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Published July 05, 2012 Updated March 10, 2022

6: Some Non-Standard Cards

I only collect the English standard, but I thought it would be a good idea to add some different types of card from time to time.

Courts Add to Collection

I'm well aware that many collectors prefer non-standard cards or standard cards other than English ones. I only collect the English standard, so I thought it would be a good idea to add some different kinds from time to time. So, here are some of the more interesting ones, thanks to Rex Pitts for the scans, except number 10, which is from Sylvia Mann's collection.

(1) De La Rue for Denmark, c.1935

(2) Artex for Poland for the Gdynia America Line, c.1955

(3) A pack by Carta Mundi for Arab countries

(4) Müller with courts in late mediaeval costume, but based on the standard English postures, c.1985

(5) The pack published as Fortuna by Speelkaartenfabriek Nederland, c.1926

(6) Joseph Glanz, theatrical, historical courts, c.1865

(7) Irish Historical pack printed by De La Rue

(8) Reproduction of the Jugendstil tarot by Ditha Moser (original 1906) as an indexed 52-card pack

(9) Dondorf produced this Shakespeare pack for Faulkner

(10) Non-standard cards were also made with the other suit systems such as Piatnik's Prazske Narodni (Prague National pack) of c.1944.

(11) East German advertising pack for Intecta, c.1980

(12) Daveluy's 'The First Crusade', c.1870

(13) A modern pack from Croatia with the same court figures in each suit.

(14) Waddington, c.1925. A very strange mixture of their standard AS and number cards with non-standard German-style courts with German indices, which don't match the rest of the pack. The back is by Barribal.

For more detailed information on this pack, which seems to have been produced for an overseas shipping line, see the DXPO site at http://www.dxpo-playingcards.com/xpo/waddington/pages/wad-01.htm

(15) Piatnik Blue pack, 1930s

(16) Carta Mundi, Noord Brabant

(17) Daveluy Historical courts, c.1875

(18) And two more from Daveluy which have courts which are conventional and similar to standard European varieties.

(19) Piatnik, non-standard courts from the Ottoman Empire.


(20) Maillard, Portugal, 1881-1900.

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By Ken Lodge

Member since May 14, 2012

​I'm Ken Lodge and have been collecting playing cards since I was about eighteen months old (1945). I am also a trained academic, so I can observe and analyze reasonably well. I've applied these analytical techniques over a long period of time to the study of playing cards and have managed to assemble a large amount of information about them, especially those of the standard English pattern. About Ken Lodge →


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