Imperial Playing Card Factory
Anti-Religions
Clubs represent the Russian Orthodox church, Hearts Roman Catholicism, Spades Confucianism and Diamonds represent Judaism.
Historical playing cards, 1897
Russian “Historical” playing cards with designs by Nikolay Karazin, 1897
New Style ‘Jugendstil’
Playing cards showing the influence of ‘Jugendstil’ manufactured by the Soviet Playing Card Monopoly (U.S.S.R.).
Russian Circus deck
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by Simon Wintle
The Russian Circus deck published by the Imperial Playing Card Factory, St Petersburg.
Russian Playing Card History - From the Beginnings to 1917
An in-depth review of the history of card-playing, gambling, legislation, manufacture and taxation of playing cards in Russia.
Russian Playing Card Monopoly
The Russian Playing Card Monopoly was established in March 1798 with all revenue going to support the St Petersburg Foundling Hospital. After the construction of the Foundling Hospital's own factory in 1817 (known as the Imperial Playing Card Factory), all subsequent Russian playing card production was located there until the end of the State monopoly in 1961.
Russian Playing Cards
Playing cards were known in Muscovy as early as the last quarter of the sixteenth century.
