Chainless
Introduced in 1899. Discontinued in 1917. The back design depicts a gear-driven shaft where the bicycle chain would normally be. While innovative, this was not a popular idea then or now. Some bicycles being marketed today feature notched belt drives instead of chains. Chainless is an elegant design that was evidently relatively popular. Today it […]
Bird
Introduced prior to 1891, probably discontinued within a year or two of its release. This is an extremely rare deck. Single cards are hard to come by (especially in red), and complete decks are seldom seen. If you do find a Bird deck, odds are it will be in pretty rough condition, as most of […]
Big Gun
Introduced in 1918 and apparently withdrawn from circulation in 1918. Toward the end of the first World War, the United States Playing Card Company produced four “War Series” decks under the Bicycle brand to represent each of the branches of the U.S. armed services: Big Gun for the Army, Dreadnaught for the Navy, Flying Ace […]
Automobile No.2
Introduced in 1913. Discontinued in 1935. Relatively common and possible to find in excellent or better condition in red or blue. Brown and green decks, on the other hand, are exceedingly rare. Until Steve Bowling sent me a scan of a brown card (above and enlarged in the last image, below), I did not even […]
Autocycle No.2
Introduced in 1906. Discontinued in 1919. This updated version of Autocycle appears to depict the same motorized tricycle as its predecessor, Autocycle No. 1. Not one of the most interesting Bicycle back designs, but quite rare. Mrs. Robinson originally listed this deck as being produced in red and blue only, but I have a copy […]
Autocycle No.1
Introduced in 1901 and discontinued in 1906. This deck depicts a motorized tricycle (see a detail of the fantastic machine, below). Note that a bicycle chain acts as the inner border in the design. Listed by Mrs. Robinson as having been produced in green and brown, but I have never seen even a single card […]
Autobike No.3
Introduced in 1907. Discontinued in 1917. Autobike No. 3 is a very rare deck. Reproduced by USPCC in green and brown versions in 2015 and erroneously called “Back No. 9,” a design that was never previously produced. Back No. 9, which is Mrs. Robinson’s numerical reference, is actually Autobike No. 2 and has still never […]
Autobike No.2
Listed by Mrs. Robinson as having been introduced in 1906 and said to have been discontinued in 1913. But, not even a single card from this deck has ever been seen by me or any other serious Bicycle card collector that I know. It does not appear in any known advertising, promotional material or salesman’s […]
Autobike No. 1
Introduced in 1902. Discontinued in 1906. Decks are hard to find in blue and VERY rare in red. Some early Bicycles are like this and it’s hard to say why one of a pair of colors is more difficult to find than the other. Interestingly, red singles appear far more often than blue. Pictured below […]
Auto No. 3
Introduced in 1913. Discontinued in 1917. The most difficult to find of the three Auto designs. Complete decks and single cards are rare.