Under the Sea

Published December 10, 2015 • Updated November 04, 2022

“Under the Sea” transformation playing cards, published in 2005 to raise money for the Marine Stewardship Council, an environmental charity which promotes sustainable fishing practices.

“Under the Sea” transformation playing cards were published in 2005 to raise money for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC►), an environmental charity which promotes sustainable fishing practices. 54 contemporary artists and illustrators► were commissioned to create images for the deck, each one donating artwork. The transformations retain the traditional positions of the pips on the cards (apart from the jokers and court cards) while the variety of styles of illustration and design produce an eclectic but visually enchanting set.

Above: “Under the Sea” transformation playing cards, published in 2005 by the Marine Stewardship Council, with different artists contributing art for each card. Purchase of the deck supports the MSC’s work in the field of finding solutions to overfishing.

NOTE: a stock of these packs is available for sale, please let us know if you are interested.

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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.