Dondorf Hundertjahrkarte restoration, uncut sheets available

[Mike Ratledge]

Technically this isn't a "new" deck, per se, but it's one that not many people have. I just saw a pair in mint condition for sale for $4000, and it's the first time I've ever seen even one deck in great shape. Previous sales of decks in "good", "Very Good" and "great" shape have all sold for $1350-$1700, and that's without any of them having tuck boxes, and one had neither of the two identical jokers.

The thing is - this deck was never sold, it was given away to patrons attending their Centennial Jubilee gathering in Stuttgart in 1933 to an unknown number of customers.

Well, that's about to change. I am working on getting the artwork restoration done, so some time around April I expect to be able to offer the 250 decks that I can print (per an agreement with the VP or Sales and Marketing of Altenburger and Stalsunder Spielkartenfabrik iGmBH in Stuttgart now owned by Cartamundi of Turnhout Belgium.

They will be faithful reproductions down to the German "K"/"D"/"B" court indices as opposed to the modern English K/Q/J index system, be printed on a superior glossy / smooth 330gsm German blue core casino paper with 100% accurate hallmark 'stamps' on the four and ace of hearts indicating the edition (as opposed to the "Royal Gothic" pair done with different backs in 1974 by Waddington in Britain) and I'm hoping to make the tucks as faithful to the leather and gold buckle used by B Dondorf & Co in 1933 with hot stamped gold foil, which actually was NOT in the original version. My one contrition to modern times is marking one of the identical jokers with red, so you can tell the two apart.

If you haven't seen me post these before, it's the only deck that I am aware of that used 28 stones (what we currently call color plates) - 16 for the faces and 12 for the backs. I've seen several German made 12-color decks, I've even seen a couple of 15-color German-made faces, but never one that used 16-color faces + 12 color backs.

Here are a few pix for those of you that have not seen them before:

A portion of the leather and gold buckle on the original deck's tuck box

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A portion of the 12-color backs

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Perspective of the 1974 reprint by Waddington with English court indixes

Two part write-up on how Dondorf #1000 "Hundertjahrkarte" broke the company

Now, I wouldn't do this half-@, would I? I won't announce anything more until maybe March - when I get the proofs of the restored artwork from the artist - even who that artist is, but - like I said "I wouldn't do this half-assed, now would I?". The agreement with A.S.S. is that I can only print and distribute 250 pieces, and "Not for Retail Sale", so they will be crowd-funded either on Kickstarter or perhaps pseudo-Crowd-Funded on UCdecksales.com - not exactly certain yet, but I will of course post more here as we get closer to the likely May time-frame. I hope to make about 8 or 10 prototype decks, likely sans the fancy faux leather tucks in April.

[rousselle]

Looking forward to seeing these!

(in my collection, that is)

[montecarlojoe]

Sounds awesome Mike!

[Bruno]

How much is that in Thalers ?


.... and just showing my ignorance

[ecNate]

First I'll share a close up photo Mike shared on the Facebook group which shows the color details best.


I love that you are doing a restoration, personally I hope such things are done more often so more can get these rare decks. It's also really cool that a playable deck can come with the gilded, but I was hoping for a cheaper way into having such a deck (maybe somebody will want to re-sell their 2nd....). I get the restrictions though and hopefully the price won't push me out because this looks pretty great. Based on where I'm at with my collection slowing down, I may only be able to justify a single gilded deck which I already have, but I'm looking forward to seeing more about this.

[Mike Ratledge]

The reason that it looks like a post is missing is because I needed to reword my previous post.

I did get permission from A. S. S.'s Director of Marketing to make UP TO 250 plain decks to be used for show & tell / display or play.

What changed is that he followed up with the caveat that I cannot sell those unless you back the restoration project. I understand that it's a true pain for people who.might not be able to justify - let's just say $100, which is my target price right now. The thing is that the success of this project will decide whether or not we can restore certain other Dondorf decks, like Luxeskarte and other baroque decks that were made for the Danish up-market.

I hope that I can offer these plain decks for $25 - it's still subject to the terms that they agreed to, and as I previously noted, only 250 decks were authorized to be made in this test of the restoration of these beautiful decks. Also it's only available WITH the fancy one.

I am sure that there will be a few people who don't want the simple deck. Hopefully enough to satisfy those of you who don't want to "go deep". Believe me, now that I am retired, I truly understand not being able or even just not wanting to invest in the full version.

There will be a limit of two per person, at least until we insure that a fair distribution of these - hopefully first - true restoration decks.

[RichK]

Incredible artwork. Better start saving my pennies now.

Good luck Mike!

[Mike Ratledge]

I didn't want to post the full blown color version on Facebook - yet, but here it is:

Also - I am trying to ward off questions I get multiple times by answering them up front:

Shipping? It will be $10 to ship two sets anywhere in the world. US delivery by Priority Mail from me, everyone else by registered mail from Europe. I expect that all pledges will be delivered basically around the same time. Initially it will be limited to two decks (or sets) per person, until I am certain that we have given everyone who wants a set a chance. If they aren't all sold in one week, you will be able to add two more sets. My fear is that a few people might buy them all for resale. I have seen it happen before - recently. (not completely, but at least two people managed to purchase nearly 25% of one recent ultra limited deck that I was not deeply involved in, and we've all seen people use three or four accounts on KS to get around the one pledge per person limit.

Next question: you said 250. Is that what's available? For now, it's 200 sets, because 10% is held for the possibility of damage in shipping and the first 20 serial numbers are reserved for myself, my co-conspirators and the people at both A. S. S. and Cartamundi who made this possible. Display decks will NOT be numbered, only the fancy gilded ones.

Next: can I get deck #××? . No, you cannot. Serial numbers will be assigned starting with set #26 in the order of payment received - and payment will be "up front" instead of after funding.

Finally: "This doesn't sound like crowd funding." Strictly speaking, it's not like KS because it's not an "all or nothing" type project. They WILL be made, regardless of the number pledged for. It's more like "flexible funding" on Indiegogo, I suppose. That being said, it will be done on UCdecksales.com - not Kickstarter.

My goal for this project is not to make money, it's to pay for these and pave the way for future restoration projects. The management at A. S. S. is VERY easy to deal with, but I have no idea what I might be up against if and when I try this with other makers. Hopefully they will see the results and be more than happy to give it a shot. I can only hope!

---

One more: I have seen this deck for sale before - for around $25. Well, no - you have not. You might have seen "Royal Gothic" from Waddington in Britain that uses these faces in a 4-color "process" with different backs, no gilding and very simple, of course different tucks. Those were made in 1974 and sold starting in 1975. If that's what you want, I see them all the time, or at least used to. Maybe they aren't that common any more. These original decks typically go for $1400 with defects up to $2000 in good condition. Until very recently I had never seen an OG mint set for sale, but you can have those for $4000!

[Slavich]

Great job Mike, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on a proper restoration of this deck.

Are you going to restore both colours and offer them as a set? and will the back design also be restored?

I've gone ahead and made some HQ scans of my green back deck for those who are interested in seeing these gorgeous courts up close:


Dondorf Hundertjahrkarte - Spades and Hearts Courts


Dondorf Hundertjahrkarte - Clubs and Diamonds Courts


Dondorf Hundertjahrkarte - Back Design (Unused extra card)


Dondorf Hundertjahrkarte - 2 Jokers, AoH and 4oH

[rousselle]

Looks like the artist had the same guy sit as the model for all four Jacks and another guy who sat as the model for all four Kings. The Queens, it's less obvious, although it *could* be the case.

Fascinating look at a fascinating deck. Thanks for posting this!

[chach]

Looking forward to it for a long time.

[Mike Ratledge]

Slavich, that "green" is supposed to be more of a gold tone, but not being a metallic ink, it isn't as clear as it should be. We are probably going to just do the orange-ish tone, though I suppose I might do one for the deluxe and one for the display / player's deck. These won't have metallic inks so they are as close to the OG decks as we can get. Maybe later? It would be nice to do them like they could / should have been done to start with...

[Mike Ratledge]

To keep everyone up to date:

I'm happy to announce officially that Lotrek is doing the Dondorf #1000 Centennial Jubilee "Hundertjahrkarte" restoration. This allows us to utilize his Old World craftsmanship to recreate the essence of this magnificent deck. They will be the finest possible, made to match the original 1933 deck as closely as possible, and produced under the Chromografix brand label. There will be player's decks available for a nominal fee, but by agreement with A. S. S. division of Cartamundi they are only available if you get one of the original restoration decks. These will have J/Q/K indices as opposed to the restoration deck which of course stays true to the German B/D/K index format as in the original. I will announce details soon, but expect a Kickstarter campaign to crowd fund these stunning decks in April. They will never be available for retail sale. It is limited to 250 serially numbered copies.

Not cast in stone yet, but I expect these to be crowd-funded on KS around mid April.

[Mike Ratledge]

Great job Mike, I am really looking forward to getting my hands on a proper restoration of this deck.

Are you going to restore both colours and offer them as a set? and will the back design also be restored?

I've gone ahead and made some HQ scans of my green back deck for those who are interested in seeing these gorgeous courts up close:
...

Strange, I remember reading, thought I replied, but I didn't save it (or fell asleep).

They will be produced as a pair, but the "player's deck" (I never liked "display", it's opposite the intent) with J/Q/K indices on the orange-toned back color. The master Recreation - gilded - will have metallic ink and foil on the tucks. The deck you play with is optional, but I hope everyone adds one for $20. That's a lot for an extra deck, but I think it's reasonable. The back will be exactly as on the OG 1933 edition. The Royal Gothic reprint in 1970's by Waddington in Britain has very simple (comparatively) backs. I have both, one pair of those still sealed.

I am likely going to run a pre-sale on UCdecksales for $90, as opposed to the $100 it will be for both decks on Kickstarter. Kind of a member benefit? I'd have to limit it to 1 or 2 sets since there are only 225 available of 250 printed.

[Bruno]

This is fabulous news, and so very welcome ....
Sold out already .... given the numbers available/the high expectations generated/the Dondorf Incredibility/plus the astonishing talent of the hired hand ....

I'm Excited !

[RichK]

I'll be in.

[rousselle]

Deal me in, too.

[pablo19]

Me too, when is this pre-sale happening??

[Mike Ratledge]

Me too, when is this pre-sale happening??

If things keep moving as expected, I should be able to make a definitive schedule in a couple weeks, aiming for mid to late April for funding. Length of the Kickstarter campaign will be determined by how many decks remain for sale after a 3-day pre-sale for members on UCdecksales.

225 of 250 sets printed are available - total. I intend to let UC members buy the set of both the classic restoration (normally $80) and player's deck ($20) plus worldwide delivery ($10) for $90 for three days shortly before the CrowdFunding campaign runs. The pre-sale will be limited to two sets, and KS is limited to four sets, but no more than 4 sets to any one address. If someone has a reasonable exception for a household, let me know.

[TGunitedcardists]

If things keep moving as expected, I should be able to make a definitive schedule in a couple weeks, aiming for mid to late April for funding. Length of the Kickstarter campaign will be determined by how many decks remain for sale after a 3-day pre-sale for members on UCdecksales.

225 of 250 sets printed are available - total. I intend to let UC members buy the set of both the classic restoration (normally $80) and player's deck ($20) plus worldwide delivery ($10) for $90 for three days shortly before the CrowdFunding campaign runs. The pre-sale will be limited to two sets, and KS is limited to four sets, but no more than 4 sets to any one address. If someone has a reasonable exception for a household, let me know.

I'm interested in these decks!

[Mike Ratledge]

As we continue moving towards announcement of the Kickstarter campaign:

Missing - somewhere in Bavaria, 1933: the Dondorf #1000 King of Hearts. Have you seen him? Faithful restoration coming soon from Chromografix™, crafted by Lotrek of Oath Playing Cards in Athens. The first first quality old world restoration of this outstanding deck in nearly fifty years, and even that had simple geometric backs instead of the glorious twelve color backs of the original that this restoration will use.

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[TGunitedcardists]

They will be produced as a pair, but the "player's deck" (I never liked "display", it's opposite the intent) with J/Q/K indices on the orange-toned back color. The master Recreation - gilded - will have metallic ink and foil on the tucks. The deck you play with is optional, but I hope everyone adds one for $20. That's a lot for an extra deck, but I think it's reasonable. The back will be exactly as on the OG 1933 edition. The Royal Gothic reprint in 1970's by Waddington in Britain has very simple (comparatively) backs. I have both, one pair of those still sealed.

I am likely going to run a pre-sale on UCdecksales for $90, as opposed to the $100 it will be for both decks on Kickstarter. Kind of a member benefit? I'd have to limit it to 1 or 2 sets since there are only 225 available of 250 printed.

Any chance of an only "players/display" deck for us that really, really like the cards but are on the fence about a $90 price tag? They absolutely look great, but as much as I would like to be, I'm on the lower price per deck collection group.

[theCapraAegagrus]

Mike - Will you clarify something for me, please?

Initially I was under the impression that if you spent $120 during this pre-sale that you would receive a total of 4 decks:

X1 Restoration Green Back Gilded
X1 Restoration Orange Back Gilded
X1 "Gothic" Green Back Players
X1 "Gothic" Orange Back Players

Re-reading last night it seems like the $120 (including shipping) will include 2 decks total:

X1 Restoration Green Back Gilded
X1 "Gothic" Orange Back Players

(I may have the colors mixed up here.) Can you clarify the total amount of different decks being produced here?

For those on the edge of supporting this printing and with a budget to allocate, like myself, this could make a big difference.

Thank you in advance!

[Mike Ratledge]

Mike - Will you clarify something for me, please?

Initially I was under the impression that if you spent $120 during this pre-sale that you would receive a total of 4 decks:

X1 Restoration Green Back Gilded
X1 Restoration Orange Back Gilded
X1 "Gothic" Green Back Players
X1 "Gothic" Orange Back Players

Re-reading last night it seems like the $120 (including shipping) will include 2 decks total:

X1 Restoration Green Back Gilded
X1 "Gothic" Orange Back Players

(I may have the colors mixed up here.) Can you clarify the total amount of different decks being produced here?

For those on the edge of supporting this printing and with a budget to allocate, like myself, this could make a big difference.

Thank you in advance!

Well, I might have posted confusing things, but there has never been more than two varieties, originally it was only the gold-bordered back version (now the "fully restored" one), limited to 250 copies. I manged to talk Cartamundi into letting me do up to 250 more with the orange-tone back border but they want me only to sell that player's deck with the main restoration version. It won't be gilded, it will have a plain tuck, not faux leather with the gold "buckle" device. Note that the pictures I have shown makes it look like real leather and a gold emblem in the original, but it is fake leather with an embossed gold symbol stamped onto the box, not actually a separate buckle. I will attach a pix of the OG box.

Original box, cardboard lined with gold foil, faux leather look

[ecNate]

Thanks for the clarification Mike, but part 2 was a question on price. Your comment now seems pretty obvious that you can get both (the ONLY two available) for $90, both the gilded and the player deck. Correct?

I am likely going to run a pre-sale on UCdecksales for $90, as opposed to the $100 it will be for both decks on Kickstarter.

Some of the confusion seems to come from the $20 player deck as an add-on. I think you are saying it's $70 for the gilded and if you get both it's another $20 for a total of $90. Or is the new plan a direct pair purchase, no gilded only deck? Makes sense given the presumed restrictions. However, an important note is don't expect to be able to buy just the player deck, at least not directly.

I can just wait for the official pre-sale, but sounds like some want to plan ahead for funding.

[Mike Ratledge]

We are trying our best to sstick to my hopeful pricing, which is what you said (well, close - $80 for the restoration deck, $10 for shipping worldwide + $20 if you want the player's deck).

That's $90 for the main (gold backed edged) deck with shipping, or $110 for both.

We are thinking $100 for the main deck might be more likely, but we have not decided. We have a couple surprises still up our sleeves, we'll see.

Regardless of whether we can hold the line on the price, it will be $20 less for the pre-sale. That will be three days on UCdecksales and only announced here. (two set limit per person)

Maybe part of the problem is deducing the price from the pre-sale? It will only be the set available to members here, not $70 for the restoration deck only.

[Bruno]

Put me down for two sets please, most definite-ly !

'Tis a wonderfull concept to bring us Daddio, and we are the richer for your pains ....

Many and profuse thanks to you Mike .... and to our Hired Invalid of course.

[pablo19]

I dont mean to be disrespectful, but how can these be so expnesive to produce? I can only imagine A.S.S is taking an enormous share. Lotrek produced the imperial signature decks with hot stamped foils and a real leather tuck for less...(?)

[ecNate]

One thing you're not considering the edge gilding. If that is done by hand or uses real precious metals (silver or gold) then the material and time cost goes up very quickly. The Uusi Pagan tarot deck was $100 for 24k gold gilding (vs $30 for same deck without gilding, but both had foil). The Magna Carta King John deck used much cheaper silver gilding and was $35. Yes, it's possible to do it much cheaper, but I can only assume it will be properly done here which will account for a good portion of the costs.

I'm sure Mike will provide full details on that later.

[Mike Ratledge]

I dont mean to be disrespectful, but how can these be so expnesive to produce? I can only imagine A.S.S is taking an enormous share. Lotrek produced the imperial signature decks with hot stamped foils and a real leather tuck for less...(?)

Licensing and gilding are the two biggest expenses, but you are looking at a leather foiled tuck, metallic gold inks and multiple foiling. We're trying to be reasonable, but I am not willing to compromise.