Here is my sealed 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair deck with silver gilt edges. The backs depict The Sky Ride. Manufactured by Arrco in Chicago.
imgur.com/a/ZsdLHfZ/
imgur.comPosted Dec 4, 2021, 1:08 PM UTC
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imgur.comThose are so cool! They compliment one another very nicely. Such incredible looking decks with such historical significance and nostalgia. Thank you for sharing.
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To be honest, I'm not an expert on vintage playing cards, but I think it's nice to get a non-standard deck that's over eighty years old and almost intact. Congrats)
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Beautiful deck and an awesome piece of history. Sounds like maybe you got a great deal too. Congrats.
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Thank you!
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While looking for Chicago themed playing cards about a month ago I discovered that there were a lot of different decks that were made 1933/34 Chicago World's Fair. In the process I also discovered a couple of different Delta Airlines promotional decks. I covered a sealed Delta deck (C. 1976) here.
For about a month I keept an eye on Chicago World's Fair decks. I got out bid on a couple and couldn't come to an agreement with the sellers of others. Last week I saw this sealed example pop up. After a quick search I saw that other sealed decks were listed for ~2-4x the price of this one's starting offer. Obviously that isn't an indicator of actual value (they might not ever sell at their list price) but I made a few offers and the seller and I came to an agreement. I managed to buy this sealed deck with a good condition box for approximately the starting bid of the average good condition opened/ used deck that I missed out on.
This deck will say sealed (unlike the Delta deck). It features standard faces so I don't feel the need to open it, either. I do want to get a good condition opened/used example of a Chicago World's Fair deck that features a black and white photo of a different attraction on the face of each card. Ironically I'll probably be spending more on that deck than I did on this nearly mint one but that's just because I got a really good deal. If I ever get one I'll be sure to share it here!
This deck debuted the Arrco brand name, and I wrote about it in this article. They started operations in 1927 under the name Arrow Playing Card Company and decided to use the Chicago World's Fair deck to announce their new identity as Arrco.
Those pictures are absolutely stunning! What a pristine looking deck, and to think that it's almost 90 years old - so beautiful.
Oh wow! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting pics -- this is awesome. Where did you find it -- ebay? something else?
Ebay.
I think I got it as cheap as I did because the listing was from an antiques reseller. They probably just cared about quantity of sales.