Historic ESCO Trading Card Brand Returns With New Music and Pop Culture Collectibles

Exhibit Supply Company, the historic trading card brand known as ESCO, is returning with a new focus on premium music and pop culture collectibles.

Founded in 1901, the Chicago-based company was one of the earliest producers of collectible picture cards featuring entertainers, athletes and other cultural figures. Subjects on its vintage cards included Charlie Chaplin, Babe Ruth, Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

The company is also credited with being the first to release trading cards independently of products such as tobacco or gum, helping establish cards as stand-alone collectibles rather than promotional inserts.

More than 125 years after the original company was founded, ESCO Trading Cards is beginning a new chapter centered on musicians and pop culture figures.

Starting in 2026, ESCO plans to distribute its products through mass-market retailers and specialty hobby stores. The company will release premium boxed collections featuring major music artists.

The products are expected to include authentic autographs and relic cards containing pieces of stage-worn items. ESCO did not announce its first featured artists, product configurations, prices or release dates in the announcement.

“The Exhibit Supply Company brand helped shape the history of trading cards more than a century ago, and we’re honored to build on that legacy for today’s generation of collectors,” ESCO Trading Cards CEO Robert Thomsen said.

Thomsen said music and pop culture deserve a dedicated place in the trading card hobby and that the revived ESCO brand will focus on collectibles that celebrate artists and connect with their fans.

ESCO describes itself as the only premium trading card brand dedicated exclusively to music and pop culture.