Kashmir Playing Cards

Kashmir Playing Cards were printed by Printissa (Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 2005 in a limited run of 500 copies. Printissa was a collective of former employees of the Colour Printing Plant (1817-2004).

When the Plant was closed in 2004 several former employees organized Printissa and tried to continue to produce artistic decks. At least 10 packs were produced in 2005 including Centaurus, Fabergé, Morskie mify, and Russkii pel'menyi klub. Unfortunately, the enterprise was short-lived, but the quality of the cards and the range of artists employed were excellent.

The Kashmir playing cards were designed by Lev Liberman (1976- ), a specialist in graphic design and founder of the first school of calligraphy in the Urals. The deck is dedicated to the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent – Kashmir. It is also called the Heaven on Earth because of its natural widespread beauty. The artist has tried to capture this beauty in all 54 cards – the aces and court cards are detailed, colourful and imaginative, and the centre of each pip cards is adorned with a finely drawn image.

Above: ‘Kashmir’ Playing Cards designed by Lev Liberman and printed by Printissa, Russia, 2005. 52 cards + 2 jokers.