Les Géants d’un Mythe

Published May 11, 2019 Updated June 13, 2022

Les Géants d'un Mythe created by François Poulain and manufactured by Grimaud, 1983.

1983 FranceCaricaturesMovies & FilmFrançois PoulainGrimaud

The world of playing cards owes a great deal to the art of cinematography. “Les Geants d'un Mythe” playing cards were created by François Poulain celebrating legends of the silver screen and manufactured by Grimaud in 1983. The 12 court cards show caricatures of movie stars, arguably more interesting than photographs, and who are mostly American. The pips are morphed cinema equipment (microphones, clapperboards, etc). while the four aces feature different pieces of vintage film-making equipment. See the Key Card

Les Géants d'un Mythe created by François Poulain 1983 Les Géants d'un Mythe created by François Poulain 1983

Above: Les Geants d'un Mythe playing cards created by François Poulain and manufactured by Grimaud in 1983. Images courtesy Matt Probert.

Les Géants d'un Mythe created by François Poulain 1983
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By Matt Probert

United Kingdom • Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

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