Jack Daniel’s Playing Cards

Published January 16, 2023 Updated June 17, 2024

Jack Daniel’s™ Old Nº7 Gentlemen’s playing cards produced by Hoyle Products, USA, 1994.

1994 USA Cartamundi Hoyle Advertising Distillery Whisky

This poker-sized pack is one of several produced by Hoyle Products under the authority of the Jack Daniel Distillery, Tennessee. The intention is the re-creation of an authentic Civil War-era pack, and according to the information card: “the antique card faces are an authentic recreation of nineteenth-century playing cards”. There are 52 cards, 2 jokers and an information card. See the box

Jack Daniel’s Old Nº7 Gentlemens playing cards produced by Hoyle Products, USA, 1994 Jack Daniel’s Old Nº7 Gentlemens playing cards produced by Hoyle Products, USA, 1994

Above: Jack Daniel’s Old Nº7 Gentlemen’s playing cards produced by Hoyle Products, USA, 1994.


Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, 2007 Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, 2007

Above: the same 13 photographs are repeated on each suit with text below describing the early beginnings of Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey and stories about the founder, "Mr Jack". Back design dated 2007.

Note from Roddy Somerville

The Jack Daniel's pack shown above (1994) was preceded by an earlier one printed by Carta Mundi in c.1980. There are a number of differences. The earlier pack (shown below) had the same courts but in slightly different colours - orange rather than yellow, brick red rather than dull red. A richer cream colour was used for the background. The wording at the foot of the Ace of Spades is different. The two extra cards are different. The back design is similar to (but not identical to) the later one in black and white by Carta Mundi. Finally, the size is different - 67 x 97 mm (punto banco size) as opposed to 63 x 89 mm. - R.S

Jack Daniel’s Old Nº7 playing cards produced by Carta Mundi, c.1980

Above: Jack Daniel’s Old Nº7 playing cards produced by Carta Mundi, c.1980.


Other Examples

advertising deck produced for Jack Daniel Distillery

Above: another example of the many advertising decks produced for Jack Daniel Distillery, made by Carta Mundi. See another one here

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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.

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