KEM Playing Cards Inc.

[Chuqii]

Here's an article I wrote a few years ago on the history of KEM Playing Card Co. for Card Culture at 52+J. Holds up pretty well, but I discovered a few more things than are in the article. If you are interested, I can send you a pdf version.

[Chuqii]

Final pages

[AMBERGHINI69]

Hello,
I am hoping you can help identify 2 decks of Kem cards I recently acquired. I believe they may be "Plumes" but I am unable to find a picture of that particular deck.

I am also a bit thrown off by the fact that 3 of the Aces have the KEM info printed on them. I have never seen another KEM deck with 3 printed Aces. I am assuming that the Ace of Hearts was left blank due to Piatnik using that card for their branding. There was no reorder card and 1 joker with each deck.
Any help you could provide would be appreciated!
Thanks

[GandalfPC]

Found yours labeled as Plumes here: viewtopic.php?p=189807#p189807

“The date code of C89 puts this deck as being printed August of 1939.”


I see two others (both marked C89) with the three marked aces:

Starlight: viewtopic.php?p=179433#p179433

Yacht Club: viewtopic.php?p=179437#p179437

[AMBERGHINI69]

I thought they were Plumes, thanks for the confirmation.

Does anyone know a gentle way to clean ivory colored bakelite? I am concerned about damaging the cardboard which already looks nasty. I purchased 2 Streamline decks that come in a cardboard and bakelite box. Box is in rough shape and is really dirty, however, somehow the cards are in excellent condition with very little color transfer!

[Bradius]

i am not sure how best to clean the case. One way to look at it is that the case did, and continues to do it's job - Keep the decks inside in good condition.

Personally, I have no problem with the case...maybe because i am just as beat up at this point....

[GandalfPC]

Tricky - easy to damage, hard to recover from - less is more

A soft toothbrush and a bit of dawn would be the standard first attempt, but with the cardboard it will be hard to get the edges without risking damage - a soft cloth just moistened with water and dawn folded over a bamboo skewer and a lot of careful time spent cleaning each grove might do it

I would try that before trying anything harsher - if you take off the surface sheen you likely won’t get it back

In the end Bradius is right - if you can tolerate the current condition you are best off - it is old, it looks old - new shiny plastic next to the rough cardboard will look less fitting perhaps

[AMBERGHINI69]

I'm beat up too which is why I love these old KEM decks so much! I opted to clean the case with a dry Q-tip to loosen some of the dirt and then I just brushed it with a soft toothbrush. Looks pretty good! This is a great place to get advice and help. Thanks so much!!

[GandalfPC]

Looks good - I think you achieved the right balance of clean enough but not too clean

[alecjacobryan]

I know this string is old, but hopefully someone is still current on this. Everyone seems to think that the KEM date codes that begin with a letter (mostly "C" from what I've seen) follow the same convention as the regular three digit or four digit date codes used later. In other words "C89" was from August of 1939 (a saw in one post). In addition, the 1942 WWII Cadet cards are marked "C102". The assumption is October of 1942.

However, I just purchased a set on eBay (which I actually haven't received yet but I'm posting the listing pictures), that are marked "C141". The listing said 1941 cards. But let's think about this for a second . . . If "C89" is a single digit year number for August of 1939, and "C102" (which we know are 1942 WWII cards) have a single digit year code for October of 1942, then how can "C141" be January of 1941 (double digit year mark the year before the "C102")? That doesn't make any sense.

The paperwork in the listing picture says "Poughkeepsie, NY". KEM did not move to Poughkeepsie until 1946. In addition, according to your article, KEM's early 40's Bakelite cases stored the cards vertically. The cards in this picture are clearly stored flat or horizontally (although I don't have the cards yet to examine the case more thoroughly).

Finally, the last couple of pictures are of an Arabesque double deck pack that I bought brand new online around 2004 (possibly 2005). They were brand new in the KEM packaging when I bought them. I tossed all the paperwork and reorder cards because at the time I didn't know much and got tired of that stuff being in the way every time I got the cards out to play. As you can see the brown deck is marked "593" which is May of 1993, but the green deck is marked "B105". Which we know can't be January of 2005 because KEM was no more in 2005. Also notice that the green deck copyright date and company name is bolder and larger than I have seen on any other KEM cards. In addition, the corners of the two cards are different (which I don't think I ever noticed until writing this). The brown deck card corners are flatter or have less of an arc than the green deck does. The green deck corners are more rounded. Again, these two decks came to me brand new in the packaging. Also, the two cards do feel different. The brown card feels more rigid and stiff like plastic. The green card feels a little waxier and more pliable. The brown cards feel like if you bend them too much, they will break (as actually did happen to my Jack of clubs in that deck. It is cracked and broken). The green deck feels like you can bend it further without breaking. This is evident since the green deck does not lay completely flat anymore after years of shuffling. It has a slight curve in the deck. The brown deck still lays flat.

Anyway, I think it is clear that if we know "C102" is from 1942, then "C141" can't possibly be an earlier card from 1941. There are not 14 months, and if KEM switched to a two-digit year in 1941 then why would they switch back to a one digit year in 1942? I think it is more likely based on the evidence that these "C141" Cameo cards are from the early 50's. Maybe the "1" in the date code means 1951? But then what the heck would the "C14" mean? And what would "B105" mean on my late 90's early 2000's double deck set? It can't be USPC code because the card still says "KEM Plastic Playing Cards, Inc." Albeit, the font is completely different than other KEM cards (including the sister deck in the case), and the card shape and feel is different. Any light you can shed on this would be great. Thank you.

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