Congress Cards and Their Jokers Through History

Most Americans are vaguely familiar with Congress Brand cards. If you ask people, they might even have noticed that they come in slightly nicer boxes and have gilded edges. Here's the story. When the US Playing Card Company started in the late 1800s (as Russell and Morgan), they launched with several brands. The popular (ie cheap and cheerful) brands were Steamboat, Army Navy, and Sportsman. But there was a high end brand of cards that came in leather boxes, were beautifully produced, and had gold edges. This was the Congress Brand. Perhaps ten times more expensive than the other brands, it was for the high society types to use in their mansions and clubs. The initial joker (not pictured) had an actor on it in his role as Lord Dundreary in a Broadway play, Our American Cousin. Starting around 1900, Congress switched to using a black and white image on the joker which matched the back image. Two of these are pictured above. By 1920, Congress had started putting an image of the Capitol on the deck, perhaps to reinforce the Congress brand. Read more about it at https://www.amusedbyjokersami.com/2023/06/congress-antique-decks-of-cards.html