The World of Playing Cards Logo

Scottish Picture Playing Cards

Published April 18, 2017 Updated July 16, 2022

Scottish Picture Playing Cards featuring photographs by Colin Baxter.

1987 Scotland United Kingdom John McLean Colin Baxter Photography Souvenir Topographical

Scottish Picture Playing Cards featuring atmospheric landscape photographs by Colin Baxter, 1987. The beautiful pictures are best seen in a large format which is slightly constrained in a playing card. See the Box

Colin Baxter has an original and distinctive style and has contributed to a number of publications  see more

The jokers appear to be inspired by Book of Kells artwork.

Scottish Picture Playing Cards featuring photographs by Colin Baxter, 1987

Above: Scottish Picture Playing Cards featuring photographs by Colin Baxter, published by John McLean in single or double packs, first edition, 1987. Revised versions were re-issued in 1993 and again in 2014. Images courtesy Matt Probert.

avatar
307 Articles

By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

Related Articles

1863 Victorian grocer’s scale plate

Victorian grocer’s scale plate

Large flat plate decorated with highly coloured English cards and royal arms.

1984 Tarot Actuel 1984

Tarot Actuel 1984

Major arcana to cut out, issued with the French magazine Actuel, using photographic images.

2024 Queen of Arts

Queen of Arts

A wide variety of women artists celebrated on cards with illustrations by Laura Callaghan.

1990 The Glasgow Pack

The Glasgow Pack

Issued to celebrate Glasgow’s reign as European City of Culture in 1990, with city views and works o...

2018 Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

54 pictures of different famous cathedrals, abbeys and minsters in England and Wales.

1979 Baraja Turística del País Vasco

Baraja Turística del País Vasco

Basque poker deck of 55 cards published by Fournier with scenic views of the Basque Country.

2018 Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols playing cards illustrated by Stuart Dilks

1798 Pam is the Knave of Clubs

Pam is the Knave of Clubs

Playing cards as metaphors in 18th century art - from fate, chance and social hierarchy t...

1920 Question and Answer Games

Question and Answer Games

A card game called “Impertinent Questions and Pertinent Answers” was launched in the early 1920s by ...

1711 Dr Sacheverell

Dr Sacheverell

Dr. Henry Sacheverell's impeachment in 1710 sparked widespread public unrest and political upheaval,...

1990 Leadmill playing cards

Leadmill playing cards

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

1975 Mountain Dream Tarot

Mountain Dream Tarot

Groundbreaking Tarot created by Bea Nettles, using photographs and photo montage.

2024 Agatha Christie and card games

Agatha Christie and card games

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

2024 English Heritage

English Heritage

52 different colour photos of historic sites managed by English Heritage.

2023 Trek Deck Malta Vol. 1

Trek Deck Malta Vol. 1

Innovative pack describing 52 different treks around Malta, Gozo and Comino.

2022 The Malt Whiskies of Scotland

The Malt Whiskies of Scotland

Three packs featuring photographs by Duncan McEwan of malt whisky distilleries in Scotland.