55 Mucha Paintings on Playing Cards
Fully illustrated pack featuring a large selection of Mucha’s works.
Rather than show works by Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) in their entirety, this pack features details from a wide variety of paintings and posters by the artist, mainly in soft, pastel colours. They are arranged by date, starting with the Joker (1895), continuing with the Aces, Kings, Queens and Jacks (1895-7), and finishing with the 10s down to the 2s (1897 to 1902). Despite what it says on the box, there are in fact only 53 different designs, including the Joker (which uses the same design twice). Mucha’s signature is repeated 36 times on the back of the cards. The info card carries historical information in German, English, French and Japanese. Though marked in two corners as if it were a Joker, this extra card cannot be used for that purpose as there is text on both sides. See the box and info card►
Above: 55 Mucha Paintings on Playing Cards printed and published by Piatnik, Vienna, Austria, 2005. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + info card (double-sided) in tuck box. Size: 58 x 89 mm.
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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