EFFEGIEFFE

A deck of 52 cards + 2 jokers + 1 presentation card in a large format of 111 x 79 mm in a standard cardboard box, (see the box) . The cards are themed around the Venice Carnival. The watercolors are particularly expressive and depict a variety of characters and masks typical of the carnival. The pip cards are standard.

This is a limited edition of 1000 copies. It was a corporate gift for the Italian company (Turin) Effegieffe. It was produced by the historic Italian manufacturer Teodomiro Dal Negro (based in Treviso - Carbonera).

The illustrator is the Italian painter Luciano Conteduca, originally from Puglia and based in Turin. He is a renowned local artist (Piedmont and Liguria) known for his watercolors and expressionist-inspired works.

In 1989, the official theme of the Venice Carnival was "The Carnival of Fantasy." That year, Venice hosted the exhibition "Maps of Destiny," notably featuring examples from the 15th to the 18th centuries. The Venice Carnival had only officially resumed in 1979 after a 183-year hiatus since its prohibition by Napoleon in 1797 to combat anonymity and prevent conspiracies against the French occupiers.

Above: the presentation card with Luciano Conteduca’s handwritten dedication, noting that the deck was created for Effegieffe and printed by Dal Negro in a limited edition of 1,000 copies.