April 17

Today's deck was probably published as a drawn souvenir deck for the Alsace region in France. It was designed by Louis Philippe Kamm (1882 - 1959), a painter and illustrator who was born and died in Strasbourg. Not only did he draw the fine and detailed portraits of the locals, but also the pips and the (bilingual) indices. Apparently they were applied after the double image had been finished. Shape and height of the pips and the indices differ not only per card, but also per side of the card. The kings and queens have a crown. Embellished aces. The second joker has the same design, but in b/w. The deck came single in a double box, without any reference to a publisher/printer, but the WWPCM mentions Banco from Paris as such and dates the deck as c1950.

Gustavo Orlando Zon:
Dear Jopo, it's an advertising game, not a souvenir, printed from Banco (operting from Paris from 1948 to 1958), to advertise the MDPA (Mines de Potasse d'Alsace) designed by Louis-Philippe Kamm, famous for portraits of Alsatian subjects. The honors introduce Alsatian peasants in local costume. On the back, als by the artist and initialed, there's the company logo (a crane).

Michel Puaud:
Pas une grue mais une cigogne. (not a crane, but a stork)