
Naipes CHINITA Spanish-suited playing cards manufactured by Vigor S.R.L., Buenos Aires, 1955
Naipes Chinita was one of Vigor's brands of standard Spanish-suited playing cards, alongside Naipes Barcelonesa, La Estrella and La Española. Decks contain 40 cards.

Above: the court cards from Naipes Chinita are based on those of Segundo de Olea (Spain) which had been imported into Argentina since the 19th century.
The Patent Office Registration documents, dated 22nd June 1955, show the original designs for Naipes Chinita. By holding these up to the light, we can read beneath the white labels on the sample card and wrapper the name of Igor Domicelj (c.1950-55), who was the company's predecessor, operating at the same address.

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
View ArticlesCurator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.