Music on Playing Cards
Music has played an important cultural and social function since prehistoric times. It helps form tribal bonds and enhances religious and spiritual practices. All kinds of music are depicted on playing cards and card games, from opera to popular music, ancient and contemporary.
Les Tontons du Rock
Caricatures of rock and pop stars in black and white by Charles Da Costa.
Löjliga Spel Kort
Facsimile edition of “Löjliga Spel Kort” (1825) illustrated playing cards from Sweden, showing scenes from Fredman‘s Epistles and Songs
Löschenkohl’s Musical Playing Cards
Johann Hieronymus Löschenkohl (1753-1807) produced a copper engraved deck of playing cards titled “Das Musikalische Kartenspiel” in 1806.
Mambrú
Mambru pop group playing cards from Argentina, 2002.
Milonguita
Naipes de Poker “Milonguita” featuring early Tango music score covers, Gardés Editorial, 2003.
Monty Gum ‘Stars Play’
‘Stars Play’ card set published by Monty Gum, Leiden, 1988.
Music Manuscripts
Artwork featuring playing cards in Music Manuscripts
Music playing cards
Portraits of 13 classical music composers.
Musical Snap
Musical Snap by C.W. Faulkner & Co., c.1900.
Musikalisches Kartenspiel
Facsimile of Dondorf’s “Musikalisches Kartenspiel” (c.1862) published by Lo Scarabeo, 2004
Musikinstrumente
Musikinstrumente quartet game published by Verlag für Lehrmittel, Pössneck, 1984.
MusoDeck Playing Cards for Musicians
MusoDeck Playing Cards for Musicians
My Fair Lady
Theatre programme in the form of a pack of cards. East Germany, c.1967.
New Musical Express
54 black and white photographs of solo singers, duos and groups popular around 1990.
Old Met playing cards
Old Met playing cards published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, USA, 1986.
Parisian Actors and Opera Singers
Extraordinary ‘Actors and Opera Singers’ deck printed by Avril et Cie, Paris, c.1865
Peter and the Wolf
Peter and the Wolf card game published by Pepys Games, 1947.
Pop Rocky
“Pop Rocky” miniature playing cards with double-ended caricatures of celebrities and pop stars, originally published inside a magazine, c.1970.
Rapalje
Promotional pack for a Dutch Celtic folk band which performs Irish, Scottish and Dutch folk music, c.2004.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Playing Cards
This illustration project by Gurleen Kaur features images inspired by the band the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Each card had illustrations from their albums and the ace, jack, queen and king are each band members.