THE MYSTERIOUS CARMICHAEL, JEWETT & WALES
From "The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards" we have this description of our next card makers.....
U35 CARMICHAEL, JEWETT & WALES, c1840.
This maker was also previously unknown, but two decks have surfaced relatively recently. This full size deck has an elaborate Ace of Spades and uncommon single ended courts.
U36 CARMICHAEL, JEWETT & WALES, c1840.
A completely different Ace for this miniature deck measuring just over 2 inches by 1½ inches. The courts are very similar to those of U35.
U35 CARMICHAEL, JEWETT & WALES, c1840.
This maker was also previously unknown, but two decks have surfaced relatively recently. This full size deck has an elaborate Ace of Spades and uncommon single ended courts.
U36 CARMICHAEL, JEWETT & WALES, c1840.
A completely different Ace for this miniature deck measuring just over 2 inches by 1½ inches. The courts are very similar to those of U35.
These cards appeared in several newspaper ads between 1837 and 1839.
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans, Louisiana) · 26 Aug 1837
The Charleston Daily Courier (Charleston, South Carolina) · 4 Jan 1839
They were PROBABLY New York City card makers. I have no proof they definitely were. It is very circumstantial. Here is what I have...
CARMICHAEL I cannot prove any New York City CARMICHAEL in the time period between 1830 and 1850 had anything to do with card making.
WALES I cannot prove any New York City WALES in the time period between 1830 and 1850 had anything to do with card making.
JEWETT I do have some clues here. The only Jewett card maker I found was a few years later in an 1850 New Jersey Federal Census.
CARMICHAEL I cannot prove any New York City CARMICHAEL in the time period between 1830 and 1850 had anything to do with card making.
WALES I cannot prove any New York City WALES in the time period between 1830 and 1850 had anything to do with card making.
JEWETT I do have some clues here. The only Jewett card maker I found was a few years later in an 1850 New Jersey Federal Census.
A couple doors before Daniel Jewet I noticed his neighbor was David Felt. (His story will be coming soon)
A couple doors before Daniel Jewet I noticed his neighbor was David Felt. (His story will be coming soon)
This census location was for the New York City card maker David Felt's small town of Feltsville. This town was loaded with his employees from New York City. At the time Felt had almost 400 employees. (Andrew Dougherty had recently let his employ and gone to work for George Cook making Caleb Bartlett cards)
David Felt ran a stationery business in New York City, with a store in Manhattan and a factory in Brooklyn. In 1844, he began buying up property in present day Union County, New Jersey to establish another factory. Within two years, from 1845 to 1847, Felt built a mill down along the Blue Brook, two dams to supply water power for that mill, and an entire town here on the bluff to house all of the people who would work in that mill. That town became known as Feltville.
Let's compare the King of Hearts of David Felt's decks and the same card from the Carmichael, Jewett and Wales' deck;
Felt's on the left and Carmichael, Jewett and Wales' on the right appear to be a match.
After this the trail goes cold again.