Kaiserkarte
“Kaiserkarte” first published by Schneider & Co in 1895-1897 for the Imperial Court.
“Kaiserkarte” was published specially for the last German emperor and King of Prussia, Wilhelm II. The cards were printed at the Altenburg Card Factory (Altenburger Spielkarten Fabrik Schneider & Co) in 1895-1897. The back features a medallion surrounded by an oak wreath. In the centre are the coats of arms of Germany, Austria and Italy, with a crossed sword and caduceus. German motto: “Einigkeit macht stark” (Together we are stronger).



The courts depict historical figures: King of Hearts - Franz I. His Queen is a lovely woman dressed in a Renaissance style costume. Jack of Hearts – Landsknecht. The King of Clubs is Louis the Pious, Jack - Knight Templar. The King of Diamonds resembles the features of Charles VII. The Queen - His Beloved Agnes Sorel. King of Spades - Louis XIV (Sun King). Note: decks for the Royal household would have no tax stamps, but those printed for general sale do.

Above: “Kaiserkarte” by Schneider & Co, Altenburg, used exclusively at the Imperial Court in Berlin, first published in 1895-1897. The cards have no indices and an ornate back design. Images and historical notes courtesy Valentin Zadunaisky.
Facsimile Edition
A facsimile of “Kaiserkarte” was issued by A.S.S., c.1970. The facsimile edition has indices, new aces and a new back design.



Above: facsimile of “Kaiserkarte” published by A.S.S., c.1970. The original cards did not have indices, featured a different back design and the four aces were more ornamental than in this reproduction. Contrary to the inscription on the reprint box that the original deck was first produced in 1910, the deck was first published in 1895-1897. 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 King of Diamonds
A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.

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

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

Costumes of Turkey Tarot
‘National Costumes of Turkey’ tarot by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig, c.1800-1825.

Natural History Tarot
Natural History Tarot published by G M, Germany, early 19th C.

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...

Pendleton playing cards
Pendleton playing cards inspired by indigenous American artwork, USA, 2019.

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.

Old School Playing cards from Moon
Designed and published by Leo Scherfig

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.

Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights (1001 Nights Tarot)
This tarot deck captures the idealised Eastern world's magic from the eighteenth and nineteenth cent...

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

ORIENT The Queen of Cards
A unique Art creation of Subho Tagore

Newtropolis and the Fantastic Fur
Newtropolis and the Fantastic Fur: Heroes vs. Villains playing cards illustrated by Peter Wood, 2015...

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...

Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos
A Spanish-suited pack as conceived by 48 different artists from the region of Murcia.

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....

Le Jeu d’Issy
Bold designs by Jacques Auriac representing people and enterprises for which the town of Issy-les-Mo...

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.

Le Jeu de la Chance
Original designs by French artist Jean Vérame, with clubs replaced by four-leaf clovers to bring goo...

Secretos de Oriente
Secrets of the Far East playing cards featuring the designs of Violeta Monreal , Spain, c. 1991.

España Imperial
España imperial / Imperial Spain playing cards with artwork by Serny, published by Heraclio Fournier...

Ases de la pintura / Masters of painting
Ases de la pintura / Masters of painting playing cards made by Naipes Comas, Spain, c.1990.

Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art playing cards designed by Takenobu Igarashi.

Festa Major de Vilafranca 1988
Colourful figures associated with the annual festival held in Vilafranca, Catalonia.

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

Crystal Time
Colourful and attractive designs by Violeta Monreal, inspired by stained glass through the ages.

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.