Mid-century historical souvenir deck produced by Stancraft (a division of the Standard Packaging Corporation) to commemorate the monumental 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair.

Operating at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens under the global theme ‘Peace Through Understanding’, this deck serves as a playable time capsule of 1960s optimism and retro-futurism.

Because it includes the original Federal Playing Card Revenue Tax Stamp, this specific copy is verified as an original piece from the Fair’s opening season. Since 1894, the United States government required a revenue tax stamp to be affixed to all packs of playing cards to prove the federal excise tax had been paid. However, this tax was permanently repealed on June 22, 1965.

Because the New York World’s Fair spanned two seasons (1964 and 1965), your deck is a perfect transitional piece:1964 Batches: Features the blue 10-cent federal tax stamp sealing the shrink wrap. Late 1965 Batches: Decks produced after June 1965 left the factory with just clear cellophane and no stamp at all.