Karlis Padegs
Karlis Padegs (1911-1940) was a Latvian artist who designed 17 playing cards in 1936 - joker, aces, kings, queens and jacks.
Karlis Padegs, Riga (Latvia)
Karlis Padegs was a Latvian artist who designed 17 playing cards in 1936 - joker, aces, kings, queens and jacks. Apart from a one-man exhibition in Riga in March 1936 where he showed his playing cards, Padegs was seldom mentioned and the public showing of his work was practically prohibited due to the Soviet occupation. Over 60 years later, the drawings were made into a pack of cards (1997) with extra artwork taken from Padegs’ other works to complete the deck (back, box, etc).
Above: cards from the first edition of a pack designed by Karlis Padegs (1911-1940).
There were two editions, each of 1000 decks. The first edition has an incorrect index letter ‘G’ for ‘King’, which was corrected in the second edition. The more expensive second edition (1999) was a double set intended for Bridge players.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
Related Articles
Queen of Arts
A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.
Fredericks & Mae playing cards
A rainbow pack from the design team of Fredericks & Mae and Benjamin English.
Pam is the Knave of Clubs
Playing cards as metaphors in 18th century art - from fate, chance and social hierarchy t...
Leadmill playing cards
Promotional pack for an arts centre in Sheffield with designs by Martin F. Bedford.
Typographic Playing Cards
Typographic Playing Cards designed by Jim Sutherland, c.2010.
Damn! Fools by Moon
Damn! Fools playing cards designed by Leo Scherfig, 2022.
Crown Hill playing cards
Crown Hill playing cards with illustrations by Corrine Guiney, USA,
Heathen Divinities
Handmade playing cards from the British Museum depicting classical Greek and Roman gods and goddesse...
Portrait Playing Cards
Portrait playing cards, featuring realistic drawings of people on the court cards instead of traditi...
Paco Lobo
Highly original and striking designs by Paco Lobo for the fashion house of the same name.
Jeu Boléro
Sweeping, semi-abstract designs by J.L. Jolin in red and black only.
Knoll International
Geometric designs by the French artist Jean Garçon for Knoll International, the furniture company.
Marcello Morandini
Modern designs by Italian artist Marcello Morandini using the simplest of forms and colours.
Claude Weisbuch
Free reinterpretation of the traditional Paris pattern courts by the artist Claude Weisbuch.
El Niño de las Pinturas
Forty-nine distinctive works by Spanish graffiti artist Raúl Ruiz.
Pendleton playing cards
Pendleton playing cards inspired by indigenous American artwork, USA, 2019.
Trending Articles
Popular articles from the past 28 days
