As every cycling games' collector is well aware of, if you type "bicycle + game" in a search engine, the first result you get is likely to be one of the Bicycle card decks made by the United States Playing Card Company. Until recently, I had not thought of including them on this site. In the introduction to the card games list, I wrote that I included "regular card decks with a cycling theme or related to cycling in some way," but I did not include "decks in which only the back of the cards is cycling-themed." I even added that "one has to draw the limit somewhere." Nevertheless, over the years, I have included some decks that are only faintly related to cycling, and a recent article published in the journal of the International Playing Card Society has opened my eyes.

This article (Asher, Lee. A Tale of Trickery, Tragedy, & Trademarks: Aubrey Orchard Hurst. in The Playing Card, Vol 53, nº 3, pgs. 126-132) addresses the legal battles over trademark infringement between the USPCC and the legendary British playing card manufacturers Charles Goodall and Sons, who also issued bicycle-backed decks (scroll down for some examples).

So I have done some quick research. To start with, I purchased a couple of decks. Of course, these decks are made in the XXIst century, but their story goes back to 1885, when the first Bicycle deck was introduced by the Russell & Morgan Printing Company, Cincinnati, one of the predecessor companies to USPCC. That deck already featured the ‘Bicycle’ ace of spades (scroll down for details) and included a joker riding a high-wheel bicycle but did not feature bicycle backs yet. These appeared in 1887. The number "808" means that this was the 8th deck printed by Russel & Morgan, the first being the 101 "Tiger" deck from 1881. Needless to say, the 808 deck has been the most successful.

By the way, I am sorry I cannot link to Lee Asher's article. Interested readers will have to subscribe to The Playing Card. Let me mention that, if you do, you will find in the same number of the journal an -unrelated- article by Thierry Depaulis and yours truly (Les cartes des Archives de la Couronne d'Aragon. Une collection surprennante), about XVIth century playing cards. A lucky coincidence.

 

 

 

It looks like a normal deck. Well. it is, and not only that: it is one of the most well-known (and well-sold) decks ever, at least in the US. I had not noticed them before, but the bike-riding jokers alone justify the inclusion of this deck on the website.

 

 

This is probably the most common design for Bicycle cards jokers these days, but there have been others before. You can find more examples easily. A good place to start the search would be Joseph Pierson's website.

 

 

As well, the one you see above is the most familiar back design for Bicycle cards, in production since 1887. However, there have been over 80 different back designs over the years, and the count goes on since in recent years the brand has opened to private designers.

For classic Bicycle backs, the best source is probably Ruth Robinson's Collectors' Handbook, published in 1955, available from Internet Archive.

 

 

A sample of Bicycle back designs. Top left, the original (the oldest) bicycle design.
These pics are from Jim Knapp's now defunct site, available (again) from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

 

 

 

These are not USPCC backs but Charles Goodall', as portrayed in Lee Asher's article. You see why there was a legal battle, don't you?

 

Another interesting feature of this deck is the ace of spades, which has a story of its own. During the Vietnam War it was believed that the Viet Cong held superstitions of bad luck with pictures of women and the ace of spades, or that they regarded this particular card as a symbol of death. Actually, it meant nothing to the Viet Cong, but the belief that the enemy was afraid of the cards was supposed to improve the U.S. soldiers' morale. One way or another, this ace of spades, the so-called "death card", is featured in many movies about the Vietnam War.