Playing Cards from Around the World

The different countries in the world feature distinct cultures and histories, styles of government, many different languages, national suit systems and playing card patterns. Some of the older patterns are now archaic or extinct, whereas others are universal.

4C Gemstone playing cards for De Beers

4C Gemstone playing cards for De Beers, 1988.

Axe Deodorant

Clearly promoting good personal hygiene, each card shows a young, pouting female model posing seductively and appealing to the playboy.

Brazil

Playing card production in Brazil was officially sanctioned by royal decree in 1770. A royal decree in 1808 established in Brazil the Real Fábrica de Cartas de Jogar as a part of the Impressão Régia, a similar arrangement as that in Lisbon, for the printing of playing cards.

Brazil Pictorial Aces

Genoese pattern with Pictorial Aces for Brazil by Brepols, Turnhout, c.1920.

Brazil Scenic Aces

C. L. Wüst Scenic Aces for Brazil

Cartográfica Industrial, Curitiba, Brazil

Double advertising pack made by Cartográfica Industrial for Refrigeração Parana S.A. The extra card contains an insignia with the legend 'CARTAL'.

Copag Baralho Espanhol

Copag Baralho Espanhol / Naipes Español

Elephante No.50

‘Elephante No.50’ Cadiz pattern produced in Brazil, probably by Azevedo & Cia, Recife, c.1920

Schincariol Beer, Nossagraf, Brazil

Schincariol Cerveja Pilsen brewery playing cards manufactured by Gráfica Nossa Senhora Aparecida Ltda (Nossagraf), Brazil

SOIMCA

SOIMCA - Sociedade Impressora Caxiense - is an important playing card manufacturer in Brazil. It was established by Nelson Soares in Caxias do Sul, in the south of Brazil, by 1955.

Tarjetas de la Felicidad

“Tarjetas de la Felicidad” containing positive mental affirmations by Lauro Trevisan, Buenos Aires (Argentina) c.2001

Vale Tudo - Cartas para Jogar

Vale Tudo - Cartas para Jogar, manufactured in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The courts are standard English pattern with prominent indices, printed in red and black only.