My fascination with playing cards (and other card decks for that matter)

In reading the Meggs text, the short section about playing cards and how they came to be reminded me of my own fascination with cards and my little collection of card decks which I decided to dig out and just enjoy looking through them all. I have playing cards from other countries that make absolutely no sense to me, but they are beautiful and create a sense of wonder in me about how the games are played. I also have decks of cards of things like Tibetan art and Buddhist deities. Here I thought I would focus on traditional playing cards with which we're all familiar. The suits - diamonds, hearts, clubs, spades (it was interesting to read in the text where these symbols actually came from) are interesting in themselves. The number of uses of cards (not just for card games - remember building card houses, anyone?) is vast, and I am by no means a card player. I know a few games and have played my share of Rummy, Crazy Eights, Hearts, and various Poker games, but what I really enjoy is just looking at them, feeling them, shuffling them. There are decks for any enthusiast; for example, this German deck of cards, each with a different beautifully illustrated cat, is obviously for the cat lover. The cards don't have the actual number of diamonds, hearts, etc., that correspond with the number. I guess there's no room because of the cats.  Love it. And, there's a huge difference between decks with regard to the shape of the symbols and the typestyle of the number and letters. 

So I hear that Shrinky-Dinks have made a comeback these days, but they originated in the 1970s when I was a kid. I LOVED them! This tiny matchbook card deck was something I made when I was a kid. I traced the joker but made the teeny tiny cards freehand. I don't think there are 52 cards left, but I'm glad I held on to this little piece of my past. The fascination began way, way back. :)

The third example (it was difficult to pick just three) is of a deck someone brought me from Australia. The artwork was designed by an aboriginal artist, and I absolutely love that style and actually try to emulate it in my own painting. The unique attribute about this deck is the perfectly square corners. I don't think I've ever seen a deck with that. The main beauty of the cards is on the backside - but the design is identical on each one. There's a ghost image on each of the card fronts as well. The suit shapes are slightly different and somehow more elegant than what I'm used to seeing. Perhaps something many wouldn't notice. That's what this is about, though, right? Really paying attention?

I wish I could include images of all of my card decks, but that would be ridiculous... My realization: I never really stopped to consider the graphic design of playing cards; I just have always been very fond of them and get excited when I see something that is out of the ordinary or especially beautiful or quirky or interesting in some way. :)