baraja-cuba

There are only 3 known souvenir decks of Cuba, of which the fronts of the cards show scenic pictures. There is one American deck with oval pictures, dated c1905, which is not shown here, and another American deck with square pictures, which is shown here below.

	This second deck was manufactured by the United States Playing Card Company (USPCC) from Cincinnati and published by H. T. Roberts, located at Zenea 25 in Havana (Zenea is Neptuno). In the Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards by Tom & Judy Dawson (2000) the deck is described as SCU1 and it is dated there as c.1915. It is possible that there have been re-issues, as there are a few differently colored back designs known, but the accompanying leaflet from this deck mentions the number of the Cuban population on December 31st, 1923. On the 10 of Spades the main monument is depicted and in the text it says that it was inaugurated on March 8th 1925. To confirm that the deck was made in 1925 there is the USPCC letter dating system. On the Ace of Spades is faintly visible printed G1901. The letters refer to certain production years and the G stands for 1904, 1925, 1945 or 1965. So the deck can be dated as produced in 1925.
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The third deck was made in Cuba, published by Romo & Kredi. It probably dates from 1934. In the Hochman Encyclopedia it's dated as c1930, but on the 8 of Clubs in this deck the date of 4 September 1933 is visible.

The back design with Cuban and American flag might refer to the Treaty of Relations between Cuba and the US, that was proclaimed by president Roosevelt in 1934.

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A variation of the third deck was also made in Cuba, probably published by Romo & Kredi too, as the same pictures are used. It probably also dates from 1934, but was probably published as a cheaper version. Maybe for the tourists too, but it's possible that this version was sold to Cuban residents, as there's no text on the box, so no reference of "souvenir" or "Cuba". The cards are a bit thinner. The box is made of thin carton too, instead of the sturdy carton of the box above. There are a few irregularities in printing, such as misprinted back of the 9 of Clubs and the incorrect placing of the pink oval on the King and Queen of Spades. The cards are poorly cut too.