First mention of Nintendo in USA newspaper (1931)

The image below is the first known appearance of the Nintendo company name in a USA newspaper, maybe even the first mention of it outside of Japan.

We see a set of Hanafuda (花札), a type of Japanese playing cards, produced by Nintendo. The company name is written in Japanese kanji characters (任天堂), in right-to-left reading direction, as was common at the time.

At the time of this publication, Hanafuda were Nintendo's bread and butter, and Nintendo was one of the most well-known playing cards manufacturers in Japan.

The newspaper in question is The Daily Notes of Friday December 4 1931, published in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

Nintendo playing cards from the 1960s

Some time ago, I posted about a Nintendo playing cards sample book, which showcased the range of playing cards sold by Nintendo in the late 1960s.

The book contains a single card for each of the sets on offer.

Today I thought it would be fun to share some of the actual sets alongside with the sample book.

Meet the collectors | Fabrice Heilig update part 2

In part 1 of this special Meet the Collectors update, we introduced you to Fabrice's wonderfully executed dream idea: building a dedicated place for his Nintendo cards collection in his back garden, modelled after Nintendo's birth home in Kyoto Japan.

Now it's time to take a look inside!

Fabrice: "As you can see, my card collection has really grown since the previous Meet the Collectors post back in 2012. I still find items, but less often than before. I have also become a bit more selective, although I still buy on impulse every now and then"

"Nowadays the prices of some items are increasing a lot, and I'm glad that I could start this collection a long time ago."

"As some of my favourite items, I still love the two Nintendo sample book [shown in the image below], but also my two 24K gold Nintendo cards. I really like these."

Meet the collectors | Fabrice Heilig update part 1

In today's post we are revisiting the collection of French Nintendo collector Fabrice Heilig. Fabrice was one of the first collectors featured on this blog, back in 2012.

At the time, Fabrice already owned an extensive collection, with a broad selection of vintage Nintendo toys and games, including many playing cards sets.

Fabrice in front of the second Nintendo office in Kyoto (2019)

At the start of this catch-up, we are of course curious to hear what happened over the last nine years.

Fabrice's Nintendo playing cards display in 2012

Fabrice: "Since the previous interview, I had a change in my professional life, as the company where I worked for 20 years closed down. So I had to make a readjustment in a new work environment. In my collection, over the years I focussed increasingly on Nintendo's playing cards."

"As must be recognisable to other collectors, when the collection expanded I ran out of space to keep and showcase it. When looking for a solution, I thought about adding an extra room dedicated to the playing cards, as they have my special interest as the foundation of Nintendo."

Fabrice's Nintendo playing cards display in 2020

"By end of 2018, an idea formed in my mind to create a reproduction of the first Nintendo building to house that part of the collection."

Nintendo's first building in Kyoto, where the company started in 1889

"As this Nintendo building was destroyed in 2004, unfortunately, I had to rely on the few existing pictures to base my design on."