Kennedy Kards
‘Kennedy Kards’ playing cards with satirical portrayals of the Kennedy clan, USA, 1963
Published by Humor House Inc., this pack was made in 1963 and scheduled for release prior to President Kennedy's assassination, but in view of his death the packs were never released to the public. Eventually, they began to surface slowly, and they are not as rare as they once were. See the box►
The court cards feature gently satirical portrayals of the Kennedy clan. In addition to JFK, the court cards depict Bobby, Teddy, Papa Joe, the wives (Jackie, Ethel, Joan, Rose), Peter Lawford, and LBJ. JFK is depicted on the King of Hearts, the King of Diamonds, and the Ace of Spades.
The deck has 52 suited cards, plus 1 Joker (the Democratic Party donkey!), plus an extra insert card. The cards are bridge size, and were produced in two versions – one with blue backs and the second with a red back.
Above: ‘Kennedy Kards’ playing cards published by Humor House Inc. amd printed by ARRCO, USA, 1963. 52 cards + 2 jokers + extra card in box.
By Peter Burnett
United Kingdom • Member since July 27, 2022
I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.
Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.
Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.
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