Trinidad Carnival Playing Cards

Trinidad’s lively street carnival can be felt in this deck designed by Gabby Woodham and published as “Allfours Carnival Playing Cards”. Allfours is a popular Trinidadian card game and championships are held on a yearly basis. Each suit depicts diverse decorative patterns and inhabitants of Trinidad, presenting a wide range of ethnicity, religion, and culture: clubs show the Amerindians from South America. diamonds depict Afro-Trinidadians. spades show Indo-Trinis [pronounced ‘Trin-ees’] and hearts portray present day Trinis. See the Box►

Above: “Allfours Carnival Playing Cards” designed by Gabby Woodham, Trinidad, 1995. The deck was printed in Canada. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.