July
2019
This month I should have started with adding the
American decks from the LB collection into our own, but I've been
preoccupied with other things than playing cards. And a 6 days heat wave
wasn't helping. There's an airco in the living room and one in the
bedroom, but I should have had one installed in my study too. Now it was
no fun to be at the pc and during those days only short stops were made
there.
Consequently no new decks were added either and I decided to show one of
the decks here, that I will have to process shortly.
I'll let it introduce itself here............. |
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The deck was
produced by the C.P.H. Cook Co. from Hartford, Connecticut (USA), in 1897. The
deck was printed in color lithography. It's a remarkable deck in different ways
and that was a good enough reason to show it here. In his description of this
deck Gene Hochman wrote that the deck is also known as "Let's Call a Spade
a Spade". Easy to see why: each suit name is taken literally and the suit
signs are depicted as spades or shovels (Spades), clubs or bats (Clubs), human
heart shapes (Hearts) and jewels (Diamonds). But that not the only interesting
thing about the suit signs: in each suit the suit sign is done in a different
color. So strictly speaking it can be called a no-revoke (four-color) deck too.
The designs of
the courts and aces, but even those of the pip cards, can be called modern for
their days. The pale white, but detailed faces in simplified colorful clothing,
set against an almost hallucinating curved background, it was quite different
from the regular playing cards in the 1890's.
The double image is separated by a design that is related to the suit sign. A
string of diamonds, Cupid's arrows and wedding rings, bats and what seems to be
the proverbial stars, roots and a plant popping up. It's one of those decks that
is worth taking a closer look at.
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unusual pip cards |
backdesign |
joker |
As exciting the
design of the joker is, as disappointing is the fact that the back hasn't the
regular back design, but......
shows the info card that is on top of this page. So it can't be used in any game
that requires a joker.
And the deck already comes with two extra cards with info about the history and
meaning of playing cards, as known in the 1890s,
and the history and meaning of these Prince Charles Playing Cards.
| front and back of the rather damaged box |
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