escART, ec-ART, SKAT

Johannes Vennekamp (b. 1935) is a self-taught German graphic artist. Letters of the alphabet, geometry and the human body are among his preoccupations. These cards, printed in brown on cream from etchings, cover a variety of subjects. The club suit-signs have no shading and are not filled in. Every card is illustrated. All but two of the cards – the Ace of Hearts and the King of Diamonds – have indices in four corners. On the back are various small, sketchy, graffiti-like drawings in cream on dark brown.

Above: escART skat deck illustrated with etchings by Johannes Vennekamp, made by Berliner Spielkartenfabrik GmbH & Co., Darmstadt, for Galerie Steinrötter, Münster, Germany, 1978. 32 cards. Size: 59 x 90 mm. The original version was produced in an edition of 1,000 packs.

Reference

Petri, Dr. Thomas. Braun Band 13: Die Berliner Spielkarten GmbH; 2002. p.33, BS 1978/1.

Quite by chance and while looking for something completely different, I found these three cards which must have been given to me as samples by Berliner Spielkarten's London agents. They have some of the escART designs but in black and red on grey and white, i.e., a different colour combination from the other pack. They have an advertising back which indicates that this version of the pack must have been offered to companies who wished to use it for promotional purposes. Are there any full packs out there?