Naipes Heraclio Fournier S.A. is a playing card manufacturer based in Vitoria, Spain with a factory in Legutio. It has been owned by the United States Playing Card Company since 1986, which was acquired by Belgium–based Cartamundi in 2020.[1]
History
Heraclio Fournier González, the youngest son of French-Spanish industrialist Lazaro Fournier and Paula González, went to work with his brother Braulio Fournier in the family's factory. Their business, called Fournier Hermanos, developed a new type of playing card.
After splitting from the company, Heraclio moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz and in 1870 created a lithography factory called "Naipes Heraclio Fournier" focusing on playing card manufacturing, and later printing stamps and books.
In 1875 Heraclio created new printing ways and new graphic models. Two years later he worked with a Spanish art teacher called Emilio Soubrier and a painter called Diaz de Olano to design a new brand of playing cards. That was going to be the first brand of his famous Spanish playing cards. In 1880 he changed his workplace to a bigger one on Fueros Street.
The next year he travelled frequently to France to improve his manufacturing.