KEM Playing Cards Inc.

[Chuqii]

Here's an article I wrote a few years ago on the history of KEM Playing Card Co. for Card Culture at 52+J. Holds up pretty well, but I discovered a few more things than are in the article. If you are interested, I can send you a pdf version.

[Chuqii]

Final pages

[AMBERGHINI69]

Hello,
I am hoping you can help identify 2 decks of Kem cards I recently acquired. I believe they may be "Plumes" but I am unable to find a picture of that particular deck.

I am also a bit thrown off by the fact that 3 of the Aces have the KEM info printed on them. I have never seen another KEM deck with 3 printed Aces. I am assuming that the Ace of Hearts was left blank due to Piatnik using that card for their branding. There was no reorder card and 1 joker with each deck.
Any help you could provide would be appreciated!
Thanks

[GandalfPC]

Found yours labeled as Plumes here: viewtopic.php?p=189807#p189807

“The date code of C89 puts this deck as being printed August of 1939.”


I see two others (both marked C89) with the three marked aces:

Starlight: viewtopic.php?p=179433#p179433

Yacht Club: viewtopic.php?p=179437#p179437

[AMBERGHINI69]

I thought they were Plumes, thanks for the confirmation.

Does anyone know a gentle way to clean ivory colored bakelite? I am concerned about damaging the cardboard which already looks nasty. I purchased 2 Streamline decks that come in a cardboard and bakelite box. Box is in rough shape and is really dirty, however, somehow the cards are in excellent condition with very little color transfer!

[Bradius]

i am not sure how best to clean the case. One way to look at it is that the case did, and continues to do it's job - Keep the decks inside in good condition.

Personally, I have no problem with the case...maybe because i am just as beat up at this point....

[GandalfPC]

Tricky - easy to damage, hard to recover from - less is more

A soft toothbrush and a bit of dawn would be the standard first attempt, but with the cardboard it will be hard to get the edges without risking damage - a soft cloth just moistened with water and dawn folded over a bamboo skewer and a lot of careful time spent cleaning each grove might do it

I would try that before trying anything harsher - if you take off the surface sheen you likely won’t get it back

In the end Bradius is right - if you can tolerate the current condition you are best off - it is old, it looks old - new shiny plastic next to the rough cardboard will look less fitting perhaps

[AMBERGHINI69]

I'm beat up too which is why I love these old KEM decks so much! I opted to clean the case with a dry Q-tip to loosen some of the dirt and then I just brushed it with a soft toothbrush. Looks pretty good! This is a great place to get advice and help. Thanks so much!!

[GandalfPC]

Looks good - I think you achieved the right balance of clean enough but not too clean