Description
The story
I started producing playing cards back in 2013 after a visited Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. It was at this history museum/village where I learned about how early American settlers refused to use playing cards depicting Kings and Queens. These early colonialists made their own cards with the likenesses of George Washington and other notable people of their era. When I learned this, it inspired me to start producing playing cards.
I started with a three decks called the Unrest Series. Colonial Unrest featured notable people of the American Revolution, Civil Unrest featured notable people from the American Civil War and Global Unrest featured notable people from World War II. After the Unrest Series, I did Bicycle Titanic and several local history decks throughout Pennsylvania (my home state).
Over the years, I've produced several dozen different decks of playing cards and tarot cards. Nearly all of them our based on history because I'm very passionate about learning how our ancestors lived.
This current deck, Bicycle Barclay Mountain, is a deck that is very close to my heart. Back in 2015, I named my company after Barclay Mountain. This location was once home to over 3,000 residents but today it's home to nobody. I'm creating this company and deck of cards as a way to remember those who lived and died on the mountain.
The Project
This deck of playing cards is already in the pipeline at the United States Playing Card Co. We needed these cards in time for the Barclay Mountain festival that takes place in August.
The Court Cards
The court cards feature what life would’ve looked like on Barclay Mountain before it became a ghost town. Coal miners, lumberjacks, a leatherworker, a businessman, a railroad worker and teachers are hand illustrated on each court card. Much of the artwork was created using real photos for the inspiration.
The Tuck Case
The tuck case features a snake coiled around two pickaxes. The inspiration for this design came from the Gadsden Flag (also known as the Don’t Tread on Me flag). We have a stretch goal where we will produce a unbranded version (without the Bicycle logo).
The Back Design
The back design features two snakes forming the infinity symbol. It’s designed to remind people that time is never ending, and history can repeat itself. The back also ties in the theme of coal mining and lumbering with the use of pickaxes, axes and a railroad locomotive. The locomotive is modeled after one of the trains that once carried coal from the mountain to the nearby town of Towanda, Pa.
The Overall Design
The playing cards were designed in collaboration with R.J. Tomlinson, Anna Dorjieva and Oleg Gert. We wanted the overall design to give a sense of a ghostly nighttime feel. If you ever visit Barclay Mountain at night, you’ll know the feeling we were trying to capture… magic and mystery.
Bicycle Branding
We have many people ask us why we decided to go with Bicycle branding. For us the answer is simple. We want the Barclay Mountain name to live on for as long as possible. It was once lost to time but we’re bringing it back to life. It’s our way to let people know it’s never to late to be reborn, to be reimagined. With Bicycle branding, we know that this deck will live on in hundreds of collections throughout the world.
The highlights
Bicycle Barclay Mountain Playing Cards
Printed by THE UNITED STATES PLAYING CARD COMPANY
Premium Casino Grade Paper Stock
Air Cushion Embossed Card Finish
56 completely custom playing cards
Custom pips
Custom Tuck Box
