Margin Snowflake

N 38

Introduced in 1910. Discontinued in 1917. Very, very rare. I have never seen this back design, apart from the image in Mrs. Robinson’s booklet and the occasional sample card in a salesman’s sample folder or book. Below is an image of such a sample card. The color in the red example above is photoshopped as I have never seen a red card.

Not surprisingly, Margin Snowflake is closely related to the Bicycle Snowflake back. Neither graphic particularly resembles an array of actual snowflakes, which is a bit disappointing.

As of 2026, it became known to me that Margin Snowflake was marketed in the United Kingdom, thanks to Josh Searles, who shared the image of a box he recently purchased (alas, it was empty). See the second image, below.

SALES DATA

A blue Margin Snowflake salesman’s sample card sold on eBay for $225 on February 22, 2017, pictured below. This may be the closest any of us get to a Margin Snowflake deck of cards.

37. Lotus

39. Margin Star No. 1

Margin Snowflake
A Margin Snowflake sample card from a salesman's sample folder or book. Note the hyphen in the name...
Margin Snowflake
This UK box reveals that Margin Snowflake was marketed in Great Britian around the turn of the last century. Image courtesy of Josh Searles.

PLAYING CARDS FOR COLLECTORS

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