Madam Luck

Madam Luck playing cards were printed at the Colour Printing Plant in St. Petersburg in 1998. The artist is B. Adziev and the author S. Spirov. The intention is to show how good or bad fortune can influence our lives. The suits represent different aspects of life: hearts – love and passion; diamonds – business and career; spades – power and politics; clubs – law and order. The double-ended courts portray individuals: on one half they have been “lucky” and on the other they have been “tempted”. An angel or a devil appears in the corner of the appropriate half. So in the hearts suit, the King is either fit and healthy or a rake and philanderer; the Queen is either an innocent country girl or a prostitute; and the Jack is either a considerate lover or drunkard. The pip cards are slight variants of the standard: hearts have an arrow piercing them; diamonds have a wad of banknotes superimposed; spades have a crown inserted and clubs have a pair of pistols within.

The court cards are double-ended: on one half they have been “lucky” and on the other they have been “tempted”...

Above: “Madam Luck” playing cards designed by B. Adziev and printed at the Colour Printing Plant in St. Petersburg in 1998. 36 cards.