Introduced in 1908. Discontinued in 1910. This is the rarest of the three two-tone designs that were released solely in the United Kingdom (and France). All three of the designs are scarce, each having been printed in a single print run according to Mrs. Robinson. The other two designs are Handlebar and Saddle. Curiously, Chain is the only one of the three that was issued with both a black and brown back, and the usual blue and brown. After years of never seeing a complete Chain deck (only singles), in 2025 I finally acquired a complete deck in its original box. See Sales Data below for more information about this unique deck.
The Chain back features a bicycle chain as a border motif. Another back design that uses a bicycle chain as a border element is Autocycle No. 1.
Sales evidence in recent years indicates that the two-tone cards may have been released in France as well as the U.K. I have purchased a Saddle deck and a Handlebar deck from a dealer in France, both in U.S. style tuck cases. So far, a French Chain deck has not surfaced. In my experience, the U.K. Bicycle two-tone decks always come in cardboard telescoping sleeve boxes, almost always red.
SALES DATA
A brown and black Chain single sold on eBay on for $69 on September 25, 2016. Of the two Chain versions, this is the hardest to find.
A VG red & green Chain deck (52+joker/OB3) sold on eBay for $699 on March 1, 2020. That was an incredibly reasonable price for what may well be a unique deck. I was not the winner of that auction, but I did make a trade that ultimately landed that exceptional deck in my collection. See a picture below.
A black and brown Chain single sold on eBay for $57 on September 6, 2025.
