Regarding the designs of playing cards
The quality of playing card designs often deteriorates with time…
The quality of playing card designs often deteriorates with time…
William Morris in The Decorative Arts, a lecture given to the Trades Guild of Learning, London 1877.
Above: 16th century cards by Jean Faucil, Rouen.
Above: cards by Hunt, London, c.1790-1800.
More examples of this tendency can be seen in studying the early examples of the Navarra pattern from Spain►
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
Related Articles
Carte di Natale
Designed by Pier Canosa as a Christmas pack for the Cortina Art Gallery in Milan.
Queen of Arts
A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.
Fredericks & Mae playing cards
A rainbow pack from the design team of Fredericks & Mae and Benjamin English.
Pam is the Knave of Clubs
Playing cards as metaphors in 18th century art - from fate, chance and social hierarchy t...
Leadmill playing cards
Promotional pack for an arts centre in Sheffield with designs by Martin F. Bedford.
Typographic Playing Cards
Typographic Playing Cards designed by Jim Sutherland, c.2010.
Damn! Fools by Moon
Damn! Fools playing cards designed by Leo Scherfig, 2022.
Crown Hill playing cards
Crown Hill playing cards with illustrations by Corrine Guiney, USA,
Heathen Divinities
Handmade playing cards from the British Museum depicting classical Greek and Roman gods and goddesse...
Playing cards with prints by Sumio Kawakami
Woodblock print designs created by Sumio Kawakami in 1938-9, each card having a different illustrati...
Portrait Playing Cards
Portrait playing cards, featuring realistic drawings of people on the court cards instead of traditi...
Paco Lobo
Highly original and striking designs by Paco Lobo for the fashion house of the same name.
Jeu Boléro
Sweeping, semi-abstract designs by J.L. Jolin in red and black only.
Knoll International
Geometric designs by the French artist Jean Garçon for Knoll International, the furniture company.
Marcello Morandini
Modern designs by Italian artist Marcello Morandini using the simplest of forms and colours.
Claude Weisbuch
Free reinterpretation of the traditional Paris pattern courts by the artist Claude Weisbuch.
Trending Articles
Popular articles from the past 28 days
