Roaring Twenties

Published September 03, 2014 • Updated April 11, 2025

Roaring Twenties playing cards by Angel Playing Cards Co Ltd, Japan. 1980.

Above: “Roaring Twenties” playing cards published by Angel Playing Cards Co Ltd, Japan, 1980. 52 cards plus 2 Jokers. The reverse shows another double-ended design with gold or silver background (click to see more). Images courtesy Rex Pitts.

The colourful artwork reflects the art deco styles that were popular in the "roaring twenties" time period.

The Roaring Twenties roared with Jazz music and new inventions which changed the world, leading to the rise of consumerism... cars, refrigerators, radio, and so on. The emphasis was on having fun and spending money; fashion entered the modern era.

These “Roaring Twenties” playing cards, published by Angel Playing Cards Co Ltd (Japan, 1980) are supposed to evoke the spirit of this era with colourful and original artwork, which looks more like retro poster designs and looks better enlarged.

The court cards are double-ended but each end has a different illustration.

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

United Kingdom • 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.