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The Deck Although aluminum is the third most common element on earth, it always occurs chemically joined to another metal. Prior to 1886, extracting aluminum from other metals was a costly endeavor, making the refined metal nearly as precious as gold. But it was in that year that a cheap process for such extraction was invented, and suddenly, everyday items started being made out of aluminum which would have been unthinkably expensive before. Some of these items were actually better suited to the older, more traditional materials, but creating them out of aluminum was a novelty. One such novelty item was aluminum playing cards, decks of which were sold as souvenirs at World's Fairs in the 1890's. The cards were easily bent and scratched, and soon the novelty wore off. Not many aluminum decks were made after that. This deck, made in the 1920's by Hauserman, was unusual, even for an aluminum deck: Its courts are non-standard, featuring art deco depictions of the rich crowd. Also, it is a "patience-sized" deck, being only 1 5/8" x 2 3/8" (the images have been enlarged here to allow for better viewing). The box reads "NATURAL ALUMINUM PLAYING CARDS - COCKTAIL SERIES - CHARLES L. KING - NEW YORK, N.Y - Made in Austria". | |
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The Cards on Display
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Where to Find the Deck This is an out-of-print, fairly rare deck - you'd have to luck into it at an antique store, auction, or dealer in rare cards. | |
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Aluminum Resources on the Web
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