I am not really a fan of transformation decks but this is very good stuff. I think I like the crisp feel of the visuals, that really stands out from what I usually find to be a blurry feel from transformation decks.

It's a *very* slow website at times.

The website is very slow at times and it's in Spanish but with over 1600 items in the catalog, so far, this is worth looking at for anyone interested in old playing cards. The collection is, of course, heavy on Spanish designs but there's a fair amount of English, French, and Italian designs as well...

What are the suit signs in the one that's third from the bottom. Looks like a military medal? With that colour and scale the hawks look more like ravens, but I rather like that. I like the mix and match option, but half the courts are identical except for a colour change, #s 2, 6, 7, 8, & 9, wh...

@variantventures - Very interesting. Pick a suit. Any suit. It's a build your own deck theme. I think ppl might enjoy this. I know you probably can't and need to keep the swords separated, but usually the 3 of Swords is depicted like this: The swords and coins are not German/Swiss in origin and my ...

Just a quick update. I've now got ten suits finished. This is fun because now I can offer people the opportunity to build a deck by choosing which suits they want to include. I also expanded the number of backs they could choose from because people wanted colored backs. I think this is a really good...

It sure looks like he's pissing on it, doesn't it? Other Swiss decks show the Jack of Shields doing the same thing. It must have been some sort 'thing' back then.

I got my test print for this deck back and it was mixed results. I messed up the back because I failed to extend the design to the edge of the card to get full bleed. Easily fixed. The colors came out right so yay for that. My courts rot. They're way too sloppy and the smaller size does nothing to c...

I got the test decks back from the printer yesterday and I'm pretty happy. The tarot-size version of this deck works very well. The mini-size, not so much. I preserved the original card proportions and accepted there would be extra white-space on the faces. It's too much white-space. If I want to do...

I've tried mucking about with a few variations. A single color background made the deck feel too cartoony. Reducing the existing pattern size and/or line weight didn't really do anything to help it. Changing the background to a lotus flower helped a little, but only a little. I accidentally overlaid...

These remind me of a Jass deck I have. It's a 36 card deck with these aces: Jass aces.jpg The Swiss deck is interesting. The acorns, flowers, and bells are pretty constant. The fourth suit gets changed a lot. Sometimes it's shields, sometimes it's leaves, I've even seen a deck where they put in haw...

Isn't laser-cut expensive? Yes and no. When you compare the cost of having a wood block and stencils laser cut versus the labor cost of doing it by hand, the laser tends to come off pretty well in comparison. I have the advantage of belonging to a makerspace so I can run the laser myself. I liked t...

Simon was my first inspiration, but I've since met and corresponded with several people who have done this. And I'm totally cheating. Hand-carving is way too much work for me (and beyond my current artistic skills). I'm using a laser to create the printing blocks and stencils.

Last one for now. :) This deck is based on several Swiss decks from the 15th Century. They used a different suit system: bells, acorns, flowers, and shields . The actual historical deck also would not have had a 1/Ace. The ten/banner of each suit served the same function as the ace in a modern deck....

I like the idea of a mini deck of these. Don't like the patterns in the background of the coloured cards. Historically the cards would probably have been coloured after being block printed - either with stencils or by hand painting - so you are following what would have originally been done. But, t...

That's certainly an interesting piece of history. As you said though, it's hard to gauge demand it being tarot size and all. Reprints of old designs have varied in success. What will your price point be if you go ahead as planned? Tarot size in black and white with or without the decorate back is U...

Thank you for letting me join and for moving my post to the correct location. Appreciate it.

I can definitely take criticism and truly appreciate all advice given. I won't always act on that advice, but I always appreciate receiving it.

So, the Topkapi playing cards are from the 16th Century. They are Mamluk (Egypt/Syria) in origin and the 'deck' held by the Topkapi Museum is actually three partial decks that have been put together to make a single, still incomplete, deck. These cards are enormous. They're nearly ten inches tall an...

You can read all about this deck over at World of Playing Cards . Long story short, two sheets of uncut cards dating to the 15th Century were found in a book in Barcelona. They made up a partial deck of cards. There were, unfortunately, no surviving court cards. The cards bear a strong resemblance t...

New member here. I've been studying and designing cards for about six years now. I focus on early playing cards from the Medieval and Renaissance periods and I print designs on modern cardstock as well as woodblock printing replica/reproduction decks. I have tended to focus on the Islamic card desig...