not to be confused with u.s. games systems inc. . this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message the united states playing card company type subsidiary industry playing card manufacturer founded 1867 ; 149 years ago 1867 headquarters erlanger kentucky united states key people micheal slaughter president products bicycle bee aristocrat kem aviator among others revenue us 130 million 2003 est. number of employees 750 parent newell brands website www.usplayingcard.com the united states playing card company established in 1867 produces and distributes many brands of playing cards including bicycle bee hoyle kem and others plus novelty and custom cards and other playing card accessories such as poker chips . the company was once based in cincinnati ohio but is now headquartered in the cincinnati suburb of erlanger kentucky . it is currently a subsidiary of newell brands . contents 1 history 2 product line 2.1 aristocrat 2.2 aviator 2.3 bee 2.4 bicycle 2.5 congress 2.6 hoyle 2.7 kem 2.8 streamline 2.9 tally ho 3 discontinued brands 3.1 army & navy 3.2 picket 3.3 pokerpeek 3.4 sportsman s 3.5 steamboat 4 nintendo 5 notes 6 external links history edit bridge playing cards w jumbo indices 1906 . a revenue stamp from a deck of russell morgan & co. playing cards . former factory at norwood the company was founded in 1867 as russell morgan & co. a printing company . 1 in 1881 colonel robert j. morgan recruited a talented young inventor from new york named samuel j. murray whose patented inventions increased the output of cards at the company s norwood ohio plant fourfold and cut labor costs by 66 percent . murray also created a two sided enameling machine . 2 the company began printing four brands of playing cards in 1881 tigers no. 101 sportsman s no. 202 army and navy both no. 303 no. 505 with gold edges and congress no. 404 no. 606 with gold edges . 3 they began printing bicycle cards which would become their most popular line in 1885 . 4 business boomed and in 1891 russel morgan & co. changed its name to the united states printing company . the playing card business was successful enough that it was spun off as a separate business in 1894 as the united states playing card company . 1 the same year it began its history of acquiring smaller playing card manufacturers when it acquired the standard playing card company the perfection playing card company and the new york consolidated card company makers of bee and innovators of the squeezer card identifications in the corners a design still in use today . acquisitions continued throughout its history andrew dougherty in 1907 adding tally ho russell playing card co. in 1929 heraclio fournier s.a in 1986 arrco formerly arrow playing card company in 1987 hoyle products in 2001 and finally kem playing cards in 2004 . in 1930 uspcc subsidiaries consolidated card co. standard playing card co. and andrew dougherty are merged into consolidated dougherty which continues to produce cards from all three brands including bee and tally ho . meanwhile the company would itself be acquired several times in its history starting with diamond international in 1969 jessup & lamont in 1982 frontenac in 1989 and then a return to self ownership in 1994 before finally becoming a subsidiary of newell . the uspcc has historically supported wartime soldiers starting with the inexpensive picket brand of cards during world war i. during world war ii uspcc manufactured spotter cards so soldiers can identify enemy units and cooperated with the u.s. government in creating clandestine decks given to pows ; these cards could be moistened and peeled apart to reveal escape maps . 5 product line edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message the company offers several card brands including aristocrat edit created by the russell card company no relation to the uspcc s predecessor russell morgan & co. in 1912 and merged into the uspcc in 1929 aristocrat is best known for its higher quality of card stock and varied but always intricate scrollwork in particular the bank note back which both resembles the design of currency notes at the time and coincides with russel s acquisition of the american bank note company another playing card manufacturer in 1914 . while the cards sold to the public carried the unique scrollwork aristocrat also produced the club special line of aristocrat cards specifically for casinos . these were very similar to bee cards in that their backs were borderless with a diamond pattern and could optionally have casino logos added to the backs . aristocrat cards were printed until the 1980s but rising interest has since prompted a reintroduction of the line with a focus on higher quality cards between bicycle and bee in thickness and the highly desired bank note back design . aviator edit introduced in 1927 in commemoration of charles lindbergh s trans atlantic flight in the spirit of st. louis aviator playing cards stock no. 914 feature a bordered monotone back design of predominantly circles . they are lower quality and less expensive compared to bee and bicycle cards and are available in the same general assortment of back colors card sizes and configurations . the card stock has a smooth finish unlike the air cushion finish used in the company s other brands . until the late 1980 s the aviator ace of spades and joker carried no specific branding so aviator cards were often used as a generic card for limited run promotional advertising decks or to fill in boxes for retired brands . bee edit a deck of bee playing cards bee playing cards are a casino card brand . they were first manufactured by the new york consolidated card company in 1892 hence the number 92 on the ace of spades ; the uspcc acquired the company two years later but it continued to operate independently even after merging with andrew dougherty and standard playing card company to form consolidated dougherty . standard bee playing cards have a diamond back typically blue or red though casinos frequently use customized bee cards featuring a logo added to the backs . unlike bicycle cards bee cards usually have borderless backs making the facing of any card that is even partially revealed clearly visible . however the standard diamond back of the card is very regular and low profile compared to other back designs which simplifies bottom dealing and some other forms of sleight of hand . citation needed bicycle edit bicycle playing cards stock no. 808 are the uspcc s signature brand of playing cards . since 1885 the bicycle brand has been manufactured by the united states printing company which in 1894 became the united states playing card company of cincinnati . the typical bicycle deck poker standard is a standard issue deck of cards consisting of 52 traditional french design playing cards two jokers an information card and a card describing poker ranks . as with most decks the first standard card of the deck is the uniquely stylized ace of spades . the bicycle trademark is usually also printed on the ace of spades . the type number of a bicycle deck can be found both on the bottom of the deck box and on the stone of the joker artwork . bicycle playing cards are sold in a variety of decks featuring different cards such as for use in pinochle back designs including the traditional rider back and older vintage backs face designs including jumbo index and low vision cards for the visually impaired and a pokerpeek design on their pro series decks that simplifies looking at hole cards and sizes such as narrower bridge decks thicker masters edition cards designed to last longer and big bicycle cards that are four times the normal card size . any of the aforementioned are traditionally available with red and blue backs but other back colors including black silver and even pastel colors are also available as well as a ghost deck that is entirely black and white except for the corner pips of the diamonds and the hearts . consumer paper versions of the plastic kem type wsop decks are sold under the bicycle brand . in 2010 bicycle playing cards released special 125th anniversary decks which include a redesigned rear side redesigned ace of spades and 1885 2010 written under the numbers on the corner on each card . bicycle playing cards are commonly used in card magic and flourishes . in addition to specialty decks specifically designed for magic cardistry or purely aesthetic reasons third party designs such as ellusionist and theory11 bicycle also make other kinds of non standard card decks such as a gaff deck contained in a mirrored art box with an assortment of unusually altered cards that can be used with regular cards for jokes . magicians such as lennart green ricky jay daryl david blaine paul daniels dynamo cyril takayama criss angel and others have all used and performed effects with bicycle playing cards . citation needed bicycle cards can have an air cushion finish which improves handling . congress edit one of the first four brand of cards introduced by the company in 1881 when it was still known as russell morgan and co. congress was printed under two stocks their standard no. 404 and the deluxe no. 606 which had gold edges . congress is currently the uspcc s signature brand name for bridge cards and accessories . congress cards come in an assortment of back designs . each congress deck consists of the 52 standard cards two jokers and an information card describing bridge scoring . congress cards are now typically sold in coordinated sets of two decks to facilitate the common bridge practice of alternating decks between hands . hoyle edit hoyle was originally produced by the brown & bigelow company in 1927 as a direct competitor to uspcc s bicycle . the cards proved such a success that brown & bigelow s card division was renamed hoyle products in 1975 . hoyle s shell back design is well recognized but hoyle s most iconic figure is its joker a colorful jester whose face repeated atop his scepter is an optical illusion . the uspcc bought out hoyle products in 2001 but like most of its acquisitions has kept hoyle in print . kem edit a double set of kem cards . kem cards were first manufactured in the 1930 s. unlike normal playing cards which are made from plastic coated paper kem s unique playing cards are made entirely from cellulose acetate ; they are waterproof and have excellent ruggedness and durability . uspcc purchased kem cards in 2004 . 6 7 after a two year hiatus uspcc restarted kem card production which continues today . kem cards are available to the consumer usually at specialty game shops with various back colors and designs including its two most famous backs the paisley and the arrow backs in both poker wide and bridge narrow sizes . in 2007 kem bridge cards using bicycle artwork were adopted as the official cards of the world series of poker . streamline edit streamline came to the uspcc from the arrco playing card company which the uspcc acquired in 1987 . it is a low end brand of playing cards similar to aviator and maverick with a bordered monotone back and a smooth plastic coated finish . tally ho edit tally ho was originally a product of andrew dougherty one of the earliest american card manufacturers introduced