Race Card
‘Race Card’ playing cards published by the Concept Card Co., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Published in 1995 by the Concept Card Co., New Orleans, Louisiana, this pack announces “when all is said and done, there is only one race. The Human Race”. To this end the court cards display drawings of seemingly different racial groups – though identification is difficult – all with white faces but varied facial features, multi-coloured clothing and head-wear. With the exception of the Ace of spades, all the pip cards are standard. There are two jokers. See the box►
Above: ‘Race Card’ playing cards published in 1995 by the Concept Card Co., New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
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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