Estonian Historic Playing Cards
The court cards and indices on Estonian playing cards are Södur, Emand, Kuninga.

The cards illustrated below were designed by Axel Rosmann and printed chromolithographically in Estonia by the State Printing House in Tallinn, c.1930. A full-sized pack and a patience pack were produced. The designs of the court cards reflect Estonia's early history, showing Calmics/Tartars from Russia and Gypsies or Persians who had migrated. Click here to see the wrapper.
The court cards and indices on Estonian playing cards are Södur, Emand,Kuninga.

See article by Jānis Mētra in The Playing Card, vol.32, no.4, Jan-Feb 2004.

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.