Union cards

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Moderator 1,644 posts GregAlex Moderator 1,644 posts

GregAlex 1555446112 · Edited

One of Nirvana's recent posts got me thinking we needed a thread on this topic. "Union" souvenir cards are listed in the SCCS catalog as forerunners (F), although these are still currently being produced. The IPPDSPM&E Union (International Plate Printers, Die Stampers, Plate Makers and Engravers) started out as a collection of separate unions which consolidated in 1893. Early Union cards go back as far as as the 1870s, for social events, but the majority of these were printed for Union conventions.

Since these were often grouped in folders and booklets of 6 to 12 cards and conventions were held every few years, you can imagine how many different varieties exist. Right now we have more than 90 card images on the SCCS website, but that's only because I haven't gotten around to processing many of the other images I've been accumulating. I would guess there are at least that many more to be posted.

Modern Union cards typically have the triangular logo at the bottom, indicating they were produced by union labor. These are not always for union-related events, but usually they are a good opportunity for the IPPDSPM&EU to show off its work.

Here is a sampling of Union cards over the years and I would love to see other members post theirs. There are many unlisted cards yet to be discovered. Special thanks to Don Epp for supplying many of these later images.

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GregAlex Moderator 1,644 posts

GregAlex 1563676174

Here are a couple more Union cards that I scanned recently.

F-1948A(a)

F-1959B

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Southpaw Senior Member 52 posts

Southpaw 1564075806

I apologize if I've posted these here before, but I think these belong in this thread!

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GregAlex Moderator 1,644 posts

GregAlex 1564103354

Those are very attractive, Southpaw -- thanks for posting! I haven't seen the 1893 gentleman's ticket before. If these were really annual balls, you'd think a lot more of the tickets would have survived. But I've only seen perhaps 8 or 9 different years.

One of my friends has an original printing plate with the bottom vignette. Here's a sample print he gave me.

Melnick ABNC printer at press vignette.jpg

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GregAlex Moderator 1,644 posts

GregAlex 1575531100 · Edited

I posted one of this set on a different thread, so I revved up the scanner and did the whole lot. 1987 was a very busy year for Union cards, with more than 20 different cards issued. In addition to the souvenir folder given out to convention attendees, a special set of six "compliments" cards were distributed at the convention banquet -- F-1987H(a-f). Only 200 were printed. This set was produced by United Stated Banknote Company, which had recently changed its name from Security-Columbian Bank Note Co. Four of the cards are oversized (11"x14") and all of them feature a treasury of vignettes. You will probably recognize many of these, which appear elsewhere, primarily on stocks and bonds.