Alfreds Scwedrevitz

Latvian playing cards designed in 1936 by graphic artist Alfreds Scwedrevitz.

This pack was the 5th National Latvian pack, and was first issued in 1939, under the name “Latvian Red Cross Cards No.7”. At that time a lot of people hoped that Latvia's recently lost independence would soon be regained, so on the first issues of this pack the Red Cross sign on the Ace of Hearts was supplemented with the Latvian coat of arms.

Above: images courtesy Albinas Borisevičius.

This particular edition was published by ‘P. Mantnieka Kartografijas Instituts, Riga’, as printed on the Ace of Hearts.

The pack was reprinted many times and during wartime as 53 or 33-card packs, but the cardboard was not always of a high quality, and the registration of the printed colours became inaccurate. Finally, the designs were chosen to be reused in an advertising pack for Zole Vodka in 2000 but which was never issued   see more →

See also:   Rihards Zarinš • Stefans Bercs • Reinholds Kasparsons • Karlis Krauze • Black Peter • Karlis Padegs • Orija Nr.20 • Privātā • Latvia Homepage →

REFERENCES & NOTES

Jānis Mētra in The Playing Card, vol.32, no.1, July-August 2003, and also: Latvian Playing Cards by Jānis Mētra, Riga, 2006.

Joop Muller has posted an updated review of this deck: see DXPO website ‘Deck of the Month’ June 2020►
“In fact the fifth Latvian pack was drawn by Alfreds Scwedrevitz and the first edition as the cheap cards series was in 1936” - Jānis Mētra.

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

View Articles

Curator 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.