Just like the "Joker of the Month" in the Jokers section we will select a "Deck of the Month" from all the decks that we could add to our collection during that month. It will be what we consider our best find. We've started this section in April 2007 and without any doubt we can say here that over the years there will be antique, vintage and modern decks shown on these pages. Age, design and value of the chosen decks may be very different each time.

 

October 2026

The difference between these two jacks (of clubs) is obvious. For some reason the sword has been lowered a bit. The jack on the left is from the deck that I brought home from the convention in Malmö. The one on the right is from a similar deck, which we've had in our collection until 2023.

When I first spotted the deck on the table of a Swedish collector, I felt there was something odd about the jack of hearts, which was shown on top. It was the face. It was too smooth and the color was a bit too soft. The other courts had the same issue.

After I had returned home, I could make a comparison between the newly acquired deck and the one we used to have. I was right about the faces, but there are other differences too. There's no outline around the design and the background is kept blank.

The deck I'm presenting here is known as "Hjortzberg Spelkort".

It was named after the man who had created these fine designs on the courts, Olle Hjortzberg (1872 - 1959). He was a painter and illustrator, who had studied at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts from 1892 until 1898, when he married and began traveling with his wife. First to Paris, then in 1899 to Florence and Perugia. After Italy they went to Syria and Palestine, where he was influenced by the oriental art. A short visit to London in 1902 before returning to Italy, where he studied the old masters in Rome and Byzantine art in Ravenna. He returned to Sweden in 1905. From 1911 until 1937 he was a professor at the R.S. Academy of Arts and until 1941 he was the director there.
Fun fact: for the articles about artists who had designed a deck of cards, I've always consulted Wikipedia and in none of the articles the deck of cards was mentioned among the artist's achievements.

The deck has been produced by Granbergs AB (Aktien Bolag) from Stockholm between 1924 and 1937. In Braun Band 6 about Swedish cards by Ali Jerremalm he distinguishes 6 variations. When I had returned home and compared the deck with pictures of our sold deck my first thought that it was a later edition. Besides the softer look, it didn't have the OH initials next to the designs of the courts, only on the joker, and the outline is missing. It could be a nice renewed edition to close the series. So at first I was a bit surprised to read that Ali had this deck down as Variation 1.
However, after looking at the description of the other variations, I concur with Ali. Of all variations this was the only one without an outline around the designs. More compelling was that in 1925 a patience version was published, with an outline around a toned background and slightly redrawn designs, which were basically repeated in all later variations of the regular sized decks too. 

 

 

 

The manufacturer's name isn't mentioned on the stamp, just the location. But here the manufacturer has printed his own logo and name on the ace of hearts. Granbergs Aktienbolag (GAB) had already been producing postcards and other printed matter, when the company ventured into making playing cards in 1924.
The Swedish artists Einar Nerman and Olle Hjortzberg had been invited to create the designs for a deck of cards.

Ali Jerremalm distinguishes 6 variations of the pattern:

Variation 1: no outline, no OH on the courts, jack's sword higher.
Variation 2: (redrawn) jacks with flowers, outline around a blank background.
Variation 3: jacks with flowers, outline around a toned background.
Variation 4: jacks without flowers, outline around a blank background.
Variation 5: jacks without flowers, outline around a toned background.
Variation 6: (redrawn) jacks with flowers, outline around toned background, patience version, since 1925.

Ali doesn't give dates for these variations, except for the Patience deck. So I assume that this date has been proven to be solid. The implication is that this month's deck can be dated as 1924.
As I believe that with the introduction of the patience deck and it's toned background within the outline it is most likely that at that time the regular sized deck would have had a toned background within the outline too, this would date Variation 3 as since 1925.
To compare: the Patience deck and Variation 3.

 

   

 

In this deck only the joker carries the initials of the designer, OH. It's the only card which didn't get an outline in all later editions.

For me only one question remains: why was the deck redrawn and redesigned? I can only guess that Olle Hjortzberg wasn't happy with this edition. The faces of the courts were too soft, not weathered or experienced enough. Just for fun, compare the jacks of hearts at the top: the first one looks as if he has never seen combat before, the second just came back from one. So all courts were redrawn. The added outline and toned background brings them forward. And Olle Hjortzberg could use the opportunity to add his initials on each of the courts. It was a great improvement of an already nicely designed deck.