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I love some of Siegfried Heilmeier's decks. He's got way too many nude/erotic ones that aren't to my liking but his transformation deck is actually one of my favorites in my collection.

Great deck! Thank you for sharing.

Original designs by an unknown artist, printed by Carta Mundi in 1971 for Philips Ontspannings Centrum in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Another set with nicely arranged pip cards.

The "Neue Künstlerkarte Nr. 175", lit. "New Artistcards Nr. 175". The cards were designed by Gustav Olms in Düsseldorf (*1865 - †1927), a German artist, designer and illustrator.
They were printed by F.A. Lattmann in Goslar. The Aces and face cards are designed with wonderful Art Nouveau elements and figures. Till last year Endebrock was under the impression that the cards were designed for the "Exposition Universelle 1900". Since then, he has updated the article about the deck stating that the deck wasn't printed before 1904, probably also for the annual world exhibition. I don't know what evidence came up in the meantime.

This deck exists in at least three different variants, excl. patience decks.

Only the first edition had a scenic background on the face cards. In later variants, the design on the aces changed and the scenic background disappeared. The face cards also got a slight rework in general. The crown on the kings' pips are also missing in a newer variant.

They were also ordered by at least one company for advertising purposes, as shown in the newer example below.

Louisiana Exposition 1904 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana ... Exposition
Endebrocks site with a glimpse into the third design: https://www.endebrock.de/coll/pages/d1176.html

Here comes my newer variant

How much newer are the variant Atz? I am not sure which I prefer.

atzenhofer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 14, 2025 1:04 am Thanks!

The name just got stuck in my head when I was a kid. We often drove by a company called "Atzenhofer" and for me it just was the funkiest name I ever heard of. Without a deeper meaning I began using variations of it for nicknames in games or e-mail adresses. Soon it became my go-to option when choosing a username somewhere and it still is today.

I have just seen that 'atzen' can translate to 'etching' - what sort of company were they?

Honeybee wrote: ↑Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:34 pm How much newer are the variant Atz?

Seems to me like it's all mixed up a bit, but in general it's somewhere in the 1920s. According to Endebrock, the advertising deck is from ~1925, but his deck has different aces and the kings pips still have a crown on top, while mine have the (supposedly) ~1920 aces with no crown.

Honeybee wrote: ↑Fri Jul 18, 2025 11:40 pm I have just seen that 'atzen' can translate to 'etching' - what sort of company were they?

IIRC it was a car repair shop. I think it was their family name. After a bit of research, I came across a district of the city of Fürth which is named "Atzenhof". According to their site, "atzen" is an old German word for graze, so the name most likely evolved from "the one with a farm with pasture."

atzenhofer wrote: ↑Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:29 pm Here comes my newer variant

I'm a huge fan of these designs. I think I prefer this one without the backgrounds.

The German Bomb Card (Bombenkarte), designed by Franz Woas, Berlin in 1887
Another wonderful example of trying to unite German and French suits to have an acceptable solution for the international Skat-congresses back in the days. It has gilded edges too!

The suits represent the German kingdoms:
Acorns: Prussia,
Leaves: Bavaria
Hearts: Saxony
Bells: Württemberg

The Kings are emperors (Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg, Ludwig II., August the Strong, and most likely Eberhard I from Württemberg.
The Queens are in costumes typical for the kingdoms (Spreewald, the Highlands, the countryside, and Stuttgart). The Jacks are soldiers (infantry sergeant, ulan corporal, artillery lance-corporal, pioneer).

All information gathered from Endebrocks collection site.

https://www.endebrock.de/coll/pages/d1155.html

atzenhofer wrote: ↑Fri Jul 18, 2025 1:28 pm The "Neue Künstlerkarte Nr. 175", lit. "New Artistcards Nr. 175". The cards were designed by Gustav Olms in Düsseldorf (*1865 - †1927), a German artist, designer and illustrator.
They were printed by F.A. Lattmann in Goslar. The Aces and face cards are designed with wonderful Art Nouveau elements and figures. Till last year Endebrock was under the impression that the cards were designed for the "Exposition Universelle 1900". Since then, he has updated the article about the deck stating that the deck wasn't printed before 1904, probably also for the annual world exhibition. I don't know what evidence came up in the meantime.

This deck exists in at least three different variants, excl. patience decks.

Only the first edition had a scenic background on the face cards. In later variants, the design on the aces changed and the scenic background disappeared. The face cards also got a slight rework in general. The crown on the kings' pips are also missing in a newer variant.

They were also ordered by at least one company for advertising purposes, as shown in the newer example below.

Louisiana Exposition 1904 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana ... Exposition
Endebrocks site with a glimpse into the third design: https://www.endebrock.de/coll/pages/d1176.html




1a.JPG2a.JPG3a.JPG4a.JPG5a.png6a.png

Art nouveau is a very beautiful style !!!

atzenhofer wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:48 pm Die Spielkarte der feinen Welt, translated literally: "The playing card of the fine world" by F.A. Lattmann in Goslar, 1923

Wonderful Art Nouveau design, thankfully with OBox.

Another variant of the QoD is known and shown here:
https://www.wopc.co.uk/germany/lattmann/der-feinen-welt


K1600_Scan_20240313 (2).JPGK1600_Scan_20240313 (3).JPGK1600_Scan_20240313 (4).JPGK1600_Scan_20240313 (5).JPGScan_20240313 (8).pngScan_20240313 (6).pngScan_20240313 (7).png

Those are absolutely gorgeous

Finally set up a decent display for a few playing cards and gaming varia such as card presses, brass tokens, whist markers, boxes, etc...

Straight from the scanner to this thread.

"Trachtenkarte" transl. "Traditional costumes - card"
This deck was printed in 1939 by Rheinberger in Bad Dürkheim, Germany.

The courts represent different German regions:
Clubs: Lower Saxony
Spades: Black Forest
Heart: Salzburg and Tirol (became German just a year earlier through the "Anschluss Österreichs 12th March 1938" (transl.: Annexation of Austria))
Diamonds: German Baltic Sea region

With this deck in my collection, I'm already halfway there having a copy of every known deck produced by Rheinberger
The only other deck is titled "Propaganda" and was printed around 1941: http://www.a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/WWPCM/ger ... berger.htm

Founded in 1848 by Johann Rheinberger, the "Lithographic Institute Rheinberger" soon became locally famous for stone printings of Bad Dürkheim as well as artistic wine labels. From 1864 until 1934 Rheinberger printed Dürkheims daily newspapers . On August 1, 1934, everything became part of the "Gauverlag Westmark", a local "district publishing company", introduced by the NSDAP to distribute propaganda. After the War, the "Stark company" rented the factory from 1945 to 1950 and bought everything in the same year. In 2003, the company went bankrupt.

Heron's take on the French-Swiss pattern.
It's most likely based on the standard pattern from AGMüller Schaffhausen but got a really broad rework. I honestly don't know yet if I like it or not, there was a bit much detail lost in the process for me.

This deck is not listed in the WWPCM (or I couldn't find it ) so i don't have any information regarding its age. My guess is somewhere around the 80s.
Last pic compares the face cards to an example from AGM.

Surrealistic Fortune-telling cards by Vladimír Tesař (*1924 - †2008), Czechoslovakia.
It was designed around 1969 and printed by OTK in Prague.

I love them - aren't the colors great

Jeu de Cartes de Tahiti - 1979

Designed by Michèle Feltrin, printed by Heron in France.

Lovely design with the court cards translated to Tahitian. The pips are standard.
There was also a Tarot deck issued in the same year: http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks16/d14915/d14915.htm

Deck on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Jean Marie Farina
Designed by M.F. Lenoir, about whom I couldn't find anything else.

The WWPCM lists this deck with the year 1957, but I can't really find anything tied to 1807.
The only year that comes close and seems important for Roger & Gallet is 1806, the year the perfumery business of Jean Marie Farina was founded, which they later purchased. At least that's what the wiki entry of Roger & Gallet states. The entry about Jean Marie Farina states the business was founded in 1808. I guess they didn't know themselves either and just decided to go with the golden mean (assuming that 1957 is correct in the first place ).

As for the cards, I really like what they did with the standard Belgian-Genoese pattern here. Nothing much left from the original but still recognizable faces and I adore the vivid and colorful style.

http://www.a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks10/d08406/d08406.htm
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Farina
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_%26_Gallet

Custom Skat deck for ISPA, the International Skat Players Association.

They tried to unite the standard English pattern with the Berlin pattern.
Both got a complete rework. On WOPC Rex Pitts especially mentioned the funky mustaches on the English side. In my opinion, this is one of the better attempts on a "Kongress"-Deck.

I couldn't find anything so far about a designer or printer. With the membership card having a price in DM, it was most likely printed before 1999.

Fan DACK Playing CARD by Yutaka Kikuchi, 1972

It's a large skittle-shaped deck printed by Nintendo.
The cards measure ~ 203 mm x 65 mm.

I couldn't find out anything about the designer nor the reason for calling it DACK.

My newest addition, probably the find of the year for me.

"Kunigaikščiai" (Dukes) – designed by Adomas Varnas, 2nd edition, printed in the 1930s-40s by Spindulys Printing Co. in Kaunas, Lithuania

According to the very sparse information online, Varnas won the first prize in a card design competition in 1921-22 with this deck.
It depicts the Grand Dukes of Lithuania as Kings and (most likely) their wives as Queens. As far as I know, the Jacks are unnamed and depict Lithuanian warriors.

While all shown kings are listed with their names, only one queen was named. I gathered the info about the other three from various sites, so I can only hope they're all correct, because I can't find properly comparable drawings/depictions of two of them.

KoC: Vytautas
KoS: Algirdas
KoH: Kęstutis
KoD: Gediminas

QoC: Ona Vytautienė
QoS: Uliana Aleksandrovna
QoH: Birutė
QoD: Jaunė

The abbreviations on the cards translate as following:

T = Tuzas = ace
K = Karalius = king
M = Mergele = maid/virgin
B = Berniukas = fellow

I thankfully got a full set with 2x 53 cards + 2 empty cards. Interestingly, one deck has a light linen finish while the other deck is completely smooth. They also feel like they're made out of one of the most durable and sturdy but thin card stocks from that time period. It's something between a laquered surface and plastic cards. I've never had a deck like this before. Although I surely won't test it , they "feel" like they're even tear-resistant.

Some sources and further links:
https://www.wopc.co.uk/lithuania/spindu ... igaiksciai
http://www.a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks02/d00487/d00487.htm
https://baltaskambarys.com/?portfolio=3670

Where did you 'find' it Atz?

Honeybee wrote: ↑Wed Oct 15, 2025 8:03 pm Where did you 'find' it Atz?

It was an auction on ebay.
Came with a nice 1930s Japanese lacquered box with coin plates as well. Will attach a photo of it when I get home.

Here comes the set.
The laquer is called Urushi and is, matching the cards, a very durable coating. It has some tiny chips but otherwise is almost scratch-free. The lock is still working too.

Amusingly, the Japanese word urushi, the name for the lacquer tree whence comes this stuff, is (because of genus+species) the basis of the English word urushiol, which is the stuff in poison ivy &c that makes your life miserable.

The box and trays are stunning.

I go over with scouts in our troop about native poisonous plants, so poison ivy comes up a lot. I know about the relation of poison ivy and cashews and mangoes. I didn't know of their relation to lacquer. That is another addition to my talk now. So much stuff in an itchy subject. I am not allergic to urushiol as I guess I have done a good job over the years of limiting my exposure. I confirmed that when I was a kid and a large group of us cleaned a forest area and I was the only one not suffering from poison ivy effects afterwards, except for a few small bumps that quickly faded away. I haven't had anything else since. I generally don't even notice it much unless specifically trying to find it. My dad would react badly to it just being in the area where there was some poison ivy. He had no trouble finding it. In doing some AI questions I also found out that once it cures/hardens, it looses it's toxicity (not that I am planning to try and cure poison ivy oils in the interest of science).

atzenhofer wrote: ↑Sat Jul 26, 2025 1:21 pm Finally set up a decent display for a few playing cards and gaming varia such as card presses, brass tokens, whist markers, boxes, etc...

[...]

Nice!

"Theatre" by V.M. Sveshnikov, first printed around 1973/74 by the Color Printing Plant in St. Petersburg.
My example is from 1981. There's another version with a black King of Hearts, depicting Othello: http://www.a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks06/d04405/d04405.htm

Each suit represents a play.

Clubs = Rigoletto
Spades = Faust
Hearts = Othello
Diamonds = Iolanta

Cards designed by Volker Hartmann for the "VEB Kombinat Haushaltsgeräte" in the GDR, printed by Coeur in 1981. Lovely artwork with 32 different household appliances. The text on the title card translates as follows:

"This card game is unparalleled: Every hand is a trump! You won't find that in any Skat game, but you will in the comprehensive range of our combine, the largest producer of household appliances in the GDR. Just as quickly as shuffling these 32 cards, housework goes when you have our products at hand.

With a sense and heart for household management we have thought of everything that makes work in the kitchen and home even easier. This, in turn, means more free time, even for a good game of Skat...
We offer a product range that is perfect in every respect: washing machines, automatic washers and spin dryers, refrigerators and freezers, gas, electric and coal stoves, gas boilers and space heaters, cookers, soldering equipment and storm lanterns, enamel and aluminum cookware, cutlery, flatware and tableware. See for yourself at the next Leipzig Trade Fair in the "Handelshof", 2nd Floor!"

"Mariachi No. 1" by Siegfried Heilmeier, Munich, 1982

AFAIK, this was the first deck he ever published. The court cards are traditional Mexican Mariachi dancers and musicians.
As he mostly did, the pip cards were also rearranged.

32 cards + 1 Joker, 100 copies, court cards hand- and stencil-colored, size: ~ 70 mm x 118 mm

A bit about Mariachi:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariachi