Before the 1920s it seems that most Australian cards were made by small local enterprises producing small editions. who were printing cards in the mid-1880s.
Most cards today arrive in ships from Shanghai. The advent of television and more recently computers and the Internet have diminished the popularity of playing cards as a leisure pastime and as a manufacturing proposition. But there is not a long history of local manufacturing and there has probably never been a company in Australia whose sole business was making playing cards. Belgian manufacturers also exported cards to Australia during the 19th century and American cards influenced the local cardmakers.
Thomas & Co., c.1910 Playing cards from AustraliaĪt first cards were exported to Australia from England and newspaper adverts for cards being imported exist from as early as 1803. Above: Australian ace of spades designed to mimic a national coat of arms, W.