant gave the vehicle the highest output of any American car of the era, a whopping 103 horsepower. The car was good for 85 mph, helped by the ReVere’s advanced aluminum-encased four-speed transmission and 3.5:1 rear axle ratio.
Unfortunately, the company had as its manager one Newton Van Zandt. He was a Chicago piano-company executive who would qualify as the Colonel Tom Parker of the auto industry. Though he had no automotive experience, Van Zandt was nearly as innovative as the engineers, mostly in crafting schemes to enrich himself and his cronies at the expense of the company and its impassioned design and manufacturing team.
Van Zandt sweet-talked the business elite of Logansport into getting their supporters to purchase, for $22,000, the site of a defunct lumber-mill site for his factory. He printed and sold stock certificates, especially to local townsfolk. He invented dealer syndicates to put in false orders for the company’s cars, then had these phony companies sue the core business to lend legitimacy to their fabrications. He even had fake business orders published in the local papers to promote sales. (Shown on left)
Van Zandt then skipped out on all the debts. He also forged a backdated resignation and absconded to the East Coast. In Pennsylvania he convinced the governor to deny extradition when he was arrested. Soon after, he died in New York of a sudden heart attack. His shenanigans led ReVere to bankruptcy in 1922, and all attempts to revive it were over by 1926.
Higgins had played it smart and was only a stockholder after the incorporation. But Reilly had become a company director. Guess which one also got arrested for Van Zandt's dirty deeds?
I cannot locate Higgins after this fiasco. Reilly, though, being a good lawyer, beat the charges. He then went into business with the Duesenberg brothers in a new automobile company. This time he became the Secretary-Treasurer to keep an eye on the money.
Van Zandt sweet-talked the business elite of Logansport into getting their supporters to purchase, for $22,000, the site of a defunct lumber-mill site for his factory. He printed and sold stock certificates, especially to local townsfolk. He invented dealer syndicates to put in false orders for the company’s cars, then had these phony companies sue the core business to lend legitimacy to their fabrications. He even had fake business orders published in the local papers to promote sales. (Shown on left)
Van Zandt then skipped out on all the debts. He also forged a backdated resignation and absconded to the East Coast. In Pennsylvania he convinced the governor to deny extradition when he was arrested. Soon after, he died in New York of a sudden heart attack. His shenanigans led ReVere to bankruptcy in 1922, and all attempts to revive it were over by 1926.
Higgins had played it smart and was only a stockholder after the incorporation. But Reilly had become a company director. Guess which one also got arrested for Van Zandt's dirty deeds?
I cannot locate Higgins after this fiasco. Reilly, though, being a good lawyer, beat the charges. He then went into business with the Duesenberg brothers in a new automobile company. This time he became the Secretary-Treasurer to keep an eye on the money.
Francis Aloysius Reilly was born July 30, 1892 in Washington, D. C., to an Irish immigrant shipyard worker. After graduating from high school in 1911 he entered Georgetown University night school to earn a law degree. During the daytime he worked for Kansas Congressman Bristow and Theodore Roosevelt's new Progressive Party Headquarters.
On August 23rd 1913 he was walking home. At 15th and B street, only a block from his home, he was approached by his friend Detlef H. Schultz. Detlef was ten years older than Francis and worked at Party Headquarters with him. They had recently travelled to Chicago several times together for the Progressive Party. Detlef was always calling Francis and wanting to spend more time with him. Several people thought he wanted to be more than a friend. But, Francis preferred to spend his free time with his classmate, and girlfriend, Ada.
On August 23rd 1913 he was walking home. At 15th and B street, only a block from his home, he was approached by his friend Detlef H. Schultz. Detlef was ten years older than Francis and worked at Party Headquarters with him. They had recently travelled to Chicago several times together for the Progressive Party. Detlef was always calling Francis and wanting to spend more time with him. Several people thought he wanted to be more than a friend. But, Francis preferred to spend his free time with his classmate, and girlfriend, Ada.
Francis and Ada in 1913 just before the shooting.
Witnesses said they heard loud words and then two gunshots. Francis fell to the ground with a bullet in his thigh and one in his stomach. As a nearby policeman came running Detlef took off and a gun battle ensued. The shooter out ran the policeman and escaped through a rail yard. Detler was thought to have escaped the country by ship and was never heard of again.
The local papers that day said the wound was surely fatal. Francis had his liver pierced but amazingly left the hospital four days later. When he registered for the draft in 1917 he listed his reason for not serving as "physically disabled by reason of a gunshot wound through left side of body and defective eyes."
The local papers that day said the wound was surely fatal. Francis had his liver pierced but amazingly left the hospital four days later. When he registered for the draft in 1917 he listed his reason for not serving as "physically disabled by reason of a gunshot wound through left side of body and defective eyes."
Francis married Ada in 1915 after getting his law degree. They moved to New York City and he joined a law firm. As we have seen, Francis probably had made a lot of money in his career between 1915 and 1924. According to Ada he made over $20,000 a year. That would be over $300,000 today. The only problem was he also liked to spend it.
In 1924 she was tired of his lavish lifestyle. She spent over $5,000 having taxi cabs follow him around town that year. Ada claimed he was too good to take a subway. When he left work, or home, "his feet never touched a sidewalk" because he took a taxi everywhere.
Taxi rides seemed to have also included trips to a hotel and another woman.
Francis did not contest the divorce and gives Ada $50 a week alimony. They had no children. She agrees and moves on with her life.
In 1932 Francis remarries and moves his law practice to Los Angeles. On November 3rd 1943 he died suddenly while preparing a case against the City Council for a client.