Collectibles: Tom Tyler on the United Postal Card Supply Co. arcade cards

One of the lesser-known arcade card manufacturers was United Postal Card Supply Company (UPCSC). United Postal Card Supply Company was a competitor of the Chicago Exhibit Supply Company (ESCO) but managed to differentiate their arcade cards in a few ways. One, while their cards were in monochrome, many of the famous figures who appeared on these cards – from famous western actors like Tom Mix, Fred Thomson, Rex Bell, Ken Maynard, Buzzy Barton to baseball players – were often portrayed as cutouts from their original background, usually a still or movie poster. There are at least two arcade cards Tom Tyler appears on: one is from “The Cowboy Musketeer” (1926), the other one, from “Idaho Red” (1929). Each card measures 3 3/8 x 5 3/8" in size (slightly larger than the ESCO arcade cards), has a seafoam green background, with the darker blue reserved for the card image.

Unfortunately, not much is known about United Postal Card Supply Company nor when it was in operation. The arcade cards this company manufactured remain very rare.

"The Cowboy Musketeer" UPCSC arcade card