Sissi playing cards

This undated pack was acquired in Vienna in 2024, but has no indication of its date or country of publication. It is a modern pack (possibly Chinese?) produced for the Austrian tourist market.

Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie) in 1837 became Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary following her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I in April 1854. She was nicknamed Sisi or Sissi until her assassination in 1898. Each of the 54 cards have images from photographs or paintings of Sissi, her husband Franz Joseph I, members of the royal family, courtly scenes, and associated palaces and artefacts (crown jewels, carriages etc.). Many of the images are reproduced from the paintings of Franz Xaver Winterhalter (e.g. queen of hearts; queen of diamonds; card backs). Several of the cards show some of the many sculptures created after her assassination (e.g. the memorial monument featuring a seated statue of the Empress by Hans Bitterlich on the 4 of spades, and others located in Italy and Slovakia on the 4 of hearts and the 4 of clubs). Franz Josef I features on the king of clubs. One of the jokers shows a photo collage with Franz Josef I in the centre, while the second shows a painting of the royal family. The pack is in a plastic box with an illustrated card sleeve. See the box

Above: Sissi playing cards from Austria, undated.