Cocktail
Aluminium playing cards manufactured by Häusermann United Chemical and Metal Engraving Co., Vienna, c.1925
“Cocktail” Aluminium Playing Cards
Made in aluminium by Häusermann United Chemical and Metal Engraving Co., Vienna, c.1925.
Court cards depicting typical representatives of the 1920s: Ladies looking very sophisticated in evening dress, Jacks as playboys and Kings caricatured as the bored upper class. The cards are rather heavy: the complete deck weighs around 170 gms (a normal pack weighs between 90-100 gms) and also rather slippery; handy to show off the versatility and ease of printing on aluminium, but not so useful as a practical deck to play with.
Above: aluminium playing cards manufactured by Häusermann United Chemical and Metal Engraving Co., Vienna, c.1925. The colouring on a few cards varies. Weight in box: 210gm, 52 + Joker + extra card.
REFERENCES
Segeth, Uwe-Volker: Spielkarten Jugendstil und Art Déco, Edition Christian Brandstätter, Wien, 1994
Images on this page are from the collection of Barney Townshend.
By Barney Townshend
United Kingdom • Member since October 06, 2015
Retired Airline Pilot, interested in: Transformation Playing Cards, Karl Gerich and Elaine Lewis. Secretary of the EPCS. Treasurer of the IPCS.
Activity for Cocktail
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Schweizer Trachten
Schweizer Trachten No.174 (Costumes Suisses) by Dondorf.
H. F. Müller
Transformation playing cards by H. F. Müller, Vienna, 1809
Vincenz Raimund Grüner 1809
Transformation cards designed and engraved by Vincenz Raimund Grüner, Vienna, 1809
Carl Arnold Transformation
Transformation playing cards designed by Carl Johann Arnold (1829-1916), the court artist for King F...
Hycrest Modern Royalty
Published by the Hycrest Playing Card Co., New York, c.1931. The large suit symbol behind each figur...
Rummy No.210
Period cartoon images from the 1930s. The Kings are in fancy dress ready to party, the Queens appear...
Brussels Euro Joker Club 1998
Brussels Euro Joker Club's 10th Anniversary deck, with artwork by Yvette Cleuter, was produced in a ...
Ceska Graficka Unie AS
Playing Cards printed by Ceska Graficka Unie AS, Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1890-1925.
Luxus Club Karte No.184
Another of Dondorf's masterpieces of chromolithography, the detailed artwork on these cards has mult...
Dilkhus playing cards for India
Van Genechten was one of the most competent cardmakers in Turnhout and they produced almost every ki...
Leonor Fini
The originality of Leonor Fini's work is evident in these playing card designs. The imagery of her p...
Salvador Dalí
Based on the standard French ‘Paris’ pattern, Dalí composed his playing card figures out of geometri...
Graciela Rodo Boulanger
Boulanger's paintings and graphic art works are easily recognized. The Latin American influence is a...
Karl Korab (Ed. Hilger)
Karl Korab was born in 1937 in Falkenstein (Lower Austria), the son of a forester. As a child he exp...
Arnold Schönberg
In around 1909 he created three sets of playing cards. His inventiveness was driven by a passion for...
Waisenfond
Intended to attract donations on behalf of the Imperial Royal Austrian Military Widows’ and Orphans’...
Cashmere
Bernhard Altmann is from the “The House of Cashmere” and these playing cards honour their best known...
Karl Gerich No.1
The first entry in the catalogue, dating from c.1982, shows full-length figures with their symbols o...
Gedimino Stulpai
Gedimino Stulpai playing cards made in Lithuania by Spindulys Printing Co., Kaunas, depicting Lithua...
The History of Playing Cards
Playing cards appear in European records in the late 14th century, but their earlier history lies fu...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
mixhead
27 January 2026, 19:10SavedSaved this article to mixhead's Collection