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Published April 30, 2012 Updated November 20, 2022

China Part One

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By Ken Lodge

Member since May 14, 2012

​I'm Ken Lodge and have been collecting playing cards since I was about eighteen months old (1945). I am also a trained academic, so I can observe and analyze reasonably well. I've applied these analytical techniques over a long period of time to the study of playing cards and have managed to assemble a large amount of information about them, especially those of the standard English pattern. About Ken Lodge →


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Woodblock and Stencil Joker

Woodblock and Stencil Joker

A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs

A limited edition art print of the Jack of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

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

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

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

2022 Pixel Tarot

Pixel Tarot

This tarot deck pays tribute to the golden age of pixelated video games, drawing inspiration from th...

What can we learn from mini-booklet advertisements?

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Over the years I have collected a large number of mini-booklets and pocket guides offering rules and...

Chinese Opera Masks Playing Cards   脸谱

Chinese Opera Masks Playing Cards 脸谱

Three different packs of cards featuring traditional Chinese face painting and Chinese opera masks.

The Place of the Fool

The Place of the Fool

This paper considers three questions relating to the Fool-card in the tarot-pack.

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TikTok Tarot is a unique tarot deck that puts a modern spin on the Rider-Waite format; with TikTok-i...

1896 Chinese Money-Suited Playing Cards from the British Museum

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This deck of Chinese playing cards, donated to the British Museum in 1896, is believed to have been ...

2020 Acelion Cyberpunk Playing Cards

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This cyberpunk deck by Acelion combines magic and science fiction elements, inspired by Nordic mytho...

1912 Kuhn Khan

Kuhn Khan

There is little information available about the early twentieth century card game Kuhn Kahn. It firs...

Poker Patience

Poker Patience

Poker Patience, according to an early 20th century author, was "introduced so recently as the autumn...

Piquet: the game and its artifacts

Piquet: the game and its artifacts

Piquet may be the oldest card game which is still played today with origins going back to early 16th...

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All the books described here are from Tony Hall's own collection, put together over years because of...

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The centuries-old game of Whist mutated through various stages into Contract Bridge as we know it to...

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Goodall & Son Patience Boxed Sets

Goodall & Son produced a huge variety of Patience Boxed Sets at different times and for different co...

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The Evolution of Whist and Bridge Boxed Sets, 1870s – 1930s

Boxed sets of cards, markers, scorers and rule booklets have been around for many decades. Some of t...

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Bezique is a two-player melding and trick-taking game. Dr. Pole introduced Bezique to England in 186...

2010 Pulp Pin-Up

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Classic 1940s Pulp Pin-Up covers on playing cards from China, c.2010.

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8068 by Diaoyu Poker (China) 2019.

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Chinese Costumes from the Winterthur Collection, published by Fournier, 1984.

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Khanhoo by Charles Goodall & Son, 1895.

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Characters from the Chinese novel “The Water Margin” - 水滸撲克.

2016 Hogwarts

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Harry Potter Hogwarts playing cards, c.2016.

1900 Tô Tôm №1204

Tô Tôm №1204

Tô Tôm is played with a 120-card Chinese-style deck.

1980 Far East

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Far East playing cards with designs by Isabel Ibáñez de Sendadiano, c.1980.

1998 The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace, Beijing, China, c.1998.

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Maxi Puke 201 Circus Poker brand produced by Wenyu Paper Products, Shanghai.

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A third and final look at some Chinese cards.

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“Double Happiness” brand Hakka [客家] playing cards used by Hakka ethnic communities who have a separa...

55: China 2

55: China 2

Some further American designs used in China.

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Tam Cúc playing cards from Vietnam (Việt Nam), based on Chinese chess, 2016

54: China 1

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Although many people would not consider Chinese cards worth collecting, the huge variety of court de...

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Deck made in China in c.2010 advertising the Chinese brew “Lucky Beer, the enlightened beer”