Arturs Duburs, 1942

Latvian playing cards designed in 1942 by graphic artist Arturs Duburs and issued as 53 and 33-card packs.

From 1919-1921 there was no tax on Latvian playing cards. In 1922, by law, the Latvian Red Cross was to receive dividends from the production and sale of playing cards and a special stamp was placed on the ace of hearts for this purpose. In addition to the stamp, the symbol of the Red Cross was incorporated into the design of the ace of hearts. This taxation arrangement continued until 1943.

Left: the tax stamp from the Ace of Hearts.

This pack was the 5th National Latvian pack, and was issued during wartime, in 1941, under the name “Latvian Red Cross Cards No.7”. At that time a lot of people hoped that Latvia's recently lost independence would soon be regained, so on the first issues of this pack the Red Cross sign on the Ace of Hearts was supplemented with the Latvian coat of arms.

This pack was reprinted many times and during wartime the cardboard was not always of a high quality, and the registration of the printed colours became inaccurate.

See article by Jānis Mētra in The Playing Card, vol.32, no.1, July-August 2003.

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