Description
Playing cards in box from the Scandinavian
American Line made by John Waddington Ltd. Of Leeds and London, England, signed
by passengers on the S.S. United States and dated 1928. The box has Scandinavian
American Line, Copenhagen, and the company’s flag faintly printed in gold on
the top with a playing card glued to the bottom. The card has the same face as
those in the deck featuring a female figure draped in a U.S. flag, striking a
pose in the manner of the Statue of Liberty, with a steamship and an ancient
sailing ship on the water behind her and text above that reads Scandinavian
American Line, Direct Scandinavia U.S.A. Service. Inside the cover of the box
there is writing in pen that reads Willis Todd, 275 Third Avenue, Roselle,
N.J., U.S.A., Earth, Uneverse. Willis H. Todd (1913-1978) was a fifteen year
old passenger on the S.S. United States on its voyage from Copenhagen, Denmark,
to New York City from September 12 to September 24, 1928. He likely bought this
deck of cards on that voyage. During the trip, he went around the ship having
other passengers write their names and sometimes their addresses on them (only on
the back or suit side). All fifty two of the playing cards have names of
passengers on them—the one Joker and the one blank playing card have no writing
on them. One card is dated September 24, 1928, the day the steamship United
States arrived in New York City. I found a complete list of passengers for this
voyage on Family Search and looked up a couple of names. Nelson Schafer (King
of Hearts) was also a fifteen year old passenger whose name appears on the passenger
list as Charles N. Schafer of Toledo, Ohio, and seems to have been traveling
with an older brother. Earl H. Robinson was a seventeen year old from Jewett
City, Connecticut, and Truman C. Power, also seventeen, hailed from Glocester, Massachusetts.
There are forty nine more names to research in the list, but it seems as though
Willis had made friends with some of the other young men on the voyage and had
them write their information on his cards. Willis H. Todd lived in Roselle, New
Jersey, and was the only son of a dental supplies salesman and his stay at home
wife. His father, Harold I. Todd, died in a car accident on Long Island seven
years later. Not long after, Willis would follow in his footsteps and become a
dental supplies salesman also. He spent the later years of his life in Mystic,
Connecticut. Joop Muller has written about this particular Waddington deck made
for the Scandinavian American Line on his informative playing cards website. This
deck deserves more research and would make a great subject for a blog or essay!
The box is in only good condition and shows light to moderate wear and soiling.
The deck of cards are in good to very good condition with no major defects
other than the writing on them. A great set of steamship advertising playing
cards with a lot of history!
