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Russian Four Seasons, U.P. Ivanov, The Colour Printing Plant
My deck is almost certainly the reissue described at the link, due to the yellow tinge. Original design 1971.


Russian courts are:

• K = Ќороль (Korol)
• Д = Дама (Dama)
• B = ВаЛет (Valet)

And Ace is T for Туз (Tuz)

Straying from vintage but keeping to theme, here's a newer Russian deck, dated 2013, credited to Jokercards (link removed because it's now very NSFW!) I'm including the lovely Aces.

Early in my collecting journey, I was grabbing every inexpensive fantasy-themed deck I saw. This one pales in comparison to the others, but I still quite like it, and it's notable for having four Jokers.

The Four Seasons, Ace Collectable Cards, 2015

This was another Pinterest obsession. Both Joop and Peter Endebrock have versions of this deck, and I have this excellent reprint by Alexander Lutkovskiy.

Gewaendern, Gustav Olms, c. 1900, printed by F. A. Lattmann

Nice!

A pair of decks from 1919-1920 known as The Fennell Series. The first deck is a reprint from Alexander Lutkovskiy, the second is a vintage original.

Irish Heroic Playing Cards 1919, W. & G. Baird Ltd

Irish Historic Playing Cards, 1920, W. & G. Baird Ltd

This is so exactly why I love this forum.

I will turn now to my small collection of Standard Patterns. WOPC defines these as follows:

Standard patterns are when a certain design becomes established in a certain region and all local manufacturers produce a version of it. It then becomes traditional in that region or in other regions where it is adopted.

In choosing these decks, I looked for modern examples that I found attractive. Here is the Dutch Pattern as printed by Brepols. Indices are Heer (King), Vrouw (Queen), and Boer (Jack).


The International Playing Card Society claims the most comprehensive list of patterns, but I find it difficult to navigate. I will share the Characteristic Features they attribute to each pattern.

QH has a bird perched on one hand; QS holds up a small feather fan; QD gazes into a small locket; QC holds a flower. All the Queens wear crowns....KH holds an orb and a large sceptre with an ornate top, while KC wears a crenellated crown and holds the top of an angular shield.

Here is the North German or Berlin pattern, which has many modern examples. They are often branded as Skat decks for the game of the same name; these decks have 32 cards.

My example is a 52-card deck from F.X. Schmid. German indices are König, Dame, and Bube.


IPCS Characteristic Features:

...the distinctive combination of KS holding the top of his harp and the KC the round top of a shield. The harp held by KS is usually a rather unlikely shape, and sometimes has no strings. The laurel wreath worn by KD is a unique feature....The Queens' flowers are traditional, except that QD's carnation becomes a lily. JH has his hand free at chest-level.

Another German style originated with Dondorf and is known as the Rhineland Pattern. My example is printed by Piatnik.


IPCS Characteristic Features:

The characteristics are the attributes of the Kings and Jacks: KH with orb and sword, KS with a sceptre, touching a medal on his breast, KD facing left in profile, with a sceptre over his shoulder and an orb, and KC with orb and sceptre is shown in a frontal view....The Queens wear crowns and hold flowers, except QC with a fan. QD is in profile, looking left. JH holds his sword upward, JS holds the hilt of a sword pointed downward, JD has a halberd in his left, a hilt of a sword in his right, and he is looking back to the left over his shoulder. JC has a halberd.

I'll be back with more tomorrow!

From Germany to Austria. The Wiener (Vienna) Pattern has two variants, Large Crown and Small Crown. This is an example of the latter, from Piatnik.


IPCS Characteristic Features:

Jack of Diamonds wears a hat while the other Jacks wear caps with flaps. Jack of Hearts holds a pennant attached to a lance, usually with the name of the town of manufacture, the other ones hold a halberd. Queens of Spades and Hearts wear crowns with a flat front. Queen of Clubs holds a mirror, Queen of Spades a basket filled with flowers and Queens of Hearts and Diamonds hold a flower in their right hand. The crowns of the Kings are fully visible in the frame of the picture. All Kings hold a sceptre. Usually the maker’s name is printed on a sash held by the King of Spades.

One more Piatnik deck, this time representing the Swedish Pattern. The Knecht (Knave) uses the index Kn to distinguish it from the Kung (King); the Queen is Dam. It is subtle in this deck, but traditionally the court figures of each suit wear a distinct color: yellow for spades, red for hearts, purple for clubs, and blue for diamonds.


IPCS Characteristic Features:

Jacks: Jack of Clubs holds a lance, Jack of Spades holds a sword, Jacks of Hearts and Diamonds hold a halberd. Queens: Queen of Clubs holds an open fan, Queen of Spades a closed one, Queen of Hearts and Diamonds hold their right hand at the neckline (in some versions Queen of Hearts holds a rose). Kings: All Kings hold a sceptre, Kings of Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds in the left, King of Spades in the right hand (not always the same hands, in some versions complemented by an orb, sometimes King of Diamonds with a sword).

Last, but certainly not least, is the Paris Pattern. After the English pattern, this is probably the easiest to identify at a glance. However, it took me a while to find a pleasing representative. This is a minimally-redrawn advertising deck for the Raffles chain of hotels.


I eventually found something closer to what I was looking for. This also happens to be an advertising deck for a men's clothing store in Antwerp. The color scheme actually classifies this as the Genoese Pattern.


The IPCS has a lengthy PDF about the Paris pattern, but the features they describe aren't really apparent in these decks. In any case, the pattern is easy to identify by the diagonal lines and distinctive poses.

One of the greatest enablers of my vintage deck collecting is Steve Bacon at Two for His Heels. My initial wish list was built mainly by browsing his shop. Here are a couple of decks I have purchased from him.


Chambord, 1952, Heron, A. Belliard
My deck has blue backs. Joop has one with red backs. You can see this is based on the Paris Pattern.


Warburgs Bridge Kort, c.1930, Emil Jensen, Copenhagen
A commemorative deck for King Christian of Denmark is shown at WOPC. Although my edition is called Bridge Kort, it is poker sized. Indices are Dutch (coincidentally the same as the Swedish pattern): Konge (King), Dame (Queen), Knægt (Servant).

I don't really have a plan for what I will show next. I'll let my brain's affinity for pattern-seeking take over and allow each deck to lead me to the next.

This deck commemorates the 300th anniversary of the birth of playwright Moliere. Gibert Jeune was a famous bookstore in Paris. Printed by Grimaud in 1973.

A promotional deck designed by Enzo Laurà for Credito Commerciale, one of Italy's largest banks, in 1978.

Another Italian bank, San Paolo Instituto Bancario, has a series of promotional decks printed by Masenghini in the 70s and 80s. All are designed by Paolo Fresu, and each is a tribute to a different playwright. I found out about these decks relatively recently and can't find many images online. WOPC only shows this Shakespeare deck and one dedicated to Anton Chekov, but I know of others inspired by Moliere, Arthur Miler, Bertolt Brecht, and Carlo Goldoni.

This deck doesn't scream "Shakespeare" to me, compared to other better-known decks, but I like the slightly otherworldly style.

Understandably, Shakespeare is a very popular theme for playing card designers. I know people are familiar with the gorgeous Dondorf deck by John H. Bacon and the Waddingtons deck by Frederick Colin Tilney. I don't see as much love for the Piatnik deck designed by Donald Burton. Originally released under the name The War of the Roses, it's a double deck with red roses on one back and white on the other.

This deck warrants showing more cards than usual due to the unique suit symbols and pip card backgrounds.

I only have time for one deck today. Jean Picart le Doux, the artist behind Les Quatre Saisons (shown at the end of page 1), illustrated this commemorative deck for Thomas De La Rue and Company's 125th anniversary in 1957. It came as a double deck set, and you can see the corresponding blue back at WOPC.

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe these next two decks are the first I ever acquired with custom courts. In fact, all of the cards are illustrated, and these came in double-deck sets with 3 Jokers. The other deck's backs are red and blue.

Allegories & Myths, Violeta Monreal, Fournier, 1990 (Poker sized)

I know I was attracted to the artist's work because of the fantasy/historical theme and because they are as elaborate as any Tarot deck. Once again, this is a double-deck set. The link below shows the other backs.

Medieval Life, Violeta Monreal, Fournier, 1988 (Bridge sized)

I obtained this deck much more recently, once my playing card collecting was in full swing. The pips are not fully illustrated like the previous two, but they are consistent with the stained-glass style. I only have the single deck; the link below shows the other backs.

The artist illustrated at least one more deck, Secrets of the Far East, but it doesn't appeal to me.

Crystal Time, Violeta Monreal, Fournier, 1994 (Bridge sized)

I like the set box by far the best

I might as well share my other two Fournier decks. This double deck set (red and blue backs) came in a plain box, and the cards have gilt corners.

Romance Español, Carlos Sáenz de Tejada, Fournier, 1951

This deck was difficult to source. I eventually found it on the same Spanish ebay-type marketplace where I purchased the Naipe Nacional Spanish-suited deck. I have seen a version with blue backs, but I don't know whether this deck was ever sold in a set of two. It came with two jokers and two cards with the artist's name.

Lovable, A. Bellido, Fournier, 1972

This is a particular favorite of mine. Originally printed for Fournier in 1959 as a promotional deck for fashion house Loewe. My deck is a reprint. The cards are bridge sized with gilt corners.

Loewe, J.L. Picardo, Aries, 1979

Last deck for today, this was a Holy Grail for me. I fell in love with it while browsing the WOPC site, but I never thought I would own a copy. One day on eBay, there it was, and it was cheap! It's a promotional deck for a German furniture store.

Intecta, Paul Reissmüller, Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 1982

felicityk wrote: ↑Mon Feb 03, 2025 9:41 am The artist illustrated at least one more deck, Secrets of the Far East, but it doesn't appeal to me.

I have just become aware of one more deck by Violeta Monreal, Persia Eterna I.

Also, here are more of the San Paolo Bank decks:

• Bertolt Brecht
• Anton Chekov
• Carlo Goldoni
• Arthur Miller (different artist)

Seen at the aforementioned Two for His Heels shop of Steve Bacon. He also has a wide selection of Fournier decks, including the Medieval Life set.

ETA: I get a weekly email from Two for His Heels, but I had not allowed myself to browse the shop for a while. I resisted buying vintage versions of two of the decks I already shared (Naipe Nacional and Loewe), but I did make a purchase today, which I will share as soon as it arrives.

Ah ha! I've had Secrets of the Far East on my wish list for ages. Now I see the connection. Now add A. Bellido to the list.

Fresh from my mailbox, here's an addition to my Standard Pattern collection, as discussed in this thread.

Russian "Atlasny" Pattern, Vitaly Sinkevich, 2024