by Tom Dawson

We were fortunate lately to acquire an interesting deck of Canadian cards from the late 19^th century. Based on the vendor’s original description we thought we were about to see the rare Empress deck by Chas. J. Mitchell of Toronto, listed as CDN33 in the Hochman Encyclopedia, an exciting find as the only copy we have previously seen is in the United States Playing Card Collection in Cincinnati.

We were very surprised then to see that the deck was quite different, although similar in style. The main difference is that the new find is a tobacco insert deck, with each card being given out with cigarettes manufactured by The Imperial Cigarette & Tobacco Co. of Canada. The cards are much smaller than standard cards being 2¾ x 1¾ inches, the approximate size of many insert decks.

The deck is very similar to the regular one with smaller cards framed on a larger one with a colorful background of flowers and birds. The backgrounds are different and the positioning of the smaller cards on the larger ones is also different. The aces and courts are the same as on the regular deck but there is no use of gold in the designs. The courts use the same figures for each suit.

The deck was also manufactured by Chas. J. Mitchell & Co. who are described on the back of each card as ‘Sole Export Agents’. The Aces each declare “entered according to act of parliament in the year 1897 by chas. j. mitchell at the dept. of agriculture” (careful examination with a strong magnifying glass reveals that the standard-size deck has the same writing, dating it 1897, not 1885 as in the Encyclopedia).

A few questions need to be answered through subsequent research. Firstly, were these insert cards collected and then exchanged for the larger and more elaborately finished deck? Certainly that was not uncommon for insert cards. Secondly, were these decks made for export? The European style courts would be a possible indication and the description on the back of the card about Mitchell being ‘Sole Export Agents’ would add credibility to this theory. In any event it adds another deck to the want lists for both Canadian and insert collectors.