Balázs Pál Nagy's Playing Cards

Published April 10, 1998 • Updated July 07, 2023

Balázs Pál Nagy : designer and manufacturer
		Left: three cards from Tell No. 3306 based on the Traditional Hungarian "Tell" or "Four Seasons" pattern. Below Left: two cards from "66" No. 3307, four-colour offset print in two limited and numbered editions,? 20 cards: A, 10, J, Q, K in each suit. Below Right: 7 cards from "Miniature" No. 3310.

In 1983 I become a college teacher, majoring in math and art. During the years I have created many graphic designs using several printmaking techniques. Later on in 1988 I truly discovered my deep affection for playing cards and started to collect them. I developed the idea of designing and constructing my own decks and creating other card related art. I took time to research the trade, history, tradition, ethnicity and customs of cards, and only began work on my own designs 3 years ago. These were initially produced with silkscreen techniques, then I started to craft blockprinted and silkscreen coloured cards. In 2003, with the help of a friend in the printing business, my first offset-printed cards were born. The card face designs of these packs were hand drawn illustrations, and for the pre-press and press segments of the work I applied modern and professional techniques.	In the future I will specialise in manufacturing purely handmade playing cards. I am trying to rekindle old traditional practices - like blockprinting (woodcut) and intaglio printing (copper engraving) techniques. Designing and constructing these playing cards is not my day job, and I do not want to get rich off of it - strange it might sound. Every week I go to work to teach the next generation of animators and graphic designers in a well-known art school in Kecskemét, Hungary. Working on my playing cards is strictly something I do in my free time. Now I have decided to have my works available to fellow collectors. So, my web site is especially designed for serious collectors to visit and purchase limited and numbered editions of playing card decks and other card art.
Cards courtesy Balázs Pál Nagy. Packs can be ordered directly from www.3palnagy.com

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By Simon Wintle

Spain • Member since February 01, 1996

I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.