The Norwood Playing Card Factory
In February 1899 USPCC finally decided to keep their playing card business in the CIncinnati area. After they bought the National Card Company of Indianapolis in 1893 they had thoughts of moving there. But, the city didn't make needed infrastructure changes near the factory and people raised their property values when they found out who wanted their land. The company got as close as $3,000 ($100,000) for an Indianapolis property before changing their mind. They even went to Middletown, Ohio, in 1896 and checked out the recently vacated Globe Playing Card factory.
In October 1899 ground was broken in Norwood for the newest playing card factory. The property covered 42 acres with the factory covering 2 1/2 acres and about 400,000 square feet. By May 1901 the factory was fully operational. They would employ 1,200 people with a yearly payroll of $300,000 (over $10 million). Playing cards would be produced at a rate of 144 decks per minute. Losses due to contamination would now be less than 1%.
The first company officers were John Omwake (President), Robert J. Morgan (Vice President & Treasurer), Robert H. McCutcheon (Secretary) and Samuel J. Murray (General Superintendent).
In October 1899 ground was broken in Norwood for the newest playing card factory. The property covered 42 acres with the factory covering 2 1/2 acres and about 400,000 square feet. By May 1901 the factory was fully operational. They would employ 1,200 people with a yearly payroll of $300,000 (over $10 million). Playing cards would be produced at a rate of 144 decks per minute. Losses due to contamination would now be less than 1%.
The first company officers were John Omwake (President), Robert J. Morgan (Vice President & Treasurer), Robert H. McCutcheon (Secretary) and Samuel J. Murray (General Superintendent).
USPCC in 1910
Employee Cafeteria is on the far left side and the Warehouse is on the far right side
Employee Cafeteria is on the far left side and the Warehouse is on the far right side
In June 1901 the factory reported their first fatality. An 18 year old University of Notre Dame student on his summer vacation working as a temporary elevator operator was crushed to death. The elevator had moved between floors as he was entering or exiting it. He was trapped and crushed through his waist. Even worse the employee was Charles McCracken, the son of James D. McCracken the new factory foreman.
Also in 1901 Ohio State Representative Charles Henry Grosvenor proposed a bill in Congress from USPCC to let playing card makers print the tax revenue stamp on a card in the deck instead of having one affixed to the box. The bill failed.
Also in 1901 Ohio State Representative Charles Henry Grosvenor proposed a bill in Congress from USPCC to let playing card makers print the tax revenue stamp on a card in the deck instead of having one affixed to the box. The bill failed.
1905 was a rough year for the factory. First, there were card decks missing again just like at the Eggleston factory. The culprit this time was a young elevator operator named Clarence Martin. He had been swiping new decks and selling them cheap at the pawn shops like Sidney Brewerton had at the Eggleton factory. When Martin was brought before factory Superintendent Samuel J. Murray he quickly confessed. Before being fired Clarence stated he had used the money to buy chocolate bon-bons for all the young female workers he was trying to impress at work. Making only $9 a week it was hard for him to afford buying sweets for so many girls.
But Martin wasn't the only card thief in the factory. Murray had heard rumors, and had suspicions, there was a gang operating there. Based on information from Clarence there were seven other card thieves in the factory caught.
But Martin wasn't the only card thief in the factory. Murray had heard rumors, and had suspicions, there was a gang operating there. Based on information from Clarence there were seven other card thieves in the factory caught.
In July Thomas Collins left the company. Fired or quit is not proven. Thomas had been a manager in the ink department and a book with the secret formulars was missing. Thomas was a prime suspect. USPCC hired a detective to find the book.
Detective Floerken quickly discovered another former employee may be connected with the possible crime. This suspect was Dennis Kelly and he was now connected with the Kalamazoo, Michigan, Paper Box Company. That company had just started making playing cards and these formulars would be of great use. Floerken got a meeting with Kelly posing as another employee of the Kalamazoo company. After Collins admitted that Kelly had offered him twice his salary to get the book Floerken had him arrested.
Collins told USPCC he never stole the book and had left it in a box in the printing department. Floerken said Collins confessed to him. Kelly said he never offered Collins any money. Officials known to USPCC at the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company claimed they never got the secret information. USPCC said they never found the book in the factory. Collins never appeared to have come into any large amount of money. It was all circumstancial and the case was dropped.
Detective Floerken quickly discovered another former employee may be connected with the possible crime. This suspect was Dennis Kelly and he was now connected with the Kalamazoo, Michigan, Paper Box Company. That company had just started making playing cards and these formulars would be of great use. Floerken got a meeting with Kelly posing as another employee of the Kalamazoo company. After Collins admitted that Kelly had offered him twice his salary to get the book Floerken had him arrested.
Collins told USPCC he never stole the book and had left it in a box in the printing department. Floerken said Collins confessed to him. Kelly said he never offered Collins any money. Officials known to USPCC at the Kalamazoo Paper Box Company claimed they never got the secret information. USPCC said they never found the book in the factory. Collins never appeared to have come into any large amount of money. It was all circumstancial and the case was dropped.
The missing ink book may have looked like these personal copies that belonged to Samuel J. Murray.
In August a new employee, Joseph M. Hayes, was working on the 4th floor near a large opening used by a hoist to move items between floors. It was protected by a brass rail around it. Somehow Hayes fell over the rail unseen by any co-workers. Workers on the first floor rushed to his aid and carried him to an ambulance. Doctor's at the hospital found Hayes had a fracture of the neck and he died soon after.
In September the Typographical Union made a demand on the new Association of Employing Printers for an 8 hour work day. Seeing the shorter workday as causing an increase in charges for print work and a loss of an hour or more wages the demand was turned down by the Cincinnati Typothetae that worked at the USPCC factory. A strike was avoided.
In 1905 they also bought Burt Manufacturing's poker chip division of Bridgeport, Connecticutt. Six of their employees would relocate to Norwood to help in the transition of their equipment. Thirty people would be added to this new department with plans of growing it to 100 workers.
To see chips from USPCC's actual collection you can click on this site provided by the Museum of Gaming History
In 1907 USPCC created a lasting advancement in playing cards...the air-cushion finish. Air-Cushion is a type of debossing applied to the card stock through pressure/heat, which gives the card unique characteristics. This uniform layer is near-microscopic divots in the card surface. This greatly reduces friction when sliding the cards because its unique design creates tiny pockets of air between the divots. The same reason as divots on a golf ball.
Who came up with this great idea? We don't know for sure. But, remember August Crusius (on the left) that joined the company to get Russell and Morgan's playing card business going with his friend Samuel J. Murray? His great-granddaughter told me that she always heard him called "Air Cushion" and she never knew why. Maybe we do.
In 1908 the company produced a deck for people with card playing issues......
The American Stationer (March 1908)
PLAYING CARDS
The left handed players have been neglected and now they are to have their inning, but it is not only the fact that the new No 67 Lenox cards, Quadra indexes, are adapted to right and left handed players that make them popular. The American player is schooled to use the index on the corner of the playing card almost exclusively, hence there has come a demand for indexes which are plainly readable to the eye. These new Quadra indexes are larger than ordinary and to the man whom eye strain is an object they come as a source of pleasure. The indexes are so striking that the eye recognizes them immediately.
By 1909 the factory had almost 1,200 workers. Seventy percent were females and twenty percent of the employees were 18 and younger.
By 1909 Matthew (Matt) A. Daly became the Chief Designer of the playing cards. Matt was a well known artist that had already contributed a playing card back design that USPCC used ten years previously. He was also one of the founding members of the Cincinnati Art Club founded in 1890. Initially the club was bohemian in nature and did not have a fixed abode and met in the homes or studios of members. In 1907, the club moved to a new home in the Harrison building and was considered the most attractive home to artists in the Middle West. A number of well known and soon to be famous artists were members with Daly. They included Winsor McKay (Little Nemo cartoons), Frank Duveneck (Figure and portrait painter), Joseph Henry Sharp (Founder of the Taos Society of Artists) and John A. Ruthven (Master of wild life art).
Daly had also spent a number of years with the famous Rookwood Pottery Company in Cincinnati before USPPC. It is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. One of his well known native american designs from there appears on a USPPC "Congress 606" brand card back.
By 1909 Matthew (Matt) A. Daly became the Chief Designer of the playing cards. Matt was a well known artist that had already contributed a playing card back design that USPCC used ten years previously. He was also one of the founding members of the Cincinnati Art Club founded in 1890. Initially the club was bohemian in nature and did not have a fixed abode and met in the homes or studios of members. In 1907, the club moved to a new home in the Harrison building and was considered the most attractive home to artists in the Middle West. A number of well known and soon to be famous artists were members with Daly. They included Winsor McKay (Little Nemo cartoons), Frank Duveneck (Figure and portrait painter), Joseph Henry Sharp (Founder of the Taos Society of Artists) and John A. Ruthven (Master of wild life art).
Daly had also spent a number of years with the famous Rookwood Pottery Company in Cincinnati before USPPC. It is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. One of his well known native american designs from there appears on a USPPC "Congress 606" brand card back.
One of the only known pictures of Daly (black arrow) is a caricature of him from 1927 just before his retirement. The Cincinnati Post newspaper was doing a series about people behind the scenes of Cincinnati companies and featured the Norwood factory with a number of people in the art department.
Other long term employees shown were.......
Edward Siebert 1891 (Red Arrow)
Foreman of Coating Department
Winnie Coakley 1882 (Green Arrow)
Box Department Forelady
August M Behrens 1878 (Orange Arrow)
Finishing Department
Henry Keller 1877 (Blue Arrow)
Chief Engineer
Kate Quinlan 1881 (Purple Arrow)
Stock Department Forelady
In 1910 Samuel J. Murray headed a group to try and take over the box board business in the country. They called their new corporation the National Box Board Company. They first purchased the largest paper mill in the country in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, called Publishers Paper Company. Charles B. Oglesby of Middletown, Ohio, a very well known southwest Ohio businessman then ran this company from his paper mill in Middletown. The plan failed two years later when they were $230,000 ($7 million) in debt and then went into solvency.
The assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 set off a chain of events that led to war in early August 1914. This started to cause a printing ink shortage in America. Samuel J. Murray assured the newspapers that his company made the same high quality ink and they were doing okay after two ships from Europe arrived with needed supplies. A year later other printing companies were running short on ink, but USPCC was doing fine.
In August 1915 Samuel J. Murray died from pneumonia after becoming seriously ill from a cold. The playing card factory was closed for the day of his funeral. Among the active pallbearers were Aurthur Russell (A. O. Russell's son), James D. McCracken, August Crusius and John Omwake. The honorary pallbearers were the only remaining company founders Robert J. Morgan and John F. Robinson. Newspapers reported he was buried at Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery. This was not true. His body was held there for a short time and then was transported to the Murray family plot in Indianapolis. This cemetery is about a mile from the old National Card Company factory he started in 1888.
In August 1915 Samuel J. Murray died from pneumonia after becoming seriously ill from a cold. The playing card factory was closed for the day of his funeral. Among the active pallbearers were Aurthur Russell (A. O. Russell's son), James D. McCracken, August Crusius and John Omwake. The honorary pallbearers were the only remaining company founders Robert J. Morgan and John F. Robinson. Newspapers reported he was buried at Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery. This was not true. His body was held there for a short time and then was transported to the Murray family plot in Indianapolis. This cemetery is about a mile from the old National Card Company factory he started in 1888.
In April 1917 USPCC changes its incorporation. Formerly incorporated in New Jersey it re-incorporates in Ohio because of changes in Ohio tax laws. The authorized capital was $8 million ($190 million today) with a market value of $175 per share paying a 12% dividend.
In October 1917 a war bond program was started at the factory called the Liberty Loan Savings Association. It was even available to employees at their printing and lithographic companies. Within a month over $170,000 ($4 million) had been signed up for. A patriotic themed card back design was also issued on their Congress 606 brand.
In December 1917 founder Robert J. Morgan passed away after being ill a number of years. Since the mid-1890s he had not been very active with the company. He had served on the Police Commission for eight years and about twenty-five years on the Board of Education. He was also a founding member of the Cincinnati Cuvier Club in 1874, for the protection of game and fish and for social purposes in Ohio. Twice he refused the nomination for Mayor.
In September 1919 The factory held a huge party to celebrate the 53 employees who had gone to fight in the war. Over 1,000 people attended to praise their service and honor the two that didn't make it back home. It was announced that during the war employees purchased $2 million ($40 million) in bonds to support the effort. In 1920 a bronze tablet was mounted in the factory's main hallway with the names of 78 employees that served during the war.
In early April 1921 word came from the winter home of 78 year old John F. Robinson in Miami, Florida, that he was near death. Following a long illness, he died on the 31st. His body was returned to Cincinnati for his funeral. A. O. Russell's son Arthur served as one of the pall bearers. He was buried in the Spring Grove Cemetery near the other three company founders.
In 1922 the factory began a number of changes and expansions. They first tore down the employee cafeteria and started building a new four story building for more offices and warehouse space.
On the opposite side of the factory, they built a new three story employee cafeteria, reading and recreation area. Meals for the employees were sold below cost. They would then attach the cafeteria to the United States Printing & Lithographing Company building next door.
On the opposite side of the factory, they built a new three story employee cafeteria, reading and recreation area. Meals for the employees were sold below cost. They would then attach the cafeteria to the United States Printing & Lithographing Company building next door.
In 1922 the forward thinking John Omwake took the company into the age of radio. He wanted to use radio to bring USPCC into homes around the country. So he hired the Westinghouse Electric Company to install the country's largest radio station at the time near the center of the factory. It would become radio station WSAI and use its 500 watt transmitter to project 1,500 miles. It went on the air in the evening of June 7, 1923.
In 1924 a new transmission tower for the station was built in nearby Mason. The station then started out at 1,500 watts of power and worked its way up to the limit of 5,000. Their broadcasts were reported to have been picked up in New Zealand.
Omwake also had Vice President and Sales Manager Clifford E. Albert to come up with a way to teach Bridge over the radio. Albert was already an avid Bridge player and developed a plan to sell cards and teach the game on their broadcasts. He eventually involved 161 other radio stations and 182 newspapers to teach the game for five years.
(Albert would serve the company for 50 years and also become its President in 1937)
At this same time USPCC modified the front of their factory for a new 125 foot tall clock tower. The 24 foot square tower would also have a set of carillon bells. The 12 perfectly attuned bells weighed between 350 to 5,000 pounds. They were manufactured by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York. A special musician, P. H. Brouwer, was hired to play the bells. Their sound could be heard throughout Norwood and would also announce their radio broadcasts.
After WSAI was bought in 1928 by Crosley and soon moved into Cincinnati the bells were sold back to Meneely which then sold them separately to other customers. (This information comes from www.towerbells.org)
By 1924 the company's factory area had greatly increased to this................
1) Office & Warehouse Original Employee Cafeteria location. Replaced by a four story office/warehouse building in 1923.
Still exists.
Would be used by the Wright Aeronautical Company during World War II.
2) Machine Shop Added in 1903. Still exists
3) Front of Factory Building
Clock Tower Still exists and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places
1st Floor Dressing Rooms
2nd Floor Offices
3rd Floor Sizing, Gilding, Dyeing & Sorting
4th Floor Engraving, Mixing & Pasting
4) Factory North Wing
1st Floor Plate Cleaning and Calendars
2nd Floor Printing
3rd Floor Varnishing, Printing and Engraving
4th Floor Pasting
5) Factory South Wing
1st Floor Ink and Whist Cards
2nd Floor Sorting, Packing, Shipping and Box Making
3rd Floor Web Printing and Box Making
4th Floor Enameling
6) Warehouse Original in 1899 and then expanded in 1922 and attached to the new employee restaurant.
7) Employee Cafeteria New in 1922 then expanded in 1924. It was 66,000 square feet.
8) Poker Chip Dept. This building was added in 1917 just for poker chips.
9) Machine & Carpentry Shops Original in 1899.
10) Storage Areas
11) Garage Only held 20 work vehicles.
12) Water Reservoir 300,000 gallons for factory use. USPCC had their own wells on the property.
13) Green House Original in 1899
There was also athletic fields for baseball, football and soccer.
Still exists.
Would be used by the Wright Aeronautical Company during World War II.
2) Machine Shop Added in 1903. Still exists
3) Front of Factory Building
Clock Tower Still exists and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places
1st Floor Dressing Rooms
2nd Floor Offices
3rd Floor Sizing, Gilding, Dyeing & Sorting
4th Floor Engraving, Mixing & Pasting
4) Factory North Wing
1st Floor Plate Cleaning and Calendars
2nd Floor Printing
3rd Floor Varnishing, Printing and Engraving
4th Floor Pasting
5) Factory South Wing
1st Floor Ink and Whist Cards
2nd Floor Sorting, Packing, Shipping and Box Making
3rd Floor Web Printing and Box Making
4th Floor Enameling
6) Warehouse Original in 1899 and then expanded in 1922 and attached to the new employee restaurant.
7) Employee Cafeteria New in 1922 then expanded in 1924. It was 66,000 square feet.
8) Poker Chip Dept. This building was added in 1917 just for poker chips.
9) Machine & Carpentry Shops Original in 1899.
10) Storage Areas
11) Garage Only held 20 work vehicles.
12) Water Reservoir 300,000 gallons for factory use. USPCC had their own wells on the property.
13) Green House Original in 1899
There was also athletic fields for baseball, football and soccer.
After Matt Daly retired at the end of 1927 USPCC gave out prizes of $75 and $100 for two years for new card back designs. The prizes were given out to students of the University of Cincinnati and both times the winners were girls. In 1928 it was 21 year old Garnett Louellen Bossard and in 1929 it was 22 year old Helen Louise Harness. (Garnett would die suddenly at age 24 from a heart attack) What the winning designs were are unknown.
Garnett L. Bossard Helen L. Harness
In 1928 John Omwake loaned part of his massive playing card collection to the Cincinnati Museum of Art. In an interview he admitted he was not a good card player because he spent his time making them as opposed to playing them. This collection contained over 58,000 playing cards and pieces of card playing memorabilia.
This collection is now kept in a vault in the new playing card factory in Erlanger, Kentucky, and are unavailable to the public.
The card collection appears in the book "A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming" by Catherine Perry Hargrave on pages 360 to 367.
To see a list of the American made cards in the collection, click on the link below.
In 1929 USPCC did a recapitalization of the company to buy A. O. Russell's son's playing card company. W. W. Russell had started the company in 1905 after his first business's shortcoming. However, he once again fell into financial difficulties and ceased operations in 1911. Sold at public auction it was salvaged by Benjamin Rosenthal, who merged it with his Kalamazoo Playing Card Company. In 1914 the American Bank Note Company's playing card division was also merged into the company, and thereafter had become successful.
Robert J. Morgan's legacy continued in 1932 when his son, Arthur Russell Morgan, was elected head of both the United States Playing Card Company and the United States Printing & Lithograph Company. It was short lived. He would pass away in 1938.
In July 1935 USPCC did something they had never done in their history. They closed the factory for two weeks to let everyone, including company officers, take their two weeks vacation all at one time. The idea was to have everyone come back refreshed and ready to go to work with renewed energy.
There was no report if the idea worked, but they never did it again.
In 1937 the factory machinists tried to organize a union with the American Federation of Labor. Expected to be "a sure thing" some of them changed their mind when the vote was taken. Some of the machinists then decided to be represented by the Committe For Industrial Organizations Local 256 and almost immediately went on strike.
USPCC in 1939 applied to the New York Stock Exchange to have their shares listed. Presently they were only available on the Cincinnati Stock Exchange.
In a move obviously to prepare for another war the four story factory building on the north side of the property was leased to the Wright Aeronautical Company in 1940. They would first use the 56,000 square feet for office space and then add a training school for company employees. Their main factory was in Paterson, New Jersey, where they made engines for bomber aircraft.
Wright moved their offices out to their new aircraft factory in Lockland, about 7 miles away, in April 1941. Because of a manpower shortage in 1942 they began using their training school to train women in machine work. The first 200 women were used to supervise this type of work in their new factory.
By the Spring of 1943 the entire female senior class of East Vocational High School was working at the USPCC factory sewing parachutes for bombs to be dropped in Europe. The junior class girls were going to school one day and working at a factory or business the next day for the war effort.
Parachute Work At The Factory
It wasn't just women doing all the work for the war effort. Future baseball Hall of Famer Harold "Pie" Traynor was a lathe worker there in 1943. At one time called the greatest third baseman to play the game he came out of retirement to help. The next year he took a job as a sports director for a Pittsburgh radio station.
After the war USPCC went on a hiring spree. Jobs for work at the factory were plentiful, according to the want ads in the newspapers. Working there was considered a long term job.
In 1959 the Diamond International Corporation took over the United States Printing & Lithographing plant. The Norwood playing card factory was the only Russell & Morgan place left. In 1967 USPCC was reporting earnings of over $3 million ($27 million) and still paying a dividend. 1968 was a little lower and only a 40 cent dividend. In February 1969 the Diamond International Corporation made their move and merged USPCC into their company. They already owned the Heekin Can Company and the United States Printing & Lithograph Company.
By 1982 the brokerage firm of Jesup & Lamont took over USPCC which was followed by Frontenac, a Chicago-based private equity firm in 1989. USPCC would return to self-ownership in 1994 before finally becoming a subsidiary in 2004 of the consumer products company Jarden.
In 2009, Jarden closed down the Norwood factory and relocated it to a new factory across the Ohio River in Erlanger, Kentucky. Playing cards produced between 2009 and 2012 at the Kentucky USPCC factory were reported to have had various quality control issues, including mis-centering of art and card handling quality. This lead to USPCC being acquired in 2016 by Newell Brands a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products.
Then in 2019 the current owner the Cartamundi Group purchased the company making it the largest playing card company in the world. This company is based in Turnhout, Belgium, and manufactures, produces, and sells board games, card games, collectible card games, packages, and playing cards. Finally, a playing card company running a playing card company again.
In 2009, Jarden closed down the Norwood factory and relocated it to a new factory across the Ohio River in Erlanger, Kentucky. Playing cards produced between 2009 and 2012 at the Kentucky USPCC factory were reported to have had various quality control issues, including mis-centering of art and card handling quality. This lead to USPCC being acquired in 2016 by Newell Brands a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products.
Then in 2019 the current owner the Cartamundi Group purchased the company making it the largest playing card company in the world. This company is based in Turnhout, Belgium, and manufactures, produces, and sells board games, card games, collectible card games, packages, and playing cards. Finally, a playing card company running a playing card company again.
To see what happened to the abandoned factory you should visit the "Norwood Demo" and "Factory 52" pages
In 2009 the Travel Channel did a seven minute segment about the company and did a factory tour. In 2019 an Urban Explorer entered the abandoned factory and did a tour of the building. These videos can be accessed on the "Factory Tours" page.