Luxus Club Karte No.184
Another of Dondorf's masterpieces of chromolithography, the detailed artwork on these cards has multiple tints and highlights giving the figures a brilliant, glossy character.
B. Dondorf: Luxus Club Karte No.184
B. Dondorf (1833-1933), Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Another of Dondorf's masterpieces of chromolithography, the detailed artwork on these cards has multiple tints and highlights giving the figures a brilliant, glossy character. The fabric of the clothes looks like velvet, the metal parts of the crown, sceptre and armour seem highly polished. The young men appear tender, young and handsome whilst the Kings have shining hair and beards. All the eyes are shining. Later editions of this deck are no longer printed so carefully, the colours blend into each other, their brilliance greatly reduced.
Above & right: cards from Dondorf's 'Luxus Club Karte No.184' published c.1900 to 1916 and also exported to Denmark through the agent D. Voigt & Co. 52 cards + Joker in box; 92x60mms. Images courtesy Barney Townshend.
REFERENCES
Hoffmann, Detlef and Dietrich, Margot: "Die Dondorf'schen Luxus-Spielkarten", Harenberg, Dortmund 1983.
By Barney Townshend
Member since October 06, 2015
Retired Airline Pilot, interested in: Transformation Playing Cards, Karl Gerich and Elaine Lewis. Secretary of the EPCS. Treasurer of the IPCS.
Related Articles
Tactics Design
Late modernist Japanese playing cards designed by Masayoshi Nakajo for Tactics Design.
The Decadent Deck
Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.
Historic Shakespeare
“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.
CARD-AB Miltenberg
Illustrations by Rita Stern depicting notable landmarks and scenes from the town of Miltenberg in Ge...
Sunday Night / Nichiyoubi no Yoru
An irreverent, avant-garde deck unofficially titled "Nichiyoubi no Yoru" (Sunday Night), designed by...
New Altenburg Skat cards – German DDR Pattern
Authentic Altenburger Skat cards with German suits (Acorns, Hearts, Leaves, Bells).
Emilio Tadini playing cards
Beautiful dreamlike playing card designs by Emilio Tadini.
German Travel Cards
A travel-themed educational deck helping American tourists visiting Germany.
Zürcher Festspiel 1903
Swiss-suited pack designed by Robert Hardmeyer featuring figures from art and politics.
Briefmarken-Quartett
Quartet game featuring postage stamps from the Zones of Occupation in post-WWII Germany.
Never Mind the Belote
Limited edition Belote pack with designs by a collective of 24 street artists.
Playing card designs by Franz Exler
Reconstruction of playing cards from the original 1903 designs.
MITSCHKAtzen
Clever cat designs by the Austrian artist and illustrator Willi Mitschka.
22 Pittori in 22 Arcani
Collaborative Tarot with contributions from 22 different Italian artists including Menegazzi and Tav...
IG Chemie Papier Keramik
Promotional pack designed by Karl-Heinz Schroers for a German trade union with comical bears on the ...
Whist by Ditha Moser
Ditha Moser created this minimalist Whist deck in 1905, in the style of the Vienna Secession art mov...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
