Chitrashala Press
Chitrashala Press produced some charming children's pictorial alphabet cards for early learning purposes in the 1940s.
Chitrashala Press, Poona, India
The Chitrashala Press of Pune (formerly Poona) was located in West Central India in today’s Maharashtra state where the Marathi language is spoken. Chitrashala Press endeavoured to print traditional Indian cards (Dasavatara Ganjifa) in the same style as hand-painted Indian cards. They also produced some charming children’s pictorial alphabet cards for early learning purposes.
The Children’s Alphabetical Packs, c.1940
At least three different editions of the cards were published; two with Marathi text and a third edition in Urdu. The cards were obviously intended as a game for fun but also with an educational agenda, i.e. the teaching of reading, matching and etiquette.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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