The United States Playing Card Company history

In 1880 Russell, Morgan and Company decided to enter the playing card business, then an industry dominated by companies on the East Coast.

The first deck of playing cards was completed on June 28, 1881.

606 with gold edges). They began printing Bicycle cards, which would become their most popular line, in 1885.

In 1891 Russell, Morgan and Company was renamed The United States Printing Company, and three years later, the successful new playing card business segment was incorporated separately as the United States Playing Card Company.

The famous "Bee"® Playing Cards still issued by The United States Playing Card Company, had originated at the New York Consolidated Card Company in 1892.

Only three years later (1894), the playing card business had grown to such proportions that it was separated from the Printing Company, becoming The United States Playing Card Company.

Having outgrown its facilities in downtown Cincinnati, USPC moved five miles south to Norwood, in 1900.

A Neo-Romanesque bell tower (4-stories high) was built in 1926 atop the company's 4-story main building entrance.

The Aviator brand, introduced in 1927, honored Charles Lindberg for his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Successful sales in that country led the company to establish a manufacturing facility in Windsor, Ontario, in 1928.

In 1930, USPCC subsidiaries Consolidated Card Co., Standard Playing Card Co., and Andrew Dougherty merged into Consolidated-Dougherty which continued to produce cards from all three brands including Bee and Tally-Ho.

In 1936 the company purchased more production machinery and equipment from another playing card manufacturer that had gone out of business.

By 1940 sales at USPC had increased to $8.3 million, with net earnings of $1 million.

The popularity of the game resulted in a spike in sales in 1950 to $21.3 million.

In 1959 sales increased to $21.5 million, and the company reported net income of $2.2 million.

In February, 1966, two lieutenants of Company "C," Second Battalion, 35th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, wrote The United States Playing Card Company and requested decks containing nothing but the Bicycle® Ace of Spades.

In 1969 Diamond International Corporation, a forest products manufacturer, acquired the company, attracted by its profitability and an annual cash flow of $11 million.

Moreover, the company won rights to use the official logo of the Olympics to produce and distribute souvenir playing cards during the 1980 Winter Olympics.

A victim of a corporate raider in 1982, Diamond International's holdings were sold off, with USPC going to Jesup and Lamont for $5 million.

Curd initiated a sales and marketing program to recapture market share, and in January 1983, with the expectation of increased sales and economic recovery, USPC increased production.

Curd hired Ronald Rule as chief executive officer in 1985.

In 1987, The United States Playing Card Company acquired Arrco Playing Card Company, the third largest playing card manufacturer in the country.

Blankenhorn, Dana, "New for PC: Bicycle Solitaire game pack debuts," Newsbytes, August 14, 1991.

After a four-year bidding war for ownership of the company, in January 1994 a group of investors led by Ronald Rule acquired USPC for $140 million, establishing Bicycle Holding Inc., as a corporate umbrella company.

In 1996 Expert Software released Bicycle Hearts & Spades and Bicycle Pinochle.

"Expert Software and Microsoft Corp. to Bring Bicycle Card Games to the Internet Gaming Zone," Business Wire, July 29, 1998.

"Local Firm Big Winner in Pokemon Card Game," Cincinnati Enquirer, August 22, 1999.

The January 2001 acquisition of Hoyle Products further enhanced USPC's market share.

Croft, Tara, "Four of a Kind for Jarden," Daily Deal, February 27, 2004.

Bicycle® Take the Train® and 4-Mation® products are launched and become proud winners of the 2007 Seal of Excellence Award by Creative Child Magazine.

In fact, one of the only rocky moments came in 2009 when the iconic USPCC Factory in Cincinnati was moved to Kentucky.

In 2009, the USPCC closed down the Cincinnati factory, and relocated across the Ohio River to Erlanger, Kentucky. For example, several playing cards produced in 2010 were "sticky", meaning they did not separate, fan, and perform well.

The USPCC and Newell Brands relationship lasted nearly three decades and led to significant growth and success—including a venture into the world of puzzles and board games via the Hoyle brand in 2012.

In June 2019, Newell Brands agreed to sell the United States Playing Card Company to Cartamundi.