©1935 KEM Plastic Playing Card Co, Poughkeepsie, NY.

Vintage 1950's era KEM Plastic Playing Cards from my grandparents collection.

 

The design of the ACE of Spade was Copyrighted 1935.

 

There is a 3 or 4 digit date code on the Ace of Spade in each deck indicating the Month/Year the deck was made.

 

Date of manufacture for this card (deck) was June 1957 (657).

 

KEM Plastic Playing Cards are still being sold by;

 

Kardwell International, Inc.

2 Cranberry Rd Unit-B5

Parsippany, New Jersey 07054

 

Phone: 6312980005

Fax: (631) 298-1517

Email: info@kem.com

 

Individual replacement cards are no longer available, as they are only sold in complete sets.

 

History:

From the Poughkeepsie Journal

KEM playing cards were manufactured in Poughkeepsie

 

by Anthony P. Musso

Pub 3:51pm ET., Jun 21, 2016

Starting with backroom card games in smoky bars and elevating to center stage as the official cards of the World Series of Poker, KEM playing cards were manufactured in Poughkeepsie, New York for nearly six decades. Beginning production in New York City in the early 1930s, they continue to be the preferred card of casinos worldwide.

 

KEM Cards developed a unique manufacturing process that differed from other playing cards made in the industry. By mass-producing decks of playing cards that consisted of cellulose acetate, its cards were bendable, washable and retained their original shape long after standard paper-based cards needed to be replaced. Unlike other cards, KEM cards were able to withstand the occasional spilled beer, making them an instant hit with seasoned poker players.

 

KEM cards gained substantial popularity during the Second World War as troops gathered together in barracks across Europe to play stud, draw and other poker games. The cards could withstand the humidity of jungle weather and were less affected by desert sand and grit.

 

In 1946, KEM Cards purchased the 27-acre John Flack Winslow property — now the northern section of the Marist College campus — that was a private estate from 1867 through 1926. Deciding not to build a plant on the property, KEM sold the former estate to local contractor Vincent Costanzi in 1948 and acquired a building from Western Publishing that sat at 2 Beck Place, just behind the Steel Plant Studio on the east side of Route 9.

 

Ironically, during the 1920s, Western Publishing established a division called the Western Playing Card Company, quite possibly staging that operation in the structure that KEM purchased. The building was originally constructed by the Permalife Battery Company around the same time the Fiat Motor Company occupied a plant site just north (where Western Publishing was subsequently based and Home Depot now operates).

Permalife patented a method of connecting electrodes to a storage battery, keeping the battery sealed.

 

A controversy arose when it was discovered that the eastern portion of the building KEM purchased encroached on 3 feet of land that belonged to a railroad company. A railroad line passed through the location in 1868 and still owned the property. The problem was resolved when the railroad agreed to charge KEM $10 annually for use of that land.

KEM cards bear a unique red and blue arrow design on its back, which is widely considered the most recognizable card design worldwide.

 

They became a favorite of American troops during World War ll due to their durability and ability to withstand oppressive heat. Magicians also prefer using KEM cards in their act because of their increased flexibility.

 

 

The company also manufactured “Braille marked decks” for visually impaired and blind customers. Those types of cards were invented in 1829 by French musician and educator Louis Braille, who lost his sight at 3 years old.

 

Many local residents gained employment at the KEM plant through the years and it typically staffed about 20 to 30 full-time and seasonal workers, the youngest at 14 years old. The youngsters’ age limit was set in compliance with federal child labor laws.

 

In 2004, KEM Cards’ copyrighted designs were sold to the United States Playing Card Company and the Poughkeepsie plant shut down. The company designs were reacquired and manufacturing continues in Mattituck, Long Island.

 

“Marist eventually purchased the building and considered building and renovating there, but the roof had collapsed and it was in bad shape,” said Marist archivist John Ansley. “Instead they just took the building down.”

Another possible reason for that decision could be the fact that both Permalife and KEM used strong chemicals as part of their respective operations, which would’ve required the college to incur a substantial expense cleaning potential contamination before erecting another structure there.

 

“While there isn’t much information on file for KEM Cards, I went through the local telephone directories and the company is listed every year from when they purchased the building through 2005,” said Kira Thompson, head of the local history room at Adriance Memorial Library.

 

Since the business was sold in 2004 and the directories are printed in advance of the year published, it is likely that the 2005 listing was already outdated. The site of the KEM building is now a parking lot for the Marist College Art Gallery.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

The United States Playing Card Company (USPC, though also commonly known as USPCC), established in 1867 as Russell, Morgan & Co. and founded in its current incarnation in 1885, is a large American producer and distributor of playing cards. Its brands include Bicycle, Bee, Tally-Ho, Congress, Hoyle, Aviator, Aristocrat and KEM.

 

It also produces novelty and custom cards, and other playing card accessories such as poker chips. The company was once based in Cincinnati, Ohio, but is now headquartered in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, Kentucky.

 

In December 2019, The United States Playing Card Company became a subsidiary of Belgian card manufacturer Cartamundi

 

 

Done