Erik Voskuil, who runs the fantastic Before Mario (and has written an fantabulous publication by the aforesaid name), has 1 of the world’s finest collections of Nintendo stuff. Recently though helium managed to get clasp of thing that was peculiar adjacent by his standards: a mates of packets of Nintendo playing cards from the 1950s, depicting the company’s hometown of Kyoto.

“I cannot overstate however exicited I was to find these seventy twelvemonth aged Nintendo cards, featuring Kyoto successful the 1950s”, Voskuil wrote excitedly connected August 7. “In each my years of collecting, these are the lone copies I person travel across”. To enactment that into perspective, penning connected his blog Voskuil adds this is the archetypal clip he’s ever seen the cards--printed wholly successful English--up for sale, aft spending “more than 20 years of searching for vintage Nintendo items”.

Having publically aired his hesitation implicit opening the packets—these are valuable, and if remained closed would clasp that value—Voskuil yet decided to unfastened 1 of them and permission the other, since that would fto him spot what the cards were really similar wrong portion besides keeping the 2nd acceptable sealed.

Sadly, his archetypal excitement didn’t past long.

“However, erstwhile I cautiously removed portion of the wrapper, I rapidly discovered that each cards had been wholly fused together”, he writes. “They had remained pressed unneurotic for specified a agelong time, apt nether blistery and humid conditions, that the ink connected each cards had made them instrumentality unneurotic completely. The stack of idiosyncratic cards had turned into 1 coagulated brick. The photograph prints connected the cards, that incorporate comparatively ample amounts of ink, whitethorn person contributed to this arsenic well.”

Note that these cards are old, and truthful lacked immoderate of the integrative oregon laminates we’d usually subordinate with playing cards produced successful much caller decades. These ones were made wholly of paper, truthful erstwhile helium says they person fused together, helium means it. This is nary longer a platform of cards, but an costly artifact of paper.

Checking the 2nd pack, Voskuil recovered those cards had suffered a akin fate, and portion immoderate person suggested “placing the packs successful the freezer for immoderate time”, oregon “putting them successful a ‘sweat box’ besides utilized by stamp collectors”, he says grimly that “these packs, unfortunately, are beyond immoderate of these methods, and volition stay fused together, forever.”

Bummer! The lone solace to beryllium recovered is that adjacent the boxes are lovely, and that Voskuil astatine slightest came distant with 1 card, since 1 of the 2 decks had a illustration paper attached to the backmost of it that could beryllium removed.

You tin spot much pics of the cards, and larn much astir conscionable wherefore they were truthful important, astatine Before Mario.