Playing card art books

[CrypticCards]

Hi all - does anyone have any recommendations/fav books on the history of playing cards & card art? I want to get something for my niece's book collection that includes background knowledge as well as pictures of artwork (plus I realised I don't actually have any card art books that don't relate to specific decks, so... It's for me too I guess!) Is there a book you'd recommend to younger artists just getting started? I'd be grateful for any recs.

Thanks & have a great day
Immy

[Eric Lee]

Not sure if it meets your criteria, but you can try these 2 searches:


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=hochman+play ... nb_sb_noss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.amazon.com/Transformation-P ... oks&sr=1-3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[shimmering]

Sylvia Mann's All the Cards on the Table is a great history of the standard patterns, I don't own this book, and it's out of print.

One book with lots of pictures of very old cards that you might like is called The World in Play, it was produced as a kind of catalogue of an exhibition at the met museum (new york) a couple of years ago. The focus is on very early luxury cards, a lot of them hand-painted, often with odd and nonstandard suits, so maybe before the development of the standard patterns. This is definitely a pretty book and I think still easy to get hold of.

[guru]

I recommend Transformation Playing Cards by Albert Field. A must have for any serious collector out there.

This listing on Abebooks shows it for $3.5 with $3 as shipping. It is an out of print book so you should get it asap.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDe ... 0363402148" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Another one for history & art buffs is Ganjifa, the Playing Cards of India bu Rudoph Von Leyden.

https://www.amazon.com/Ganjifa-Playing- ... 0905209176" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Last but not the least, if you're looking for a Collector's edition fiction book with creative transformation cards as the basis of the story, check this out:

https://www.amazon.com/Cards-Collectors ... 0648516504" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CrypticCards]

Thanks for those recommendations y'all! I can get some of those out of print titles on AbeBooks UK, and there's a couple of shorter Sylvia Mann books there too. My nieces might have to share with me though, heh!
Have a great day,
Immy