Starz behind bars
Starz behind bars playing cards with mug shots of the rich and famous under arrest, USA, 2003.
Published at a time when well-known politicians, celebrities and others in the public eye seemed to be subject to critical, often scurrilous cartoons and comment, this pack of mug shots of the rich and famous under arrest was published in 2003 by www.starzbehindbars.com – “your source for news, gossip and fun on your favorite celebrities in trouble with the law” [from the tuck box]. Each card presents a photo of a celebrity – mainly of singers, actors, film stars, and sports personalities who have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Brief details of their misdemeanours or crimes, with dates, are given beneath.
Above: Starz behind bars playing cards, USA, 2003.
The jokers show Michael Jackson. See the box►
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.
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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