Animal Skat, Česká Grafická Unie

At the time of the newly established Czechoslovakia, the publisher Česká Grafická Unie (Czech Graphic Union) commissioned the artist Alois Mudrunka to design new cards. This distinctive deck is known as Animal Skat (Tier Skat in German), although Skat is a game typical of the German cultural space. In Czechoslovakia, it can be assumed that it was used more for the local variant of the game Mariage.

The deck contained 32 single-headed cards in German suits with dimensions 104x64 mm and offered an alternative to the commonly used single-headed cards of the Prague pattern. It is clear from the comparison that the Prague Pattern also served as an inspiration source for the caricature in some of the depictions. This is evident, for example, in the 10 of hearts, the Unter and Ober of the leaves, which are resolved as musicians, the Ace of acorns with a coat of arms and an inscription line. The caricature of the old monkey on the King of bells card of the former Emperor Franz Joseph I , ruler of Austria-Hungary, is also unmistakable.

In keeping with the Prague pattern, and Central European tradition, only cards with a value of 10 are marked with a Roman numeral. The two open crossed pocket knives are the manufacturer's mark.

Above: Animal Skat designed by Alois Mudrunka and produced by Česká Grafická Unie, Czechoslovakia, 1919. 32 cards.

Alois Mudruňka (September 12, 1888, Uhersko, Austria-Hungary - 3rd April 1956, Prague, Czech Republic) graduated from the School of Arts and Crafts in Prague, where he worked as an assistant to professor Mašek from 1912-1915. After a short war intermezzo as a teacher of drawing at the State Ceramic School in Bechyně, he joined the School of Decorative Arts in Prague as a professor of ornamental and figurative drawing. He worked there from 1919 to 1936. He designed banknotes and postage stamps for the fledgling state and also painted and illustrated books. Significant are his realizations of graphic design of building facades in his native village of Uhersko.

About the artist in Czech

alois.mudrunka.cz►

cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alois_Mudruňka►