Birds of Southern Africa
Sapra Studio Original playing cards beautifully illustrated with birds of Southern Africa.
This plastic coated 54 card pack includes two Jokers – a Red Joker and a Black Joker. Each colourful card displays as many as three different birds native to Southern Africa. It was published by Sapra Studio, Nairobi, Kenya but was probably printed by Modiano of Italy. The double ended reverse portrays flamingos.
Above: Sapra Studio Original playing cards featuring birds of Southern Africa. The artist is not known.
By Peter Burnett
Member since July 27, 2022
I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.
Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.
Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.
Related Articles
Jeu Buffon
Illustrations of different birds from works by Buffon to celebrate the bicentenary of his death.
Kids Fun Box playing cards
Colourful cards for children with four non-standard suits connected with the natural world.
Nimbus playing cards
Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.
La Réussite (Sébastien Féraut)
Sébastien Féraut’s designs inspired by the animal kingdom for a set promoting patience games.
Animal Kingdom
Crafted by Hatch Design and benefitting the World Wildlife Fund, animal heads replace the traditiona...
Go Green playing cards
Suggestions how to “go green” and help combat the impact of climate change.
North American wildlife playing cards
From humid wetlands to frozen tundra, the wildlife in North America is extremely diverse.
Hummingbirds of the Americas
Colour photographs of hummingbirds with data about each species to aid recognition.
Seashells playing cards
Each card shows colour photo of a different seashell for easy identification.
Sweetule Natural History cards
Small cards featuring natural history subjects, given away with packets of sweet cigarettes.
Commoners playing cards
Created by Ian Cumpstey dedicated to the common land and the countryside.
Gone to Pot: Gardener’s playing cards
‘Gone to Pot’: special playing cards for keen gardeners, United Kingdom.
3-D Dino Cards
Lenticular images of different, unnamed dinosaurs on all-plastic cards.
The Famous Dinosaurs Playing Cards
54 different dinosaurs, both large and small, illustrated by Cecilia Fitzsimons.
A Gardener’s Labyrinth
Photographs of flowers, herbs and vegetables by leading photographer Tessa Traeger.
Kushimoto Marine Park
Kushimoto Marine Park souvenir playing cards published by Nintendo, Japan.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
