James Thoubboron was born in 1828 in the Shoreditch district in London's East End. His father was a carpet weaver who made ornamental rugs. His grandfather had moved there from the family's ancestral home in the northern county of Durham in the 1780s. The Thoubborons lived on Union Street just off of the Kingsland Road, which was a major coaching route to the north, exiting the City at Bishopsgate. (It is now the A10)
Shoreditch’s population grew faster than any other London district in the first half of the nineteenth century. In 1801 the census showed 35,000 inhabitants. Fifty years later there were around 130,000 residents. Shoreditch's overcrowding came with resulting problems. The building of warehouses, workshops and the railway expansion destroyed many areas and alleys such as Swan Yard and Leg Alley. The 4,000 dispossessed people were not given other homes and this worsened the severe overcrowding.
Clothing, furniture and printing were the three main trades in Shoreditch. James chose the printing trade.
The famous English writer Charles Dickens knew the area well and would walk the streets for inspiration for this works. His David Copperfield character Mr Wilkins Micawber (on the right) lived at Windsor Terrace, City Road in Shoreditch and Oliver Twist lived in South Shoreditch.
The famous English writer Charles Dickens knew the area well and would walk the streets for inspiration for this works. His David Copperfield character Mr Wilkins Micawber (on the right) lived at Windsor Terrace, City Road in Shoreditch and Oliver Twist lived in South Shoreditch.
James was born very near to St. Leonard's Church (shown on the left) in Shoreditch where he was baptized and attended. One of his fellow parishioners was Dr. James Parkinson an English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, paleontologist and political activist. He is best known for his 1817 work "An Essay on the Shaking Palsy", in which he was the first to describe "paralysis agitans", a condition that would later be renamed Parkinson's disease. The doctor is buried in the church's graveyard.
While mastering the printing trade, he met a young lady named Jessy May Warren in the neighboring parish. She worked as an envelope folder. On December 30th, 1851 they married in the new Christ Church (Hoxton) near her home.
GREEN James’s Church St. Leonard’s
RED Where James lived on Union Street
BLUE Jessy’s neighborhood church where she was baptized
WHITE Hoxton Christ Church where James and Jessy married
YELLOW Kingsland Road (Now the A10)
RED Where James lived on Union Street
BLUE Jessy’s neighborhood church where she was baptized
WHITE Hoxton Christ Church where James and Jessy married
YELLOW Kingsland Road (Now the A10)
The newlyweds headed to America the next year with two other family members. They were James's mother and their first child Jessy was carrying, which would be born in America. Over the next twenty years they would have ten more children, which included two sets of twins. His mother would stay with them until her death in 1863.
Arriving in New York City in 1852 immigrants would be un-boarded and proceed to wherever they were going. It would be three more years before the first official immigration center was opened in New York City. This would be Castle Garden which began its interesting life as a fort built to defend New York Harbor from the British during the War of 1812. Twelve years after the war it was ceded to New York City by the U.S. Army. The former fort reopened in 1824 as Castle Garden, a public cultural center and theatre. Following the passage of the Passenger Act of 3 March 1855, designed to safeguard the health and welfare of immigrant passengers to the U.S., New York passed its own legislation to establish a receiving station for immigrants.
Arriving in New York City in 1852 immigrants would be un-boarded and proceed to wherever they were going. It would be three more years before the first official immigration center was opened in New York City. This would be Castle Garden which began its interesting life as a fort built to defend New York Harbor from the British during the War of 1812. Twelve years after the war it was ceded to New York City by the U.S. Army. The former fort reopened in 1824 as Castle Garden, a public cultural center and theatre. Following the passage of the Passenger Act of 3 March 1855, designed to safeguard the health and welfare of immigrant passengers to the U.S., New York passed its own legislation to establish a receiving station for immigrants.
Castle Garden
James chose Brooklyn to live in and work as a printer. He may have already known people from back home that lived there. In the 1855 Brooklyn census he had two fellow Englishmen and their families boarding with him. One is also a printer and the other is a brushmaker. The area was almost entirely made up of immigrants.
Thoubboron lived on Degraw Street in what is known as the 6th Ward. It was the Cobble Hill neighborhood of South Brooklyn along the East River across from New York City. In 1858 he expanded his show card printing business across the river to 28 Cedar Street. There was already a large printing business at that location named Clayton and Ferris Printers. The owners James Clayton and Thomas Ferris were fellow Brooklynites and Ferris also lived in the 6th Ward.
To get to his business James had to ride the Whitehall Street & Hamilton Avenue ferry. One of the other people from his neighborhood that also had to take that ferry to their job in New York City was a fellow printer named Andrew Dougherty. His playing card business in New York City was about four blocks from James's Cedar Street store. Dougherty was also a neighbor of Thomas Ferris and they were fellow Irishmen.
Thoubboron lived on Degraw Street in what is known as the 6th Ward. It was the Cobble Hill neighborhood of South Brooklyn along the East River across from New York City. In 1858 he expanded his show card printing business across the river to 28 Cedar Street. There was already a large printing business at that location named Clayton and Ferris Printers. The owners James Clayton and Thomas Ferris were fellow Brooklynites and Ferris also lived in the 6th Ward.
To get to his business James had to ride the Whitehall Street & Hamilton Avenue ferry. One of the other people from his neighborhood that also had to take that ferry to their job in New York City was a fellow printer named Andrew Dougherty. His playing card business in New York City was about four blocks from James's Cedar Street store. Dougherty was also a neighbor of Thomas Ferris and they were fellow Irishmen.
Did the famous card maker Andrew Dougherty know Thoubboron through these connections? I believe he did. Dougherty had started his playing card making in Brooklyn in 1845 before moving to New York City in 1857. They were in the same line of work and were only a few blocks apart. Dougherty was well known in the 6th Ward and Thoubboron was also making a name for himself in ward politics.
Ward 6 Map
The Yellow Stars show where Thoubboron lived and worked until 1866. The Red Stars are where Andrew Dougherty lived and worked during the same period. The Blue Star is the home of Thomas Ferris.
The Purple Diamond is the Brooklyn terminal for the Whitehall Street & Hamilton Avenue Ferry.
The Green Diamond is the Brooklyn terminal for the Whitehall Street & Atlantic Avenue Ferry.
The Yellow Stars show where Thoubboron lived and worked until 1866. The Red Stars are where Andrew Dougherty lived and worked during the same period. The Blue Star is the home of Thomas Ferris.
The Purple Diamond is the Brooklyn terminal for the Whitehall Street & Hamilton Avenue Ferry.
The Green Diamond is the Brooklyn terminal for the Whitehall Street & Atlantic Avenue Ferry.
The Whitehall Street Terminal in New York City
The ferry to and from Hamilton Avenue docked on the left and
the one to and from Atlantic Avenue docked on the right.
The ferry to and from Hamilton Avenue docked on the left and
the one to and from Atlantic Avenue docked on the right.
Thoubboron's Cedar Street business advertised as a "Velvet Show Card and Fancy Label Printer". Velvet finish cards don't use a lamination at all. They use a water based coating that results in a plush, luxurious, velvet or suede-like texture. He was the only one listed in the business directory as offering these type of cards.
After the Civil War began, he expanded to selling American flags for the 4th of July celebrations. By the end of the war years, both of his parents had died and his brother William had come to America to join his business. His wife Jessy was now raising eight children between the ages of two and twelve by herself.
James was also becoming well known for his store signs.
About 1870, and this is only an educated best guess, James creates a playing card deck. The "Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards" describes it this way......
U17 J. THOUBBORON, 28 Cedar St., New York, c1870. The pack shown here is the only one known by this maker and no trace of this company has been found. The courts and Ace of Spades are somewhat to those used in decks made by Andrew Dougherty and Lawrence & Cohen. Neither one, though, is close enough to infer that one of them made the cards for Thoubboron.
This statement was made over forty years ago and new information, as seen above, has been found. Here is a picture of some of these rare cards:
The figure on the deck wrapper was probably "The Harlequin" who was characterized by his checkered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest. The Harlequin character first appeared in Bergamo, Italy, early in the 17th century and took center stage in the derived genre of the Harlequinade, developed in the early 18th century. As the Harlequinade portion of the English dramatic genre pantomime developed, Harlequin was routinely paired with the character Clown. The English actor and playwright David Garrick had a popular play about the Harlequin riding into a scene on a broom between two witches. Was James familiar with the popular English play?
The pattern on the card back does not match any deck I could find.
The pattern on the card back does not match any deck I could find.
But, matching the Thoubboron card to Andrew Dougherty's they seem very close.
The King of Hearts and King of Clubs appears very similar.
(Thoubboron on the left and Dougherty on the right)
The Thoubboron cards were still square cornered and there was no known Joker. This would put it in that 1870 time period give or take maybe 5 years. The Dougherty cards are from the late 1860s.
Also, this square pattern on the King of Hearts and the symbol on the sword hilt are Dougherty long used designs.
Also, this square pattern on the King of Hearts and the symbol on the sword hilt are Dougherty long used designs.
About this time James moved out of the 6th Ward and further east in Brooklyn to a larger home for his now family of twelve. In the 22nd Ward he took possession of the Van Brunt mansion at Fourth Avenue and Tenth Street. James owned land around there also.
The Van Brunt Mansion
Thoubboron's card and sign business would soon grow to become the largest of its kind even though it was usually just a four man operation. In 1885 he patented a wood fiber material called "Flock". It gave his cards a soft, fuzzy, velvet-like touch and feel. It was similar to a patent by Benjamin G. George from James’s hometown of Shoreditch. He would sometimes use aluminum on the raised letters for a more dramatic effect.
In 1885 James retires and his brother William takes over and moves the business a block away to 125 Maiden Lane (Shown on the right).
When William dies in 1891 James's second oldest son John takes over running the operation. They closed in the 1920s after seventy years in business.
On October 26th, 1895 James dies after several months of suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage. His obituary lists his accomplishments and many social organizations he belonged to in Brooklyn. He is buried in the family plot in the nearby Greenwood Cemetery.
Thoubboron's Home (Yellow Star) and his family plot (Green Star)