Bicycle Playing Cards first produced by the United States Playing Card Company

Background. The United States Playing Card Company was established in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co. and founded in its current incarnation in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1885. Prior to this, the company had printed four brands starting in 1881, including Tigers, Sportsman's, Army and Navy, and Congress. A fifth brand, Steamboat, was introduced in 1883 to meet demand for inexpensive cards.

Brand Introduction. In 1885, the company began printing Bicycle cards, assigned stock number 808. This brand became the company's most popular line and the only early brand still in regular use today. Bicycle is recognized as the flagship brand of the United States Playing Card Company, which later incorporated as an independent entity in 1894.

Company Context. In the same year, Andrew Dougherty, one of the earliest American card manufacturers, introduced his Tally Ho brand. The United States Playing Card Company's playing card business later proved successful enough that it was spun off as a separate business in 1894, as The United States Playing Card Company.