Vintage company documents are a great resource for historians and collectors. Like this Nintendo Playing Cards report from the 1950s, which was covered in full in a previous post.
It shows the range of playing card designs offered by Nintendo at the time.
At the center of the page featuring 'PR cards' is a deck with one of the most iconic images to come out of the United States in the 20th century: Marilyn Monroe lying on a bed sheet.
Although the inclusion of this card in the company report confirmed it was part of Nintendo's product catalogue at the time, we had never seen an actual copy.
Until today!
This copy was recently discovered by Nintendo playing card collector Fabrice Heilig, and I acquired it on his behalf.
The deck dates from the mid-1950s and comes in a clear plastic case with embossed lettering on the front spelling the Nintendo company name.
It features one of the most well-known—if not the most well-known—images of Marilyn Monroe, taken in 1949 at the start of her career.
The cards have gold-gilt edges, as was common for this series of Nintendo cards.
This particular photo of Marilyn Monroe remained unpublished for a few years, until December 1953, when it appeared as the first centerfold in the very first issue of Playboy magazine.
Nintendo must have acquired the rights to use the image on their cards shortly after that.
From today's perspective, it’s quite striking to see the Nintendo name paired with a nude photo of a famous actress—considering the company’s current wholesome image. However, for a playing card manufacturer in the 1950s, this was standard fare.
If you are interested in Nintendo's vintage playing cards, also check out this post about Kyoto Souvenir cards. More Nintendo pin-up playing cards here.
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