Andy's Playing Cards - Decks with Fancy Patterns

COMMEMORATIVE THEMES

A deck of cards is a good promotional medium for promoting an event, and for commemorating it once it is over. When the event is organized, as in the case of the Olympic Games (example on the right), the relevant playing cards also carry the official logo and other images covered by a copyright; on these grounds, they can be likened to advertisement decks (see gallery 2). In fewer cases the event is not organized: a typical example has been the turn of the third millennium of the Christian calendar, in year 2000.	Sam The Olympic Eagle deck by US Playing Card Co. (USA) commemorating the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

A deck of cards is a good promotional medium for promoting an event, and for commemorating it once it is over. When the event is organized, as in the case of the Olympic Games (example on the right), the relevant playing cards also carry the official logo and other images covered by a copyright; on these grounds, they can be likened to advertisement decks (see gallery 2).
In fewer cases the event is not organized: a typical example has been the turn of the third millennium of the Christian calendar, in year 2000.

Sam The Olympic Eagle deck by US Playing Card Co. (USA)
commemorating the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Centenary deck by Paul Lamond Toys & Games (U.K.)	Several manufacturers produced special celebrative editions for this occasion, two of which are shown. The one on the left is a two-deck set called Centenary, with black & white pictures of the most important facts concerning politics, sports, show business, science, etc. of the past century. The two decks are not identical (the eight sample cards are taken half from one and half from the other): each deck covers 50 years, i.e. about 12 years per suit.

Centenary deck by Paul Lamond Toys & Games (U.K.)

Several manufacturers produced special celebrative editions for this occasion, two of which are shown.
The one on the left is a two-deck set called Centenary, with black & white pictures of the most important facts concerning politics, sports, show business, science, etc. of the past century. The two decks are not identical (the eight sample cards are taken half from one and half from the other): each deck covers 50 years, i.e. about 12 years per suit.

The other sample is a special pattern produced in limited edition by Carta Mundi, with a metal-like finish: the cards have a gold background, the courts are silver and gold, and the edges of the two decks (see below) are also lined in the same colours.	Millennium deck by Carta Mundi (Belgium)

CARTOONS AND CARICATURES

Italian Walt Disney deck, given as a gadget with a cartoon publication (manufacturer not stated)	Cartoons and comics are a children's favourite theme. A large majority of editions based on such characters feature Walt Disney's famous personages, as the one shown on the left. Some of these decks are produced by the same companies that publish comic magazines, to be given as gadgets together with the publication.

Different ones too exist, although they are not as common as the previous editions; on the left is a Beano deck, with several characters from a weekly comic magazine very popular in Britain (the cards, though, are by France Cartes). Fancy patterns based on cartoons have been recently created also for traditional Japanese cards (see gallery 17, page 6).	Beano deck by France Cartes (France)

Polit-Poker deck by ASS (Germany)	Instead caricatures are more popular among adults, and the most common ones feature politicians, either local or international. This sample, by ASS (Germany), includes leaders from many different countries, who were famous by the time the deck was produced, i.e. the mid-late 1980s: Ronald Reagan (USA), Fidel Castro (Cuba), François Mitterand (France), Karol Woytila (Vatican), Corazon Aquino (Philippines), etc. Another caricature deck, with famous movie actors, is shown in page 1.

Polit-Poker deck by ASS (Germany)

Instead caricatures are more popular among adults, and the most common ones feature politicians, either local or international. This sample, by ASS (Germany), includes leaders from many different countries, who were famous by the time the deck was produced, i.e. the mid-late 1980s: Ronald Reagan (USA), Fidel Castro (Cuba), François Mitterand (France), Karol Woytila (Vatican), Corazon Aquino (Philippines), etc.
Another caricature deck, with famous movie actors, is shown in page 1.

EDUCATIONAL DECKS

Although the word "educational" might sound inappropriate for a deck of cards, in some editions the 52 subjects are only a pretext for handling a set of flashcards whose purpose is to teach or to rehearse a given subject. The first sample shown comes from a Proverbs deck: each proverb or saying is illustrated with a cartoon, and fully explained in a long text, which fills the subject's lower half. Nothing but tiny indices remind us that these are playing cards.	Proverbs deck by US Games System (USA)

Although the word "educational" might sound inappropriate for a deck of cards, in some editions the 52 subjects are only a pretext for handling a set of flashcards whose purpose is to teach or to rehearse a given subject. The first sample shown comes from a Proverbs deck: each proverb or saying is illustrated with a cartoon, and fully explained in a long text, which fills the subject's lower half. Nothing but tiny indices remind us that these are playing cards.

Proverbs deck by US Games System (USA)

Kanji-de Toranpu deck by Okuno Karuta (Japan)	How this other deck works, at first sight may not be too clear to a Western collector. It comes from Japan, and its purpose is to help schoolchildren learn some basic Chinese characters used in the national language. A short text in the upper part and an "animated" illustration of the glyph in the centre suggest its meaning, whence an easier memorization of its shape. Several similar editions exist, each one dedicated to a specific school grade, featuring characters expected to be learned at the relevant age.

Kanji-de Toranpu deck by Okuno Karuta (Japan)

How this other deck works, at first sight may not be too clear to a Western collector. It comes from Japan, and its purpose is to help schoolchildren learn some basic Chinese characters used in the national language. A short text in the upper part and an "animated" illustration of the glyph in the centre suggest its meaning, whence an easier memorization of its shape. Several similar editions exist, each one dedicated to a specific school grade, featuring characters expected to be learned at the relevant age.

The list of themes could be much lengthier; for instance, one of the most inflationed kinds of fancy decks is the one based on pictures of girls. These many editions range from the most sober early pin-up drawings (such as the sample by Modiano on the right) to the ones that feature photographs of very ...explicit details, which for obvious reasons are not suitable for being shown in this gallery.	Pin Up deck by Modiano (Italy)

The list of themes could be much lengthier; for instance, one of the most inflationed kinds of fancy decks is the one based on pictures of girls. These many editions range from the most sober early pin-up drawings (such as the sample by Modiano on the right) to the ones that feature photographs of very ...explicit details, which for obvious reasons are not suitable for being shown in this gallery.

Pin Up deck by Modiano (Italy)

The only limit to the number of themes that a deck of cards may be inspired by is the manufacturer's own imagination. In theory, it would be enough to put together twelve generic illustrations and use them as subjects for the courts, eventually choosing a few more for the aces and the jokers, to obtain a fancy deck.
But everybody can tell from the samples shown in these pages that some themes fit this purpose much better than others, and that simply changing the graphics of an ordinary Bridge deck is certainly not enough to obtain a good result. A carefully chosen theme, a skillful artist and a good balance in most cases makes the difference between a nice non-standard edition, which can be a real pleasure to look at and to handle, and a cheap one, that sometimes looks more similar to a set of trading cards than to a real playing card deck.

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