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Politipack ’88 playing cards

Published November 17, 2022 Updated November 17, 2022

Politipack ’88 produced by Robert Billingsley, USA, 1988.

1988 USA R. Billingsley Political

Produced by R. Billingsley in early 1988 (c.1987) in advance of the November 1988 US Presidential election, this pack offers a collection of “original drawings of the announced and unannounced candidates, also-rans and almost-rans, dropouts, and never-got-started, all of whom have a chance to be our next President” (see more). In addition to the drawings some of the cards call attention to some of the issues that the candidates will have to face. In the event George H.W. Bush, with running mate Dan Quayle (Republican) defeated Democrat rivals Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen.

Politipack '88 playing cards produced by R. Billingsley, early 1988 Politipack '88 playing cards produced by R. Billingsley, early 1988 Politipack '88 playing cards produced by R. Billingsley, early 1988

Above: Politipack '88 playing cards produced by Robert Billingsley, early 1988.

See Wikipedia: 1988 United States presidential election

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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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