Commoners playing cards

Published March 15, 2024 Updated March 15, 2024

Created by Ian Cumpstey dedicated to the common land and the countryside.

2020 United Kingdom Cartamundi Ian Cumpstey Kickstarter Nature & Environment Suits

This is another pack by Cumbrian artist and designer Ian Cumpstey. The style and appearance of these cards are based on traditional German-suited playing cards, with international standard indices and pips added in the four corners for ease of use.

In the German tradition of playing cards, the pips in the suits of suits of leaves and acorns grow from a central stem. For these Commoners cards, the spades and clubs suits are drawn in this way. The hearts and diamonds suits are arranged in the manner typical of the German hearts and bells suits. All the pip cards have an individual illustration - like a fox, a rooster, a cuckoo, clouds, a mountain, and so on, which might be thought of as representing universal ideas. Much of the artwork is inspired by the local landscape, fauna and surroundings in Cumbria in the north of England.

In relation to the courts, Cumpstey has followed the German convention of pip placement for the Ober and Unter, but with male and female jacks and queens. None of the court cards in this set are obviously royal figures. Instead, they are commoners in the sense that they are using --- in one way or another --- the common land in the countryside. Such a rural rustic feel is actually typical of many German playing cards. There are two jokers and two extra information cards. See the box

Commoners playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey, printed by Cartamundi, 2020 Commoners playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey, printed by Cartamundi, 2020 Commoners playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey, printed by Cartamundi, 2020

Above: Commoners playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey, printed by Cartamundi, 2020.

Reference

Much of the above description is taken from the original Kickstarter campaign website

avatar
531 Articles

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.

Russian Playing Cards

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

1988 Jeu Buffon

Jeu Buffon

Illustrations of different birds from works by Buffon to celebrate the bicentenary of his death.

1999 OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner

OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner

Twentieth-century personalities promoting a millennium dinner at the Oxo Tower in London.

2010 Modern Swiss-German Pattern (carta.media)

Modern Swiss-German Pattern (carta.media)

Modernizing tradition: balancing clarity and continuity in regional card design.

1991 Kids Fun Box playing cards

Kids Fun Box playing cards

Colourful cards for children with four non-standard suits connected with the natural world.

1980 Tangle Foot Ale

Tangle Foot Ale

Badger Brewery Tangle Foot strong ale advertising pack.

1891 Scientific Whist

Scientific Whist

“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...

1985 Agent Provocateur

Agent Provocateur

Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.

2021 Nimbus playing cards

Nimbus playing cards

Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.

2025 Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...

2006 The Decadent Deck

The Decadent Deck

Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.

1893 Historic Shakespeare

Historic Shakespeare

“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.

1925 Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...

1893 Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

1989 Batman® playing cards

Batman® playing cards

Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.

1984 Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.

1910 Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind

Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind

The “Pastime” Playing Cards for the Blind manufactured by Goodall & Son Limd., c.1910.