Karl Korab
Austrian artist Karl Korab’s first pack, displaying his use of different techniques.
Austrian artist Karl Korab (born 1937) surely drew his inspiration for this, his first pack, from carnival figures. The colourful designs are somewhat surreal, clearly betraying one of his favoured techniques, namely collage. The cards are elongated, with full-length figures on the court cards, each one carrying his signature. The indices (K, D, J) are an odd mixture of German and English, appearing only once on each court card. All the aces have a large central suit-sign, each with added decoration. There are no miniature suit-signs in the corners of the numeral cards. On the extra card are a biography of the artist and a list of his exhibitions (both in German) on one side and a black and white photograph of the artist in his studio on the other . The borderless back design is composed of 11 vertical stripes.
Above: playing cards designed by Karl Korab, published by Molden Edition Graphische Kunst, Vienna, Austria, 1973. 52 cards + 3 (identical) Jokers + 1 extra card. Size: 63.5 x 115 mm.
Reference
Fournier Museum Catalogue, Volume I, Germanic Countries 425.
By Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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