Trip or Trap

Looking at these cards, they could only have been designed in the flower power era, the age of the hippy. The creator, Dr W.R. Spence, was an anti-drug campaigner who used many methods to promote his messages, including playing cards. The colourful court cards and Aces include jokes or slogans to mock people who use drugs. They certainly have a strong psychedelic feel to them. The pip cards list the prescription names, slang names, medical uses, legal source and symptoms caused by various different drugs. There is a summary of the drug names on one Joker and text about the effects of drugs and the aims of the pack on the other. The colourful, borderless backs repeat the words “trip trap” over and over. The cards are gilt-edged.

Above: Trip or Trap playing cards created by Dr W.R. Spence, made by Brown & Bigelow, Saint Paul, MN, USA, for the Spenco Medical Company, Waco, TX, USA, 1970. 52 cards + 2 Jokers. Size: 57 x 89 mm.