Ciudad de Quito
Pack of souvenir playing cards made in Quito, Ecuador, featuring black & white photographs depicting Ecuador as one of the great nations on Earth
Souvenir of Quito, Ecuador

Naipe Ciudad de Quito published by Grijalva y Compañia, Ecuador.
A pack of souvenir playing cards made in Quito, Ecuador, featuring black & white photographs depicting Ecuador as one of the great nations on Earth. The box states that Babylon may have had great walls, Athens men of letters, Constantinople a great empire... but Quito holds the key to Christianity and the source of the river Amazon. The photographs show a wealth of Spanish colonial buildings, churches, statues, large modern cities containing government buildings, hotels, banks, museums, fountains, etc., including an astronomical observatory but no indigenous, Quitus, Cara or pre-Columbian art. The backs show the coat-of-arms of Quito surrounded by four busts of historic persons.



Above: Naipe Ciudad de Quito published by Grijalva y Compañia, Ecuador.. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 4 extra cards in box. Curiously the pack makes little reference to Ecuador's pre-Columbian or Inca history, except for the design on the backs of the cards, preferring instead to depict the nation in terms of modern cityscapes and past colonial grandeur. The backs of the cards show the arms of Quito surrounded by two pre-Columbian chiefs (possibly Atahualpa and Rumiñahui, Inca chiefs) along with Sebastián de Belalcázar and a fourth European conqueror.

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder 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.
Trending Articles
Popular articles from the past 28 days
Related Articles

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds
A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs
A limited edition art print of the Queen of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Joker
A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts
A limited edition art print of the Jack of Hearts 1984 woodblock joker.

Papyrus Playing Cards
Papyrus playing cards distributed by Egypt Trade, c.1996.

British Columbia Souvenir
British Columbia Souvenir Playing Cards by The Clarke and Stuart Company

American President Lines
American President Lines shipping souvenir playing cards, early to mid-1950s.

Official World’s Fair Souvenir, USA, 1964-6
Official souvenir pack showing 52 coloured exhibits from the New York World’s Fair, 1964-6.

Century of Progress
‘Century of Progress’ Exposition playing cards produced by Western Playing Card Company, USA, 1933. ...

Schweden Spielkarten
54 different souvenir views of famous people and places in Sweden.

Souvenir Playing Cards from Lebanon
Multicoloured Belgian/Genoese pattern cards, probably printed by Fournier for Lebanon.

New York City souvenir
New York City souvenir playing cards with 53 different views of interest, USA, 1915.

Nation’s capital souvenir playing cards
Nation’s capital souvenir playing cards published by the United States Playing Card Company, USA, 19...

Kyoto Souvenir Deck
Kyoto Souvenir playing cards by Nintendo aimed at the up and coming tourist industry, 1950s.

California souvenir playing cards
California souvenir playing cards, USA, 1898 and 1907.

Shamrock Irish Heritage playing cards
A celebration of some of Ireland’s most famous patriots, politicians and poets.

Henley-on-Thames playing cards
Calendar events and visitor attractions to be found in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

Souvenir Playing Cards of Egypt
55 different photographic views of Egypt in full colour.

Kushimoto Marine Park
Kushimoto Marine Park souvenir playing cards published by Nintendo, Japan.

Alaska scenic playing cards
Alaska scenic playing cards featuring scenes of Alaskan life, USA, c. 1960.

Glorious Scotland
54 photographic views of Scotland by Duncan I. McEwan.

B.P. Grimaud pack for Bolivia
Spanish-suited pack made in France for sale in Bolivia, c.1880.

South American Costumes
Costumes of people of Brazil, Peru and Mexico, with views of Rio de Janeiro on the aces.

Félix Solesio e Hijos
Félix Solesio e Hijos - Real Fábrica de Madrid - Spanish National pattern for Venezuela

Vues et Caractères Suisses No.228
A Swiss souvenir pack by Dondorf

Budapest souvenir
Colour views of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on all the courts and Aces.

Pan-American Exposition Souvenir
Pan-American Exposition Souvenir Playing Cards, Buffalo, NY, 1901.

Amusements and Attractions
‘Amusements and Attractions’ playing cards showing the fun and excitement of America’s amusement par...

Das Tübinger Skatspiel
Pack devised by Volker Scheub depicting characters associated with the city of Tübingen.

Conseil Général de la Somme
Famous people and places of the Somme department in northern France, with designs by James Hodges.

Naipes Expo ’92
Naipes Expo ’92 souvenir playing cards manufactured by Naipes Comas, 1992.

Gaudí playing cards
Gaudí playing cards with photography by Ramon Manent, Spain, 2002.

Oxford Pubs playing cards
Oxford pubs souvenir playing cards, United Kingdom, 2008

Swiss Souvenir
55 different scenic photographic views of Switzerland.

Icelandic picture playing cards / Islensku landslagsspilin
Icelandic picture playing cards with photography by Gudmundur Ingólfsson.

Vues de Monaco-Monte Carlo
Souvenir pack with 54 different views of Monaco, especially Monte Carlo.

Visite de Saint Tropez
Souvenir pack with 54 different views of Saint Tropez.

Le tour de la Corse en photos
Souvenir pack with 55 different views of Corsica.

Oxford Gargoyles
Oxford Gargoyles souvenir playing cards published by Chris Donaghue Photography, Oxford, UK.

Texas Sesquicentennial
Texas Sesquicentennial commemoration playing cards produced by Alief Products Company in 1985.

New Orleans and Gulf souvenir
New Orleans and Gulf souvenir playing cards from c1900 reprinted for the 52 Plus Joker Convention in...

Souvenir of Singapore, Malaya and Borneo
52 different colour pictures of Singapore, Malaya and Borneo from the early 1960s.

Wrocław
Wrocław souvenir playing cards designed by Katarzyna Tomala, 2011.

Seaboard Air Line Railway souvenir playing cards
Seaboard Air Line Railway souvenir playing cards made by USPC Co., USA, c1910.