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Mr Deuceace and Mr Dawkins sitting at a round table playing cards Since 1996, this collaborative project has grown to include 4,478 articles by 25 contributors, including researchers, collectors, artists and historians covering topics from Art Nouveau to Zoology. We move beyond simply cataloguing playing cards by date, manufacturer and place of origin, and adopt a dynamic, interactive and thematic approach, bridging the past with the present, telling stories, opening conceptual perspectives and the necessary reflectiveness to gain new insights and ways to appreciate their role in history.

Treasures from the Bodleian Library

Rare books, manuscripts, music scores, portraits, maps, gospels, chronicles and other valuable artefacts from the Bodleian’s rich collections.

Carte di Colombo

Fully illustrated pack designed by Pier Canosa commemorating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America.

Barok

Dutch pack from the 1950s with colourful Baroque courts, reprinted in 1983.

New Articles

Carte di Colombo
Carte di Colombo

Fully illustrated pack designed by Pier Canosa commemorating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America...

Roddy Somerville • Less than a day ago

Barok
Barok

Dutch pack from the 1950s with colourful Baroque courts, reprinted in 1983.

Roddy Somerville • 2 days ago

The Tarot of Meditation – Yeager Tarot
The Tarot of Meditation – Yeager Tarot

Marty Yeager’s original Tarot of Meditation from 1975, republished later by U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Roddy Somerville • 4 days ago

Adobe Deck
Adobe Deck

The first digitally-produced deck of cards.

John Edelson • 5 days ago

Seminole Wars deck
Seminole Wars deck

Seminole Wars deck by J. Y. Humphreys, Philadelphia, c.1819.

Simon Wintle • Dec 29, 2024

Fantasy Spanish-suited deck
Fantasy Spanish-suited deck

Fantasy Spanish-suited deck by Bertschinger y Codina, Barcelona.

Simon Wintle • Dec 26, 2024

Engel-Tarot
Engel-Tarot

Set of major arcana designed by Alois Hanslian depicting angels throughout.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 24, 2024

Virgil Solis
Virgil Solis

Remarkable pack of 52 animal-suited playing-cards designed and etched by Virgil Solis.

Simon Wintle • Dec 22, 2024

Carte di Natale
Carte di Natale

Designed by Pier Canosa as a Christmas pack for the Cortina Art Gallery in Milan.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 22, 2024

Trappola cards from Poland
Trappola cards from Poland

Trappola cards published in Warsaw by J G Du Port during the 18th century.

Simon Wintle • Dec 21, 2024

Victorian grocer’s scale plate
Victorian grocer’s scale plate

Large flat plate decorated with highly coloured English cards and royal arms.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 21, 2024

The UCR Deck
The UCR Deck

Giant-size cards designed by Thomas Sanders to advertise courses and facilities at UCR.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 20, 2024

Bertschinger y Codina - Cartes Françaises
Bertschinger y Codina - Cartes Françaises

French ‘Paris’ pattern made by Bertschinger y Codina, Barcelona, c.1850.

Simon Wintle • Dec 20, 2024

Braulio Fournier
Braulio Fournier

Baraja Nº 1 produced by Braulio Fournier, Burgos, c.1868.

Alec Gibb • Dec 19, 2024

Tarot Actuel 1984
Tarot Actuel 1984

Major arcana to cut out, issued with the French magazine Actuel, using photographic images.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 18, 2024

Queen of Arts
Queen of Arts

A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 18, 2024

Fredericks & Mae playing cards
Fredericks & Mae playing cards

A rainbow pack from the design team of Fredericks & Mae and Benjamin English.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 18, 2024

The Glasgow Pack
The Glasgow Pack

Issued to celebrate Glasgow’s reign as European City of Culture in 1990, with city views and works of art.

Roddy Somerville • Dec 16, 2024

Verkeers Kwartet
Verkeers Kwartet

A helpful quartet game celebrating the 75th anniversary of road safety exams making traffic safer.

Simon Wintle • Dec 16, 2024

Pirritx eta Porrotx
Pirritx eta Porrotx

Happy Families card game from the Spanish Basque Country.

Egoitz Campo Gonzalez • Dec 9, 2024

Naipe Vizcaino
Naipe Vizcaino

‘Naipe Vizcaino’ designed by Javier Urkiri and published by Industrias Gráficas Castuera and the Caja de Ahorr...

Egoitz Campo Gonzalez • Dec 6, 2024

Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards
Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

54 pictures of different famous cathedrals, abbeys and minsters in England and Wales.

Peter Burnett • Dec 6, 2024

Current Highlights

Dungeons & Dragons “Curse of Strahd” Tarokka Deck

Enhance your Dungeons & Dragons game with the Tarokka Deck, a tarot-inspired set of cards that bring...

Donkey game from Malaysia

“Donkey” children's card game designed and created by Ooi Yan Hee, manufactured by Hee Trading Co., ...

Dungeons and Dragons Tarot

This 78-card officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) tarot deck offers a visually appealing var...

Playing Card Design

Playing Card Design

The playing card calls for artistic treatment and although the constrained size imposes some limitat...

Corner Indices

Corner Indices were a major innovation in playing card production.

Cartes Lenormand

“Cartes Lenormand” published by H. P. Gibson & Sons Ltd, London, printed in Germany by B. Dondorf, 1...

Conjuring and Magic

Conjuring and Magic

The art of mystifying people is very old indeed. The first conjurers were priests who obtained power...

Mamluk Playing Cards

Nã'ib, the game of lieutenants... these cards are amongst the earliest Arabic playing cards ext...

Waddington’s Playing Cards

John Waddington Limited was a leading producer of playing cards and card games in the UK during the ...

Rider Waite Tarot early editions

Rider Waite Tarot early editions

Rider Waite Tarot early editions


Explore

4,480 articles featuring content from 118 countries, 1,317 manufacturers and 1,099 designers; including 386 themes, 265 brands, 76 suits, 50 games and 30 licenses.

A decorative black and white line ornament with a circular design in the center and horizontal lines extending from both sides
Art & Design

The playing card calls for artistic treatment and although the constrained size imposes some limitations there is an almost bewildering wealth and variety of designs in playing cards and their tuck boxes. The serious player requires design to be unobtrusive so that aesthetic considerations remain in the background. However, with modern manufacturing technology more eye-catching designs are becoming popular as gifts, collectibles and for their attractive appearance. more

Playing Card Design

Playing Card Design

By Simon Wintle

Modern Aces of Spades

Modern Aces of Spades

By Matt Probert

Chinese Jokers

Chinese Jokers

By Matt Probert

1967 Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí

By Barney Townshend


United States Playing Card Co.

Over the years the pressures of competition and other market forces have led to many smaller manufacturers being taken over by larger ones. The outcome is that the U.S.P.C.C. is now the largest manufacturer in the United States. more

1885 Bicycle No.808

Bicycle No.808

By Simon Wintle

2003 Playboy playing cards

Playboy playing cards

By Roddy Somerville


Ganjifa

This term refers to a family of card games that originated in Persia and spread to India during the Moghul period. The traditional Ganjifa deck consists of 96 cards divided into eight suits. The cards are typically round and hand-painted with intricate designs. The games played with this pack often involve trick-taking mechanics, and the rules can vary significantly depending on the region and specific variant of the game being played.

1940 Chitrashala Press

Chitrashala Press

By Simon Wintle

1875 Ganjifa - Playing Cards from India
2002 Ganjifa™

Ganjifa™

By Roddy Somerville


Transformation

The best-known fantasies with playing cards are the ‘Transformation’ cards. Hand-drawing ‘transformations’ onto a pack of ordinary playing cards, with the suit symbols forming part of the overall composition, became a popular pastime 200 years ago and a test of skill in drawing. A great deal of ingenuity is required in their design. The earliest printed sets were published at the start of the 19th century, often published in the form of an almanac or sometimes known as ‘metastasis’, and these became a fashionable and entertaining novelty.

In the strict sense of the word ‘Transformation’ the pips should be in their standard positions and form part of, or fit into, the overll image portrayed on the card. more

1992 The Key to the Kingdom

The Key to the Kingdom

By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

1800 Transformation of Playing Cards
2006 Kitten Club

Kitten Club

By Simon Wintle

1896 Ye Witches’ No.62 Fortune Cards

Advertising

Closely following the development of visual advertising in general, such as on labels, packaging, posters and TV commercials, advertising playing cards seek to find ways to associate products with our inner desires and longings, with our identity and who we want to be. Some packs are widely distributed as part of larger promotions, others are more exclusive. In some cases single cards are collected from inside the advertised product, thereby stimulating further sales to complete a full set.

1989 Hamlet Cigars

Hamlet Cigars

By Peter Burnett

1972 Smith-Corona Marchant

Smith-Corona Marchant

By Roddy Somerville

2000 Austria Ski Team playing cards

Austria Ski Team playing cards

By Roddy Somerville


The Big Picture

Playing cards have a universal appeal and are a reflection of human culture.

A decorative black and white line ornament with a circular design in the center and horizontal lines extending from both sides
Simon & Adam Wintle

Above: Chinese money-suited cards. Some of the earliest cards have origins in the Far East.

Playing cards are a part of almost every culture and society around the world. These small, rectangular pieces of paper have been a source of entertainment for generations and are still enjoyed by people of all ages today. Whether it's a simple game of solitaire, a high-stakes game of poker, or a magic trick that delights, there's something about playing cards that captures the imagination and inspires creativity. As Delef Hoffmann once said "whether we consider cards as mere merchandise or as the bond which unites people with one another, just think of what we would be if we had no cards! How boring and unsociable our lives would be without this invention!"

Joker by Simon Wintle

Above: Dasavatara Ganjifa from India. Playing cards from India are often circular.

The origin of cards can be traced back to China, where they were first used as early as the 9th century. From there, the cards travelled across Asia and the Middle East, and finally found their way to Europe in the 14th century.

Since then, playing cards have been used for a wide range of purposes, including fortune-telling and even propaganda. But the most significant impact they have had on humanity is through their use in games, which have brought people together for centuries.

Above left: a set of Spanish playing cards from 1638 was discovered inside a prison wall during demolition, likely used for gambling by prisoners. Above center: Trump Presidential playing cards, playing cards are often used for political messages. Above right: the Magician from the popualr Rider-Waite tarot, which has become the template for modern tarot decks.

Above left: a set of Spanish playing cards from 1638 was discovered inside a prison wall during demolition, likely used for gambling by prisoners. Above center: Trump Presidential playing cards, playing cards are often used for political messages. Above right: the Magician from the popualr Rider-Waite tarot, which has become the template for modern tarot decks.

While playing cards have brought people together for fun and play, they have also been a source of disruption in the form of gambling. For many, gambling has become an addiction, leading to financial ruin and even anti-social problems.

The artistic value of cards cannot be overlooked, with their intricate details and unique designs of each card reflecting the creativity and ingenuity of artists. Playing cards are a reflection of our society, with each country and region having its unique designs and styles. As Sylvia Mann put it "there are fashions in cards, and these fashions very often reflect the history of the times". From the bold and colourful designs of India to the intricate and detailed patterns of Russia, playing cards are a testament to the creativity and diversity of the human experience.

Simon & Adam Wintle

Above left: Kashmir Playing Cards, above center: Ethiopian Air Lines playing cards produced by Nintendo, above right: striking playing cards designed by Masuo Ikeda.

Playing cards have a wide embrace, spanning across cultures and countries, with a scope of diverse subjects that reflect the values and beliefs of their respective societies.

Playing cards are an enduring symbol of human connection and creativity, transcending language, borders and cultures. Through the power of games, they have brought people together for centuries, creating shared experiences that have fostered friendships, learning and social bonds. While their role in gambling has been disruptive, their stunning artistic designs elevate them to works of art, worthy of appreciation and admiration. Playing cards are a testament to the power of human creativity and a reflection of the rich cultural tapestry of our world.

References

  • The Playing Card, Delef Hoffmann, 1972
  • Collecting Playing Cards, Sylvia Mann, 1966

About the World of Playing Cards

Our aim is to increase awareness and appreciation of the cultural and historical significance of playing cards.

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The World of Playing Cards was established in 1996 as a place where you can learn about playing cards, their history, design and manufacture, and see cards from around the world.

Simon & Adam Wintle

Simon Wintle (right) with Adam Wintle (left) visiting Ayutthaya in Thailand, 2016.

They reflect the traditions of many countries. They vary widely in size, style, shape, artistry, usage and many other purposes in education, marketing or even for fortune telling. There is a fascination in playing card design: the neat symmetries and quirky symbols. The composition of the pack - court cards, suits, pips - provides endless scope of play.

Joker by Simon Wintle

They are recognised everywhere around the world - we rarely question their origins.

Since their invention, cards have lost none of their popularity. Playing cards have a long history and it's in the art that the richness of playing cards is to be discovered.

Simon & Adam