Stancraft “Split Deck”

Published January 03, 2016 Updated August 05, 2024

Stancraft “Split Deck”, 1979.

1979 USA Brown & Bigelow Stancraft Split deck Card Games

Stancraft Products “Split Deck”, 1979. Each card is divided diagonally with different values at each end of 48 of the cards and the same value on the four twos. The idea is that many new games can be played when players can choose which zone (colour end) to play with. Earlier versions of the deck were published in 1935 and then again in 1950 by Brown & Bigelow / Stancraft called “Double Action” cards.

Stancraft “Split Deck”, 1979 Stancraft “Split Deck”, 1979

Above: Stancraft Products “Split Deck”, 1979. Decks are bridge size and usually come in double boxed sets with a booklet explaining how to play games with the cards. Images courtesy Jean Szawiola.

Note from Roddy Somerville

I have always known this as the "Janus" deck. It is described in the booklet as a "twin value deck". Herb Hancock of Dundas, Ontario, Canada, is credited with its invention. The booklet (which is in English and French) gives the makers (?) / publishers (?) as "Hoyle Playing Card Co.", a "Division of Ben Sanders Co. Ltd., Willowdale, Ontario, M2H 3G2". Was that a tax dodge? I can't find a date in the booklet but I do know that I was offering these cards and the booklet in my 1982 sales list. In the packs I have, the Aces of Spades have the same wording as on the one you show, i.e., "Stancraft Products, St. Paul, MINN, U.S.A., a Division of Brown & Bigelow Inc." but with no mention of Hoyle or Ben Sanders. All rather confusing!

Above:

avatar
1,483 Articles

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.

Related Articles

1891 Scientific Whist

Scientific Whist

“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...

1893 Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

1926 Rap Rummy

Rap Rummy

Rap Rummy made by Parker Brothers in 1926, only 4 years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s to...

1971 German Travel Cards

German Travel Cards

A travel-themed educational deck helping American tourists visiting Germany.

1984 Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.

2022 The European Interchanges Quartets

The European Interchanges Quartets

A card game based around motorway intersections from European countries.

1930 Love Tests

Love Tests

Vintage novelty “Love Test” cards of a slightly saucy nature but all in good fun!

1949 Briefmarken-Quartett

Briefmarken-Quartett

Quartet game featuring postage stamps from the Zones of Occupation in post-WWII Germany.

2019 Get Decked

Get Decked

Black and white cartoons devised by Sam Wagner with help from artist Lindsay Bevington.

1978 Doctor Who Trump Card Game

Doctor Who Trump Card Game

Game for two players in which Doctor Who and the Legendary Legion join battle with the Alien Hordes....

2022 Beowulf

Beowulf

Jackson Robinson's Beowulf playing card deck inspired by the Old English pagan poem.

2018 Keith Haring playing cards

Keith Haring playing cards

Energetic graffiti images by the American artist Keith Haring.

1999 Polygo™

Polygo™

Cards of irregular, four-sided shape for playing word and colour games as well as more traditional o...

1975 The Tarot of Meditation – Yeager Tarot

The Tarot of Meditation – Yeager Tarot

Marty Yeager’s original Tarot of Meditation from 1975, republished later by U.S. Games Systems, Inc....

1988 Adobe Deck

Adobe Deck

The first digitally-produced deck of cards.

1819 Seminole Wars deck

Seminole Wars deck

Seminole Wars deck by J. Y. Humphreys, Philadelphia, c.1819.