Porträt
“Porträt” designed by Walter Krauss, 1969
“Porträt” designed by the popular designer Walter Krauss, 1969, who designed many elegant decks for VEB Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik.

Above: “Porträt” designed by Walter Krauss (1908-1985), printed by VEB Altenburger Spielkartenfabrik, 1969. 52 cards + 3 jokers. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.


By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
Member since January 30, 2009
Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.
His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.
Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.
Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.
His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.
Trending Articles
Popular articles from the past 28 days
Related Articles

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs
A limited edition art print of the Queen of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

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

Woodblock and Stencil Joker
A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.

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

Æsop’s fables tarot
French-suited Æsop’s fables tarot produced by Leipzig Industrie Comptoir, c.1800-1825.

Das Nassauische Kartenspiel
Pack conceived by Berthold Conradi, commemorating the 700th anniversary of the granting of town righ...

Jägerkarte Nr.465
Dondorf Jägerkarte Nr. 465 playing cards dedicated to the theme of hunting, c.1930.

Englische Karten nr.190
Dondorf Nr.190“Englische Karten”, 1867-1895.

Möbel-Spiel
Publicity pack for the East German furniture industry, with designs by Werner-Hans Schlegel.

Hand-painted and Silk-inlaid playing cards
Complete pack of 36 hand-painted and silk-inlaid playing cards with French suits made in Germany.

Postillion Schafkopf
Postillion Schafkopf dedicated to the history of the German postal service.

Moorish Deck
Review of “Trzes’ Moorish Deck” facsimile published by Ulrich Kaltenborn, Berlin, 2023.

Schweden Spielkarten
54 different souvenir views of famous people and places in Sweden.

Burgdorf Abschreckhärtetechnik
Promotional pack for a German steel hardening business, with designs by Costante Costantini.

Early German playing cards
Some early examples of popular German playing cards from the XV and XVI centuries.

South American Costumes
Costumes of people of Brazil, Peru and Mexico, with views of Rio de Janeiro on the aces.

Vues et Caractères Suisses No.228
A Swiss souvenir pack by Dondorf

Spielkarten für Sammler
Cards on cards in celebration of playing-card collector Franz Braun’s 75th birthday.

Cards on Cards (E.H. Locker)
Artist Edward Locker’s view of London life in 1799, using every card in the pack as part of the pict...

WW2 German Propaganda Playing Cards
showing satirical portraits of Allied leaders and politicians

Wolfgang Dorn Werbe
Designs by Jürgen Pankarz for the 20th anniversary of the Wolfgang Dorn advertising agency, Cologne....

Bilder zum Tarot
Detailed pen and ink drawings of the major arcana by the German artist Helmut Wonschick.

Eisbergfreistadt Panoramische Spielkarte 1923
‘Iceberg Free State 1923’ fantasy playing cards with a cautionary moral lesson, Germany, 2006.

Das Tübinger Skatspiel
Pack devised by Volker Scheub depicting characters associated with the city of Tübingen.

Dallas playing cards
Seven of the top stars from the famous TV series Dallas.

Nokia II
Advertising pack for the Finnish firm Nokia showing different mobile phones.

Nordbräu Ingolstadt
Publicity pack for the German brewery Nordbräu with Bavarian pattern courts (adapted).

Wicküler Skat
Publicity pack for the German brewery Wicküler with courts merrily drinking beer.

Deutsche Dampflokomotiven
German steam locomotives from the period 1892 to 1950.

Mercedes-Benz Skat
Classy-looking designs by Monika Dostler for a manufacturer of posh cars.

Bahlsen Skat
Publicity pack for a German food company, featuring some of their products.

Calliope: a Renaissance band
Facsimile of cards attributed to Hans Schäufelein (c. 1480-1540) produced by ‘Calliope’, a New York ...

Rombach + Co Skat
Publicity pack designed by Uschi Dorner for a bookshop in Freiburg im Breisgau.

B & K Skat
Publicity pack designed by Henning Loerzer for Busskamp & Koch, an advertising agency in Munich.

Overstolz Cigaretten
Colourful publicity playing cards for a brand of German cigarettes.

Iduna Skat
Advertising pack for a Hamburg building society featuring pigs in disguise.

Tarock Schafkopf zum Wahlkampf 1990
Playing cards issued to mark the German federal elections held on 2 December 1990.

52 Transformierte Spielkarten
Modern transformation pack including some saucy images created by Siegfried Heilmeier.

Sternenmädchens Wahrsagespiel Tarot
A colourful 1970s take on the major arcana designed by Peter Geitner, with titles in German.

Papst Quartett
A quartet game featuring a selection of popes up to Benedict XVI.

Belgian Souvenir playing cards
made in Germany by C.L. Wüst

Aces Playing Cards (2nd edition)
‘Aces Playing Cards’ collaborative art deck published by Zeixs, Cologne (2nd edition).

Llombart pattern playing cards from Germany
made in Leipzig in the early 19th. century
-playing-cards-with-wüst-courts/images/rijks-1.ac058ff7.jpg)
Oude Kunst (Old Art) playing cards with Wüst courts
made for export to the Netherlands.