U.S. Games Timeline

fools_fool said:

Thanks coredil and gregory.

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Yes "Thank You!" very much, coredil and gregory.

*

Did it ever strike you as odd that in his (relative) youth
Stuart Kaplan chose U.S.Games Systems, Incorporated
as the name for his company? Rather pro-establishment
for a time when many of us were protesting government.

coredil said:

BTW the registration date for the 1971 US Games copyright is 11 June 1982

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coredil - Does this mean any US Games RWS deck without a copyright would have been manufactured before this date?

-fof

coredil said:

I believe there are already quite a lot
of informations on this subject on ATF.

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Hi coredil ~ Yes, but I wonder... what is the story
behind the "Blushing Fool" decks? Will we ever know?

It's been two weeks since writing Stu and still no reply. I'm starting to uncross my fingers. I don't know why, but this must be some carefully guarded secret or something. Either that, or he feels it simply isn't important enough to spend the time on. I know these coprporate big-wigs are busy folk and all. Maybe I'll hear from him yet, but I'm not holding my breath.

-fof

You know - Jeannette may know....

Jeannette knows maybe slightly more than she's willing to share on this thread... but not much. I can tell you that Mr. Kaplan is in full swing right now, getting ready to go "on the road" to show the Kaplan collection prior to its being auctioned by Christie's (multiple locations). In fact, he may have left by now. Ergo, I'm guessing that he's not really available to answer emails at the present time.

-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden

I'm fairly certain the move to 38th Street took place around 1975, give or take. The move to Stamford, CT must have occurred between 1983 to 1990. This one is a little harder to pin down. Partly because during this time period we see a lot of LWBs with Stamford, CT, and advertisement cards with 38th Street. But also because a deck manufactured in 1988 with a Stamford, CT address on the LWB may have a 1983 or even a 1971 copyright. What I think must have happened was US Games probably had a stockpile of advertisement cards
left over from 38th Street and rather than trash them they shipped them all to Stamford to be used up.

Anyway, a couple of things seem sure: 1- Stamford, CT newest, 38th Street older, 468 Park Avenue South oldest; 2- The address on the box and LWB is a more accurate indicator than the advertisement card.

-fof

Copyright 1969 by U.S.Games Systems, Inc.

Tarock No. 1 JJ
120 Wall Street
New York N.Y.
10005

Now let's send out for Pizza!

My earliest U.S. Games is the IJJ Swiss with Fulgour's attached directions

1. and the 120 Wall Street Address.

The box says on the bottom of the red lid: Tarot Cards IJJ AG Mueller-CIE, Nuehausen and Rheinfall Switzerland.

The top of the red lid has a stamp "Made in Switzerland" and the red border surrounds a yellow-mustard colored insert and the text is "Distributed by U.S. Games Systems, Inc., New York, N.Y.

2. While I seem to have misplaced one of my Accurate Tones yellow-boxed copyright 1971 Rider Waite from U.S. Games, I seem to recall my post said it didn't have a copyright on the cards. I'll check if I have a link that wrote out all the publishing information.
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http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=16107&highlight=sybil+waite

Turns out...

There are two editions of the 1971 Rider Waite...on Holly Volley's tarot site, the one in the middle has a newer typeface. In that one, the instruction book is coated, the lamination on the deck is smooth and the address for U.S. Games is the their Stamford, CT office.

There are some delicate differences in the earlier 1971 printing, which I discovered last night and today in comparing a used bookstore find and the older one that I am keeping.
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The earlier 1971 version with the following details:

1) There is no ISBN number stamped on the bottom of the box. The text is essentially the same, but an added bullet of Accurate Color Tones is on the bottom flap.

2) The office address for the U.S. Games is New York, NY 10016.

3) The little white book does not have coating on the 44 pages.

4) There is no copyright notice on the sides of the cards. The copyright was pending while this edition was distributed.

5) While the box cover might have a bit of variation, the cards themselves are uniformly lighter in tone and the gray background area where the majors are typed are lighter than the later 1971
version and later yellow box versions that I see in stores.

6) The finish seems lighter, more of a matte feel than a laminated smoothness. I think this deck might be a little more worn, althought the colors seem fairly smooth and no chipping in the finish or corners.

All in all, I like the feel and using the earlier 1971 version...seems like this is an older deck and so it doesn't feel as plastic as newer, slicker versions--like my giant RWS that I use sometimes to compare bigger deck cards...

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3. The only other different yellow-boxed Accurate Tones yellow-boxed 1971 Rider Waite I have was distributed by Weiser and the information follows--and this set also does not have a copyright on the cards.

Here is the Weiser distributed deck information:

U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 468 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016, copyright 1971 by U.S. Games Systems, Inc, NY 10016.

I'm sorry, there's many family events happening this week and I'll not be able to unearth any other boxes for awhile. These two happened to be in the storage closet with some linens for guests, so I was able to pull it out...

If you do have questions on boxes, copyright notices, etc....please pm me and if I have something, I'll post back. I've seem to have narrowed what I have to older titles and some fairly new ones in terms of U.S. titles...

Hope this helps,

Cerulean

From Fournier Museum catalog--some early U.S. Games titles

Playing Cards: General History from their Creation to the Present Day
Fournier Museum
Heraclio Fournier, S.A. - Vitoria
ISBN 84-85074-11-4

P. 241 Switzerland (beginning of some U.S. Games entries)

56. Tarot of 78 cards, Italian-style designs. Representation is substituted by uno and Jupiter. Made by Mueller and Co., Schaffhausen, Year 1956 (Cerulean's Note: IJJ Swiss)....

67. RiderWaite tarot for New York, or 78 cards. Designs by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite and the collaboration of Miss Sybil Waite and Rider and Co. of London. Printed by Mueller and Co., Schaffhausen, Year 1968. Donation by S. R. Kaplan, New York.

68 The same tarot but in a smaller size (73 x 44 mm). Donation by S.R. Kaplan, New York.

P.243

77. <<James Bond 007s tarot of 78 cards based on the popular film <<Live and Let Die>>. Printed by Muller and Co., Schaffhausen, 1970. Donation by the maker.

85. CLASSIC tarot of 78 cards based on the original from the XVIII century, engraved on wood by Claude Bordel. Includes instruction booklet by S.R. Kaplan. Printed by Muller and Co., Schaffhausen, 1972. Donation by S.R. Kaplan, New York.

90. COMMERATIVE deck, THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL, of 52 cards and Joker, includes borchure with biographies of the personnages shown on each card by S.R. Kaplan. Designs by Douglas Gorsline. Printed by Muller and Co., SCHAFFHAUSEN, in 1976. Donation by S.R. Kaplan, New York. (SImilar to No. 246 of North America.)

100. ROYAL FEZ MOROCCON tarot of 78 cards. Instruction booklet by S.R. Kaplan. Printed by MULLER, SCHAFFHAUSEN in 1975. Donation by S.R. Kaplan, New York.

There are six more and some long time buyers of tarot will recognize them as U.S. Games distributed titles--they are all listed as published by Muller.

P. 245

106 Zigeuner. Walter Wegmueller...1975.
110 Citizen's Band (52 cards)...1976
115 Starter Tarot...1976.
116 Oswald Wirth...1976.
122 Golden Dawn 1977.
128 Egyptian...1978.
129 Stairs of Gold 1979. (my earliest Stairs of Gold: NY, NY 10016)

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Out of my own collection: earliest Visconti Sforza with Stuart Kaplan instructions:

Booklet of Visconti Sforza
Instructions by Stuart. R. Kaplan, leading tarot authority

U.S> Games Systems, Inc.
New York, NY 10016
copyright 1975

The Visconti-Sforza has been reproduced in full color by Grafica Gutenburg, 24020 Gorie (Bergamo), Italy in cooperation with U.S. Games, Systems, Inc. New York, 10016. This is printed on the inside of the front cover of the booklet.

On the back of the booklet are several titles, with this address:
U.S. Games Systems, Inc.
468 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016

Printed on top of the small Visconti tuck box:
Printed in Italy by Grafica Gutenburg
expressly for
U.S> Games Systems, Inc.
New York, N.Y. 10016

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Hopefully that will assist.

Perhaps other playing card references will help piece together the publishing story. I think it's scattered in different journals and collections of playing card societies--not so much secret as scattered.

What's the earliest catalog some people might have, if they have a vintage U.S. Games one? (I've never had one of their catalogues)...

Cerulean