The World of Playing Cards Logo

Anonymous

Published July 05, 2011 Updated June 12, 2023

Anonymous Moroccan Playing Cards for Royal Air Maroc airlines and others...

Morocco anonymous Advertising Arabic Aviation Spanish National Pattern
detail from King of Clubs

Anonymous Moroccan Playing Cards

Many packs of playing cards are produced in Morocco anonymously. There are no inscriptions or manufacturer's details on any of the cards. Usually these are found on the Ace of Coins and the Fours of Coins and Cups, or the wrapper. As can be seen in the examples shown below, these packs are usually virtually identical, with only slight differences in the re-drawn images which faithfully conform to the old “Spanish National Pattern” as produced by Camoin of Marseille until 1971. The Kings' robes totally obscure their feet and the horses are bright blue. The motifs seen on the Ace of Coins and the Fours of Coins and Cups are modelled after the features on the same cards in the old Spanish decks.

anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards for Royal Air Maroc airlines

Above: anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards for Royal Air Maroc airlines, 40 cards.

anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards

Above: anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards with Arabic inscriptions on several cards, 40 cards. Close inspection of the card designs, especially the faces, suggests this pack is by the same manufacturer as the above example for Royal Air Maroc. The back design has a repeating pattern of horse heads, moon crescents and dots.

anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards

Above: anonymous Spanish-suited playing cards with a palm tree motif on several cards, 40 cards.

avatar
1,475 Articles

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

1990 Leadmill playing cards

Leadmill playing cards

Promotional pack for an arts centre in Sheffield with designs by Martin F. Bedford.

1953 Simpson (Piccadilly) playing cards

Simpson (Piccadilly) playing cards

Innovative advertising pack for Simpsons of Piccadilly designed by André François.

1989 Hamlet Cigars

Hamlet Cigars

Advertising deck for “Hamlet mild cigars”, a Benson & Hedges product.

1972 Smith-Corona Marchant

Smith-Corona Marchant

Simplified yet colourful court card designs by Avoine for Smith-Corona Marchant.

2000 Austria Ski Team playing cards

Austria Ski Team playing cards

Photos of members of the Austrian skiing team replace the normal courts on two different packs.

1996 Unimog UX 100

Unimog UX 100

Cartoons promoting the Unimog UX 100, a small truck produced by Mercedes-Benz.

1996 Star Trek® – The Original Series

Star Trek® – The Original Series

Promotional pack for CIC Video with characters and starships from the original series of Star Trek. ...

1994 Medizin Skat

Medizin Skat

Promotional pack for a hospital group in the Saarland, with non-standard suits and courts designed b...

2006 Naipes Kukuxumusu

Naipes Kukuxumusu

A 52-card Spanish-suited advertising pack for a clothing company in Pamplona.

Introduction to Collecting Themes

Introduction to Collecting Themes

Playing cards can be broadly categorised into standard and non-standard designs, with collectors app...

1981 Haushaltgeräte

Haushaltgeräte

Publicity pack for VEB Kombinat Haushaltgeräte, makers of household goods, with designs by Volker Ha...

1980 Club Soft Drinks

Club Soft Drinks

Promotional pack for Club soft drinks with amusing illustrations of different kinds of ‘club’.

1984 Mit Rhino auftrumpfen

Mit Rhino auftrumpfen

Black rhinos on a publicity pack for Armstrong, a flooring company, with comic designs by Pit Flick....

2018 Marmite

Marmite

Fifty-Four images celebrating a UK savoury spread, that has been around one hundred and twenty two y...

G&G Armament playing cards

G&G Armament playing cards

G&G Armament Airsoft replica gun playing cards from Taiwan.

2005 Absolut Deck

Absolut Deck

Promotional deck published for Absolut Vodka in Sweden.