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Popular No.257

Published March 02, 2016 Updated April 11, 2016

Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257

Austria Piatnik Standard Pattern

Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257

Piatnik’s standard English-style courts, like those shown below, have evolved over time from several sources.

See an overview of the evolution of Piatnik’s English-style courts on Ken Lodge’s blog

Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257, c.1950 Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257, c.1950

Above: Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257, c.1950.

Above: boxes from two slightly different editions of Piatnik’s “Popular Playing Cards” No.257.

Above: Images courtesy Matt Probert.

See an overview of the evolution of Piatnik’s English-style courts on Ken Lodge’s blog

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By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

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