Pressers playing cards
Pressers playing cards with illustrations by Aaron Johnson printed by USPCC for Ellusionist in 2014.
In 2013 Anderson Design Group was approached by Ellusionist, a company that makes playing cards for magicians, to create a vintage deck of cards based in 60s advertising. The resulting pack was printed by USPCC in 2014. See the box►
Inspired by the hit TV series Madmen, illustrator Aaron Johnson came up with this non-standard retro 60s vintage design pack. The back of the cards features a simple design filled with small, white dots against a teal green background. The court cards are fully customized, portraying women and men drinking and smoking, and all cards have a customised font. The hearts and diamond suits are in burnt orange rather than red. There are two additional advertising cards.
Above: Pressers playing cards with illustrations by Aaron Johnson printed by USPCC for Ellusionist in 2014.
By Peter Burnett
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.
Related Articles
Get Decked
Black and white cartoons devised by Sam Wagner with help from artist Lindsay Bevington.
Doctor Who Trump Card Game
Game for two players in which Doctor Who and the Legendary Legion join battle with the Alien Hordes....
Beowulf
Jackson Robinson's Beowulf playing card deck inspired by the Old English pagan poem.
Keith Haring playing cards
Energetic graffiti images by the American artist Keith Haring.
Disney’s Aladdin playing cards
Characters from the 1992 Disney film Aladdin.
The Tarot of Meditation – Yeager Tarot
Marty Yeager’s original Tarot of Meditation from 1975, republished later by U.S. Games Systems, Inc....
Adobe Deck
The first digitally-produced deck of cards.
Seminole Wars deck
Seminole Wars deck by J. Y. Humphreys, Philadelphia, c.1819.
The UCR Deck
Giant-size cards designed by Thomas Sanders to advertise courses and facilities at UCR.
Fredericks & Mae playing cards
A rainbow pack from the design team of Fredericks & Mae and Benjamin English.
Red Hat Society playing cards
Society that encourages women in their quest to get the most out of life.
Mountain Dream Tarot
Groundbreaking Tarot created by Bea Nettles, using photographs and photo montage.
Junior Playing Cards
Child-friendly versions of standard English pattern cards designed by Louie Mantia, Jr.
Last Call Cats playing cards
Bar-crawling cats, designed by artists Arna Miller and Ravi Zupa.
Covered bridges playing cards
Historical covered bridges with photography by Bill Miller, 2006.
Motherpeace Round Tarot
An original and imaginative feminist tarot invoking matriarchal Goddess energy.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
