Playing Card Innovation
This list features articles exploring the history and evolution of playing card design and manufacturing. Discover key innovations like corner indices, new suit systems, and special features, as well as the impact of leading manufacturers and designers. The articles cover a wide range of time periods and offer insights into both classic and modern playing card innovations.
Ivorette
Dougherty was at the forefront of innovation, adding Best Bowers and then Jokers, rounded corners and various types of indices, or indicators, to his cards.
Jass Allemand
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by Simon Wintle
Egbert Moehsnang produced this contemporary Swiss-suited, double-ended pack, based on original XV century sources, but they were shunned by card players.
Lecardo
‘Lecardo’ playing cards, dominos & word building game invented by Stanley Kermode, United Kingdom, c. 1939.
Lewis I. Cohen
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by Simon Wintle
Lewis I. Cohen made his first deck of cards in 1832. In 1835 Mr Cohen invented a new machine to print four colours on a sheet at once, which was to revolutionise the entire playing card industry.
Luxury Collectable Playing Cards
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by Adam Wintle
Luxury packs of cards have been produced since the 15th century, a trend that is very popular among collectors today.
Managing cards without corner indices
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by Tony Hall
For many hundreds of years cards had no corner indices, were square cut and mostly made from card without the smooth, slippery surfaces we enjoy today.
Official England Rugby Playing Cards
Pack celebrating the rugby world champions of 2003. Produced by MMcardz.
Pentacards
A five-suited set of playing cards published by Fleet and Case Games Ltd., Rainham, Kent, UK, c.1980.
Pneumatic Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The surface of the cards was slightly grooved by being rolled on prepared plates, so that there were little pockets of air between each card, which prevented them sticking together.
Printing Presses
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by Simon Wintle
Antique printing presses from the Turnhout Playing Card Museum collection.
Secondary Uses of Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The unprinted backs of playing cards have led people to use them for secondary purposes such as memorandum slips, bibliographic index cards, for declarations of love, rendezvous notes, emergency money, visiting cards and so on.
Skyline cards: London edition
Skyline cards: London edition, featuring iconic architecture, United Kingdom, c. 2018.
Tarot of the Everlasting Day - AI Generated Tarot
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by Adam Wintle
Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated tarot deck produced by Marcus Katz. Is this science fiction or the future of tarot?
Triplicate No.18
Dougherty first secured a patent for “Triplicates” in 1876, a novel type of indices with a miniature card in the top left-hand corner (and bottom right).
Why our playing-cards look the way they do
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by Paul Bostock
Analysis of early playing card designs: origins, suit differences, standardization, technological advancements and key innovations leading to modern designs.