Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art playing cards designed by Takenobu Igarashi.
This double pack of playing cards was designed by Takenobu Igarashi for The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1993. They were made in Austria. See the box►
Takenobu Igarashi (1944 - ) is regarded as a “typography giant”, whose iconic 3D letters lend a whole new dimension to graphic design and visual communication. For much of his professional career he has been drawn to the Roman alphabet, composed of basic geometric figures, with its simple structure which makes even the most complex expression possible. For more information see here►
While the court cards display fanciful designs (repeated in each suit) created simply with the use of the letters K, Q and J, the pip cards are arranged in beautiful stylized patterns in black and red. The backs of the cards have a minimalist design featuring the 4 playing cards suits.
Above: Museum of Modern Art playing cards designed by Takenobu Igarashi, published in 1993.
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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