Library Display

You have three seconds to get a stranger interested in playing cards: which decks do you use? I thought about that as I prepared to exhibit some of my cards at my local library, which has a display case that hosts a different patron’s collection every month. The rectangular display case is in a prime spot – one of the rectangle’s short sides faces the library entrance. It’s the first thing people see when they walk in, which grants you a good three seconds of their attention. It’s where I had to pique their interest.

That short side of the case could accommodate three decks as my vanguard. I made the centerpiece a reproduction of a 19th century international pattern with single-figure courts – the Highlander deck by Lewis I. Cohen. Most people don’t know court cards used to be full figures; the deck provided a mix of the strange and familiar I was banking on to catch the eye. It was deployed front and center.

This left room for two groups of 3-4 cards on the sides of the repro deck. One was an easy decision: courts from Grimaud’s Sanders deck with animals as the kings, queens, and jacks. People often take children to the library and I figured the bright drawings would be perfect. The other flank received court cards featuring American Revolution figures from American Drummer Playing Cards. They were published to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the American Revolution in 1976. This year is the 250th anniversary, so it seemed appropriate.

I decided to go with a more-is-more approach and ended up using 21 decks in total. And I wanted the cards to speak for themselves; indeed, I didn’t even have any labels at first, but my wife and the library staff strongly recommended I say where the cards came from.

My big limitation was light exposure. I didn’t want to risk cards older than the 1950s under a month’s worth of harsh fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, that ruled out many of my favorite decks, but hey, the cards come first.

The decks broke down into three categories: regional, art, and history. I wanted the core to be composed of cards actually played around the world. That meant an AG Müller Swiss Jass deck (my favorite regional deck); Jednohlavé Bohemian/Prager pattern with nice large, easy-to-see cards by Menox; Spanish suits in the Castilian pattern by Don Clemente; the Sicilian pattern by Modiano; German suits in the GDR pattern by A.S.S.; the French/Paris pattern by France Cartes; and Nintendo’s Hanafuda cards from Japan. I included ganjifa cards because they’re so unique and eye-catching, although they’re a localized pastime in India and not something you’ll see played around the country.

For art, I used Jean Picart Le Doux’s gorgeous courts published for the 125th anniversary of Thomas De La Rue and Company; Fournier’s Romance Español (one of my all-time favorite decks); the Black Palekh and Lubok decks from the Soviet Colour Printing Plant; and a reproduction of the T.S. Chapman transformation deck. I also included two charming modern decks: Birb by Tracey Churray and Jungle designed by Studio Muti and published by Art of Play.

Lastly, under history, I used Celedonio Perellón’s 1973 Ancient Civilisations by Fournier; A.S.S.’s reprint of John Waddington’s Shakespearean deck; and reproduction World War II aircraft recognition cards. The last was a good example of the secondary use of playing cards.

What about you? If you could deploy around 20 decks from your collection to get strangers interested in playing cards, which ones would you choose?

Decks mentioned: Highlander • American Drummer • Ancient Civilisations • Birb • Black Palekh • Bohemian/Prager/Jednohlave pattern • Castilian pattern • French/Paris pattern • ganjifa • GDR pattern • Hanafuda • Jass • Jean Picart Le Doux • Jungle • Lubok • Romance Español • Sanders • Shakespearean • Sicilian pattern • spotter cards • T.S. Chapman transformation