Aspioti-ELKA

Aspioti-ELKA was one of Greece’s oldest and most important printing and publishing businesses. Its origins lay in 1873, when Gerasimos Aspiotis established a playing-card factory in Corfu under the name Elpis, meaning “Hope.” The enterprise initially specialized in playing cards, but it gained a particularly strong position after receiving an exclusive Greek government contract in 1884 to manufacture playing cards for the national market. The cards were designed by Gerasimos Aspiotis’s father, Nikolaos Aspiotis, who was a painter. Under the direction of Gerasimos’s son, Konstantinos Aspiotis, from 1902, the business broadened beyond cards. It began producing a range of printed and lithographed materials, including bonds, shares, advertisements, tickets and related commercial documents. This expansion reflected the growing importance of industrial printing in Greece and helped transform the company from a specialist card producer into a diversified printing enterprise. Following the Balkan Wars and the enlargement of the Greek state, the company benefited from a larger domestic market. Demand for its playing cards increased, while its broader printing activities supported further growth. The business later became associated with the Athens printing company Etairia Lithographias kai Kytiopoieias Athenon, commonly abbreviated as ELKA. Through the combination of the Aspioti and ELKA operations, the enterprise ultimately adopted the name Aspioti-ELKA. It became a substantial producer of printed matter and was also known for color lithographic work, including postcards. Its output extended across commercial, financial, administrative and visual-printing applications rather than being limited to consumer products. Liakos Iliopoulos became director in 1935 and oversaw a period of additional expansion that continued until the beginning of the Second World War. A decisive setback came on 28 October 1940, the opening day of the Greco-Italian War, when an Italian air raid destroyed the company’s Corfu factory. The Greek government had authorized the transfer of machinery and equipment from Corfu to the company’s Athens plant, but the permit arrived one day too late. As a result, the Corfu facility and its machinery were destroyed before the planned relocation could take place. After the Second World War, Aspioti-ELKA regained a prominent position in Greek printing and publishing. It was described as one of the country’s largest employers in the sector until 1985 and remained in business for more than a century. The company’s history also left a substantial documentary and material legacy. The National Bank of Greece holds a collection of Aspioti-ELKA items, including stamps, banknotes, advertisements, architectural drawings, financial and statistical tables, machinery and other historical objects. In 1992, the National Bank of Greece sold the company to Jean Jacques Lesueur. The change of ownership did not prevent a final decline. In October 1997, Aspioti-ELKA was declared bankrupt and ceased to exist as an operating enterprise. It is therefore remembered both as a pioneering Greek printing house and as an important part of the country’s industrial, commercial and graphic-printing history.

Aspioti-ELKA began in 1873 in Corfu, where Gerasimos Aspiotis founded a factory producing playing cards under the name Elpis. The company’s early specialization was significant because playing cards were a standardized printed consumer product requiring reliable industrial production. In 1884, the business secured an exclusive contract from the Greek government to manufacture playing cards for the country. The designs were created by Nikolaos Aspiotis, Gerasimos’s father and a painter, linking the enterprise’s commercial production with Greek graphic and artistic work. In 1902, Konstantinos Aspiotis, Gerasimos’s son, became director. During his leadership, the company expanded its product range substantially. It moved into printing bonds, shares, advertisements, tickets and other related materials, broadening its role from a card manufacturer to a general commercial and financial printer. The territorial expansion of Greece after the Balkan Wars enlarged the company’s potential domestic market. The popularity of its playing cards increased, and the enterprise experienced corresponding growth in sales and profits, although no precise financial figures are provided in the available reference material. The company later combined with or became associated with the Etairia Lithographias kai Kytiopoieias Athenon, known as ELKA. This relationship eventually produced the name Aspioti-ELKA and connected the Corfu-origin business with a broader Athens-based lithographic and printing operation. By the interwar period, its activities included a wide range of printed matter. Liakos Iliopoulos became director in 1935 and presided over further expansion until 1940. The Second World War brought a severe physical and operational disruption. On 28 October 1940, the first day of the Greco-Italian War, Italian aircraft bombed and destroyed the Aspioti-ELKA factory in Corfu. The Greek government had finally issued permission for the company to move its machinery and equipment from Corfu to Athens after a delay of several months. That authorization arrived one day too late: the Corfu plant and its machinery were already destroyed. The episode marked the loss of the company’s original manufacturing base. Aspioti-ELKA nevertheless continued and became a major postwar Greek printing and publishing employer. It was considered one of the largest companies in the Greek printing and publishing sector until 1985. Its production included playing cards, commercial and financial documents, advertisements, tickets and lithographic work. The company was also responsible for color postcards, including examples printed in three-color lithography, which remain part of its historical and collecting legacy. The enterprise’s long history generated a substantial archive and material collection. The National Bank of Greece preserves company-related objects and records, including stamps, banknotes, advertisements, architectural drawings, financial and statistical tables, machinery and other items. These materials document both the company’s commercial output and the technology of Greek printing over several generations. In 1992, the National Bank of Greece sold Aspioti-ELKA to Jean Jacques Lesueur. Five years later, in October 1997, the company was declared bankrupt. Its closure ended more than 120 years of activity. Aspioti-ELKA is consequently best understood as a defunct Greek corporate printing brand and industrial enterprise rather than a currently operating publisher. Its significance rests on its longevity, its early government-backed playing-card production, its expansion into general printing, its role in postwar employment, and the surviving artifacts held by the National Bank of Greece.

• 1997

  Bankruptcy and closure

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  Aspioti-ELKA was declared bankrupt in October and ceased operating.

• 1992

  Sale by the National Bank of Greece

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  The National Bank of Greece sold Aspioti-ELKA to Jean Jacques Lesueur.

• 1940

  Corfu factory destroyed

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  An Italian air raid destroyed the Corfu plant on 28 October, before machinery could be transferred to Athens.

• 1935

  Liakos Iliopoulos becomes director

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  Liakos Iliopoulos took over as director and led further expansion until the outbreak of war.

• 1902

  Konstantinos Aspiotis becomes director

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  Under Konstantinos Aspiotis, the enterprise expanded into bonds, shares, advertisements, tickets and other printed products.

• 1884

  Exclusive Greek playing-card contract

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  The company obtained the sole Greek government contract to manufacture playing cards for Greece.

• 1873

  Elpis playing-card factory founded in Corfu

  [1]Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org

  Gerasimos Aspiotis founded a playing-card factory in Corfu under the name Elpis.

A historic Greek printing and publishing enterprise combining playing-card production with lithographic, financial, commercial and administrative printing.

• Consumer printed goods · 1873

  Playing cards

  Playing cards were the company’s original and most identifiable product. The Corfu factory began with card manufacture in 1873, and the business strengthened this line after receiving an exclusive Greek government production contract in 1884. The designs were associated with Nikolaos Aspiotis, a painter and the founder’s father. Card production helped establish the company’s early domestic reputation before it diversified into broader printing.

• Lithographic printing

  Color lithographic postcards

  Aspioti-ELKA produced postcards using color lithographic techniques, including examples printed in three colors in Corfu. These postcards represent the company’s contribution to Greek commercial and visual printing and are preserved and studied as historical and collectible material. They also illustrate the enterprise’s move beyond playing cards into image-based printed products.

• Commercial printing · 1902

  Financial and commercial documents

  After the company’s early expansion under Konstantinos Aspiotis, it printed bonds, shares, advertisements, tickets and comparable documents. These products placed Aspioti-ELKA within the infrastructure of Greek commerce and administration, where dependable reproduction of financial and transactional material was essential. The available sources do not provide a complete catalog or detailed product specifications.

• Security and official printing

  Stamps and banknotes

  Stamps and banknotes are among the historical company materials preserved in the National Bank of Greece collection. The available reference does not establish the precise dates, volumes or contractual arrangements for each item, but their presence in the collection reflects the breadth of Aspioti-ELKA’s official and security-printing heritage.

• 1992

  Sale to Jean Jacques LesueurM&A

  Background

  After decades of operation and a period in which the National Bank of Greece held the company, ownership was transferred in 1992.

  Action taken

  The National Bank of Greece sold Aspioti-ELKA to Jean Jacques Lesueur.

  Aftermath

  The company was subsequently declared bankrupt in October 1997. The available source does not state the transaction price or the detailed terms of the sale.

  Source

• 1940

  Attempted relocation of Corfu machinery to AthensStrategy

  Background

  During the approach to the Greco-Italian War, the company sought permission to move its Corfu machinery and equipment to its Athens plant after a lengthy administrative delay.

  Action taken

  The Greek government granted the relocation permit, but it arrived one day after an Italian air raid had destroyed the Corfu factory and its machinery.

  Aftermath

  The loss eliminated the original Corfu manufacturing facility and became a defining wartime disruption in the company’s history.

  Source

1. 1Aspioti-ELKAen.wikipedia.org