England

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Jock1971
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Re: England

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Re: England

Unread post by dazzleguts »

I love seeing experimentation with card faces like this and would probably pick up this deck if it crossed my immediate path, but, much as I like the art decks, I think they should be more cohesive.

Perhaps if there was red used in the spades suit, like it is throughout the rest, or used only in the red suits, then it would jibe more. The diamonds are too bold and graphic compared to the more sketchy looks of the rest. A common method of showing the indices would help too.

In vintage decks the Jeu de Marseille and Rixdorfer work very well, despite multiple artists contributing, because they were part of strong art movements at the time - giving them a shared visual language. Also they either all stuck to the same medium (Rixdorfer), or had one artist convert everyone else's sketches into the graphics used (Marseille).

Jeu de Marseille: http://www.wopc.co.uk/france/grimaud/le ... eille.html

Rixdorfer: http://www.endebrock.de/coll/pages/d2015.html
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Re: England

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Re: England

Unread post by dazzleguts »

I like the solidity of the owl joker. It's better than the more tentative feel of the court cards. Nice details in the pip cards, and I like the way the forest scene back can be read from either end. It's not mirrored but it's not really one-way either.

If I spot a Rixdorfer I'll let you know. It's pretty bizarre and doesn't seem as sought after as the more conventional vintage decks, so the price can be reasonable. Peter Endebrock has quite a collection - a little dangerous to see if you're trying to keep your white whale list short.
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Re: England

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Re: England

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Hello Jase. :) Here is the story of the fall of Dondorf.
There were actually 28 seperate colour printings to complete the faces and backs of this 1933 deck!
I remembered 12 but that was only for the backs. :shock:

The Deck That Broke A Card Factory's Back
With few exceptions, manufacturers of playing cards have been and are in the business for profit. Few have been collectors, and far too few have been imbued with deep idealism. A notable exception was the famous Dondorf family of Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany.

The Dondorf firm was founded in 1833, and in the 100 years of its existence produced possibly the finest playing cards ever manufactured. Any collector who has Dondorf cards in his or her collection can attest to their beauty and infinite variety.

On the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the firm in 1933, it was decided to mark the centennial by issuing a special deck to be presented as a souvenir honoring guests attending the ceremonies. These decks were not offered for sale on the German or any other market. The project was so lavish, the printing so complicated, and the costs so exorbitant, the firm never recovered. Instead it was forced into bankruptcy and was acquired by the Altenburger-Stralsunder Playing Card co. of Altenburg, Thuringia, now of Stuttgart, West Germany. Some 16 separate color printings were required for the court-cards, and 12 color printings for the backs of this unusual deck. A total of 28 separate color printings! Surely the pinnacle in the printing of playing cards was reached in this idealistic and ill-fated venture.

The deck is German in character throughout. While no definite personalities are depicted, one can see in the Kings the founders and rulers of old Germania. The Queens are all of noble mien, full of virtue and good works, pious and given to the gentle arts. The Jacks depict knights in various activities. The original backs show a page-boy and a Coat-of-Arms against a background of the Wartburg Castle. This Castle is connected in German history with Saint Elisabeth, Dr. Martin Luther, Walter von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Escenbach, and Richard Wagner. In the background of each court-card may be seen figures reminiscent of German industry and handi-craft. These include ship-building and agriculture, the arts, religion, and the military.

It is unfortunate on the one hand that the 1933 anniversary of the firm coincided with an almost universal depression. Given normal times, who knows what other marvelous decks might have been issued by this family, dedicated as it was to the printing of beautiful and unusual cards. On the other hand it is reassuring to know that many of the Dondorf designs are still being printed by the present legal successor, the West German firm of Altenburger-Stralsunder, in Stuttgart. The director, Hans Reisig, is an avid collector and an authority on the history and development of playing cards.

One can imagine circumstances under which a playing card firm might become insolvent by printing inferior cards. This must be an almost isolated instance where a firm went into bankruptcy because of an ideal, and because of its refusal, despite the costs, to produce anything but the very best.


This article is from the web site of the 52 Plus Joker playing card collecting club.
From their publication "Clear The Decks" Volume XI, Number 3 - September 1997
The article first appeared in Hobbies magazine in 1960 and was written by Fred Taylor, an ardent collector, scholar and writer on a wide variety of playing card subjects.

*This deck can be found in the Fournier Catalogue: vol 1, pages 194/195, # 258 of Germanic Countries
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Re: England

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Re: England

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Jock1971 wrote:Thanks for the information Dazzelguts, :D you`re truly awesome.
:D :oops: :D

I've added PJ Madsen to the resources section of Worldwide. I don't think there is another good visual showing of the ASS deck anywhere else on the web.
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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

Unread post by dazzleguts »

Jase, can you explain what the Old Frizzle is? I'm guessing it refers to the tax on aces of spades?
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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Love the odd bods! Shelfed out a pretty penny for a pair of them a year ago, i think they are wayyy more expensive now
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Re: Europe

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Re: England

Unread post by Jonnypowpow »

Wow I had to have those Royal Gothic ones. Amazing thanks so much for posting man. I just picked up a set off ebay can't wait to see those. I'm in love with most of those antique sets you have as well they were a huge inspiration for my most recent deck. I only hope I can do them justice. What an awesome resource thanks so much for all the info and great pics man I love seeing decks like these.
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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

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Re: England

Unread post by volantangel »

The 2006 installation deck is an absolutely stunning deck of cards, if only the back design matched the faces stylistically. That's the weakest part of this deck, faces are beautiful !
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Re: England

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Re: England

Unread post by dazzleguts »

Same with the scenic aces deck I posted to the Netherlands thread. Sometimes the faces are so beautiful, and/or interesting, that the back can be tolerated. Though I hope to find a Scenic Aces with a better back.

I was going to ask why it was called an Installation deck, but then realized it featured an Observatory. :ugthink:

I will post a reproduction 1700s deck to the Germany thread later today that I think is related to this one.
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Re: England

Unread post by ecNate »

That Time & Space deck is awesome!
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Re: England

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