Movie Souvenir Playing Cards - 1916

A boxed set of Movie Souvenir Playing Cards from 1916, this 52 card set features a different black and white portrait of a "motion picture" star on each card. 

Printed in 1916/17 by the Movie Souvenir Card Co. (M. J. Moriarty) in Cincinnati, U.S.A., all of this glamour sold for the affordable price of fifty cents in 1916 (equivalent to $15 in 2025).

The star line up in this deck includes:

Hearts (Ace to King): Ruth Roland, Lenore Ulrich, Geraldine Farrar, Marguerite Clayton, Ormi Hawley, Pearl White, Clara Kimball Young, Julia Swayne Gordon, Ethel Clayton, Bessie Barriscale, Maurice Costello, Lillian Walker, and Francis X. Bushman.

Diamonds (Ace to King): Beverly Bayne, Blanche Sweet, Violet Mersereau, House Peters, May Allison, William Sherwood, Crane Wilbur, Anita Stewart, Mary Miles Minter, Mary Anderson, Jack W. Kerrigan, Marguerite Clark, and William Farnum.

Clubs (Ace to King): Marguerite Snow, Kathlyn Williams, Vivian Martin, "Mother" Nellie Anderson, Grace Cunard, Ruth Stonehouse, Mary Fuller, Dorothy Kelly, Norma & Constance Talmadge, Mabel Normand, William S. Hart, Edith Storey, and King Baggot.

Spades (Ace to King): Florence La Badie, George Beban, Dustin Farnum, Richard C. Travers, Harold A. Lockwood, Henry B. Walthall, Robert Edeson, Anna Pavlowa, Carlyle Blackwell, Bryant Washburn, Antonio Moreno, Mary Maurice, and Earle Williams.

The image on the back of all cards is a reproduction of Alexander von Wagner's "The Chariot Race", a highly popular 19th-century image, which was available in cheap chromolithographic forms. 

Condition: Very good used. No tears or creases on any card. Card edge gilding has completely worn away. Joker is missing. Some damage and wear to outer case. See photos for details. 

Dimensions:
Depth - 0.75"
Width - 2.75"
Length - 3.75"
Weight: 108 grams