Four new decks to share with you all today...
First: My brother Jim and his wife Rachel are excellent photographers, and travel the world taking incredible photographs.
They recently returned from a trip which included visits to Africa and Machu Picchu in Peru.
This past weekend, Jim, who lives in San Diego, California, came up here to Salem, Oregon, to spend some time with my wife Susan and me.
At some point during a conversation, I mentioned to him that I had recently stumbled upon the "Evil Forces in Eastern Slavonic Mythology" deck which he had purchased for me years ago during one of his trips to Russia.
Jim jumped up and said "Oh, that reminds me - I have something for you!" before dashing out the door to his car, returning with a small statue of a Llama for Susan, and three decks of playing cards for me!
Handing them to me, he said something like "These probably aren't the kind you like, with the special face cards, but I thought you might like them anyway..."
I told him that there are probably a couple of dozen decks in my collection which various friends and relatives purchased for me while on vacations and such, and that, although they almost never had "special face cards" (custom courts), they all still have a place in my collection, and in my heart, That someone would see a deck of cards, think of me, purchase it, and bring it back to me from some far-off place, meant a lot to me, no matter
what kind of deck it was.
So here, without further ado, are three decks Jim brought back for me from Peru:
==========[ IncaDinasty ]==========
About the Deck
A souvenir deck from Peru, with a photograph of a different Incan artifact on each card, this deck is an archeologist's dream.
Where to Find it
Peru (well, duh!).
My brother purchased it on a train as he and his wife rode it into Cusco, Peru.
The Cards on Display
Heart - The Queen of Hearts
A clay pot decorated with images of fish, this artifact of Nazca culture was found in Ica, Peru.
Club - The King of Clubs
This golden mask - an artifact of the Mochica culture, was found in Sipan, Libertad, Peru.
Diamond - The Jack of Diamonds
Another artifact of the Mochica culture, this clay bird was also found in Libertad, Peru.
Spade - Ace of Spades
This is one of a handful of cards in the deck which show what look to be posters with images from Incan culture.
This Spade Ace is the only card in the deck with this odd "double-printing". Although I cannot read the heading, it says "Manco Copac" in the box at the top right, and "First Inca 1200-1230 D.C. Cusco - Peru" along the bottom.
Joker - The joker -
...or "JOCKER", as it says on the card, is, according to the text at the bottom of the card, "The Sun God of the Incas".
Back - The card back
An oval-shaped photograpf of MachuPicchu, under which is/are the word/s "INCASPERU", which is the name of the company that published the deck.
Extra: -
...is the other "JOCKER". according to the text at the bottom of the card, "The Moon God of the Incas".
Box - The front of the box
A repeat of the image on the back of the cards.
==========[ MachuPicchuWonderOfTheWorld ]==========
About the Deck
Another souvenir deck from publishers INCASPERU. This one is of Machu Picchu, a very famous site in Peru. The deck has a different photograph of the site on every card, along with a one-line description.
Where to Find it
Machu Picchu, Peru - unless you happened upon it on eBay...
The Cards on Display
Heart - The Queen of Hearts
"Cock of the rocks - Machupicchu"
Club - The King of Clubs
"View from the Main Square"
Diamond - The Jack of Diamonds
"Main Square and Panoramic - Machupicchu"
Spade - Ace of Spades
"Panoramic view - Machupicchu"
Joker - The joker -
"Chunco or Peruvian native"
(the other joker shows a black & white version of this same photograph)
Back - The card back
I'm not sure what the image is - perhaps an Incan necklace?
The name of the publisher (INCASPERU) is at the bottom.
Extra: -
There were no extra cards in the deck.
Box - The front of the box
Another photograph of Machupicchu, with the words "MACHUPICCHU" above it, and "WONDER OF THE WORLD" below.
==========[ RainforestExpeditions ]==========
About the Deck
Published by Rainforest Expeditions (
http://www.perunature.com), each card in this deck shows either a photograph or drawing of an animal, bird or insect found in the rainforests of Peru.
The Hearts suit has images of birds.
Clubs: mammals,
Diamonds: Butterflies, and
Spades: More birds.
Where to Find it
I can't find the deck on the company's web site (
http://www.perunature.com), so I guess that either a trip down to Peru, or luck on eBay would be your best bet.
The Cards on Display
Heart - The Queen of Hearts
A Chestnut-earedAracari (Pteroglassus castanotis)
But then, you probably already knew that...
Club - The King of Clubs
A Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochoerus)
Diamond - The Jack of Diamonds
A King Page Swallowtail (Heraclues thoas)
Spade - Ace of Spades
A Red and Green Macaw (Aru chloroptera)
Joker - The joker -
A Dusky Titi Monkey (Callicebus moluch)
Back - The card back
cropped photos of animals from the four suit-categories, beneath the publisher's name ("Rainforest Expeditions") and logo.
Extra: -
An advertising card for the publisher, describing their facilities and services.
Box - The front of the box
The same as the back of the cards.
So a nice and unusual little haul from my world-traveling brother.
Next is an unusual, Afrocentric advertising deck:
==========[ Budweiser_AlphaOne ]==========
About the Deck
This deck is unusual for an advertising deck, in that the sponsor's product is only shown on the card back. The images on the deck's custom courts and jokers have nothing to do with the product. They appear to have been used merely to make the deck appeal to African-Americans, in an attempt to get them to buy the sponsor's product (Budweiser Beer).
Where to Find it
I stumbled upon it on eBay.
Be careful, though: I would imagine that there are decks with this back which do
not have these courts/jokers.
The courts in the deck are remeniscent of the courts in a deck called "Sheba", which can often be found on eBay, but here are some images of it:
http://www.itsablackthang.com/sheba_cards.htm
http://www.adnil.com/CARDS/sheba.html
Interestingly enough, the "Sheba" deck was published by Omega Concepts, and the Budweiser "Alpha One" deck was published by Alpha Concepts, so I strongly suspect that there is a connection there.
The Cards on Display
Heart - The Queen of Hearts
An African woman in ceremonial grab.
Club - The King of Clubs
An African man in a Pharoah-like outfit.
Diamond - The Jack of Diamonds
A younger African man.
Spade - Ace of Spades
Joker - The joker -
An African boy.
Back - The card back
A cool one of the sponsor's brew.
Extra: -
There were no extra cards with the deck.
Box - The front of the box
My copy of the deck came in a clear, plastic case.
It's one of the few things I drink besides water (since I try not to drink soda or coffee). I used to always get them in bottles but then now they're almost always in cans. I don't know why I prefer the bottles. I guess they just look nicer. 
