[atzenhofer] Some cards from the collection

[atzenhofer]

Joker didn't fit into the last post so here he is:

[atzenhofer]

Carte Romane, designed by Giorgio Pessione in 1973 – published by Capitol Carta Roma.

This pattern was an attempt to establish a regional pattern for the city of Rome. Unfortunately, the Piacentine pattern stood its ground and the Romane pattern was only produced for a short time.
The motifs are described in the leaflet

https://www.wopc.co.uk/italy/carte-romane

[atzenhofer]

The "Möbel-Spiel" / "Furniture-Game"

These funky cards were illustrated by Werner-Hans Schlegel (* 1915 - † 2003) in 1968 for the VMI (United Furniture Industries of the GDR).
It was a limited run of 3000 unnumbered Bridge-Sets.

Each court seems to represent a specific design era, although the simplified style makes it somewhat difficult for me to identify them all.
The only court I'm fairly certain off is hearts with Art Nouveau.

[Honeybee]

Funky IS a good description

[atzenhofer]

Das Kupferstichspiel des I.M.F. von 1617 / The Playing Cards engraved by I.M.F. 1617
Reprinted as a limited edition of 999 numbered copies from 1979.
Printed by Coeur for Edition Leipzig / Heimeran Verlag
It comes with a German/English 55 site - leaflet about the deck.

Quoting a few essentials with some edits/shortening:

"Even if it's not possible to trace the exact art history surrounding the creation of these cards, social history is no less interesting in what it can tell us.
We can be certain that the cards were not intended for playing. They are too delicate for that and, above all, unsuitable because of the lack of uniform backs.
They were to be contemplated in the tranquility of leisure hours — they were not playing cards but an original creation for the collector.
From the late Renaissance, collecting works of art and curiosities was one of the favorite pastimes of princes and patricians. It was a point of honor for the lord of the manor to set up a collection if he did not want to appear uncouth. For the accommodation of the many hundreds of small objects, special cabinets were designed, which did not merely contain artistic creations but were themselves cunningly wrought works of art. The most famous example is probably the Pomeranian Cabinet, on which, following Hainhofer's notes, 28 craftsmen were at work for six years.

About the watercolored backs:
We learn nothing further about the watercolors of flower motifs on the back of the cards. They are presumably by a hand other than that which colored the faces. The flower stems have all been adapted to fit the upright format of the cards: some express the specific growth of the plant in question, others are more schematic in appearance. Special care appears to have been lavished on the many tulips and varieties of iris and lily.

The purpose of the cards is to pass time pleasantly with the subject matter deriving thematically from the suits.
Acorns are linked with ceremonial decoration, with processions and their banners, drummers, and various pranks. Leaves show hunting scenes. Hearts are associated with love and chivalry, and finally, bells are associated with the fool's costume and call to mind an impromptu comedy that bids to satisfy a higher literary appetite.

I.M.F.'s playing cards afford an insight into courtly life and manners just before the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War, which only a year later was to deal a shattering blow to the apparently intact world of the carefree and luxurious upper orders of society. The hindsight that brings awareness of the misery of the time to come should not, however, be allowed to detract from our pleasure in contemplating these charming documents of their time."

Article by WOPC with some further details: https://www.wopc.co.uk/germany/imf-1617
The Pomeranian Cabinet: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pommerscher_Kunstschrank
The Thirty Years' War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War

[atzenhofer]

... and here come the backs.

[Honeybee]

These are stunning Atz

[atzenhofer]

"Schach-Skat" / "Chess" by Hannelore Heise (* 1941 - † 2021)

The first edition with German suits was published in 1977. A second variant with French suits was released in 1986. Obers became Queens, and the Unters got rid of their lowercase pip symbol.
The kings and queens are on the King cards, rooks are on the Jacks/Unters, knights are Queens/Obers, bishops are the Aces, and all the pawns are on the number cards.

[atzenhofer]

... and the newer variant with French suits

[Honeybee]

They are very individual in their design. The indices don't just vary in size for top and bottom but also sometimes the tops. The degree of sameness of the pieces would necessitate a deal of concentration if you were to play with them. Chess is a great looking deck

[atzenhofer]

The "Allerfeinste Whist No. 140" was printed at the Internationale Spielkartenfabrik A.G. vorm. August Denk & Co. in Vienna, Austria.

There is also a variant without the printer's name on the AoH.

The two tax stamps, one from Austria between 1920 and 1925 and one from Italy from 1923, suggest an export to Italy. It seems that at least a small bunch was exported there in 1923, as there is at least one more deck with that Italian stamp.

The designs are from Marquis Franz von Bayros (*1866 in Zagreb †1924 in Vienna), an Austrian artist of the Fin de siècle. With his rather indecent illustrations, he was involved in the "Affäre Semerau", a lawsuit for offenses against morality in 1911. The main suspect, Alfred Semerau, fled to Austria but was transferred back to a Bavarian court and sentenced to eight months in prison. Von Bayros also fled to Vienna, but with more success. He planned to finally move to Rome, but the First World War crossed his plans. Because he deeply identified with the German Empire, its collapse in 1918 plunged him into a deep depression. In 1921, he found new motivation and illustrated scenes from Dante's "Divine Comedy", his last widely recognized work. There was no more material success for him as inflation ate up his wage, and he had to work restlessly just to barely make a living. Most likely somewhere around that time he also illustrated this deck. He died from a cerebral hemorrhage, aged 57.


WWPCM with another example with an Italian Stamp: http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks03/d01658/d01658.htm
The artist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_von_Bayros
Affäre Semerau: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Se ... re_Semerau

[atzenhofer]

MISSCŒUR by Héron

A fourth court card, a “Miss”, has been added to a regular 32-card deck.
They seem to have been published by a company also called Misscœur, based in Vincennes, France. I was unable to find any information about this company. The designer is unknown as well.
Information on the publishing year varies between 1975 and 1980.


https://www.wopc.co.uk/france/france-ca ... /misscoeur

[atzenhofer]

Neue bayerische Schafkopf-Karte / Münchner Persönlichkeiten (New Bavarian Schafkopf-cards / Munich personalities)

Designed in 1993 by Siegfried Heilmeier, probably for the Munich tourist association
Unnumbered limited edition of 5000 decks - 5 color-offset print

AFAIK, this is the only "massproduced" deck from Heilmeier. It still seems to be as scarce as his decks with ~10-150 copies though. I haven't seen another example anywhere in years.

A short summary of the persons pictured along with some links (Jennerwein is a little niche, so his article is only available in German):

OoA: Weiss Ferdl (*1883 - †1949), one of the most famous, Bavarian comedians, folksinger, actor and author.
UoA: Steyrer Hans (*1849 - †1906), butcher and innkeeper, Strongman, also known as the Bavarian Hercules.
KoA: Max II. (*1811 - †1864), King of Bavaria, brought back stability to the kingdom and was a patron for art, science and folk culture.

OoL: Sebastian Kneipp (*1821 - †1897), catholic priest, forefather of the naturopathic movement. Widely known for the "Kneipp-Cure".
UoL: Roider Jackl (*1906 - †1975), bavarian ranger, performer and folk singer.
KoL: Max I. Josef (*1756 - †1825), became the first King of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806.

OoH: Karl Valentin (*1882 - †1948), a Bavarian comedian, who influenced many other artists like Loriot or Bertold Brecht.
UoH: Georg Jennerwein (*1849 - †1877), wellknown poacher, died through vigilantism by a hunting assistant.
KoH: Ludwig II. (*1845 - †1886), King of Bavaria, known as the Fairy Tale King.

OoB: Ludwig Thoma (*1867 - †1921), Bavarian lawyer and author, his most famous work is probably "A Munich resident in heaven".
UoB: Franz von Lenbach (*1836 - †1904), painter, known for portraits of prominent personalities, often referred to as the "Painter Prince".
KoB: Ludwig I (*1786 - †1868), King of Bavaria, admirer of ancient Greece and the Italian renaissance, he commisioned several neoclassical buildings.


Back design: Bavaria statue in Munich

[atzenhofer]

Transformations-Spielkarte 2001 by Siegfried Heilmeier
Fully colored print, limited edition of 165 decks

According to a closed auction online, this deck is from 2001, and the names on the 8oS, 6oC, and 6oH are the names of the sponsors of this deck. I don't have any further info on this, but it seems somewhat plausible to me.

This is Heilmeiers second Transformation deck. His first one is from 1989: http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks25/d23686/d23686.htm

Fun fact: I've got a handwritten letter from Heilmeier along with some sample cards of this deck before I just recently found the full deck.
The letter was part of a whole collection of Heilmeier decks/letters/postcards, but sadly, it lacked this deck. Fortunately, they're now reunited.

[atzenhofer]

... Jokers, box and the letter.

[Honeybee]

I am not sure whether this Russian supplier has a risque Heilmeier for you or not?
https://artcol.ru/en/cards/pinup/g01124

[atzenhofer]

Thanks for the link. I'm not particularly on the hunt for Heilmeiers Pin-Up decks, though I've acquired a few of them in various mixed lots. Not this particular one though.
The price is too good to be true, it seems to just be a reprint. "Reprint on order" is what they state in the description. I'd also have to suspect trouble with customs because of the EU sanctions.

[atzenhofer]

A lovely mini deck with very little information available: La Turnhoutoise No. 310


According to WWPCM it's from around 1940. It comes with gilded edges and a floral or ornamental back. There are also two known advertising backs.

I adore the little changes on the pips.

http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks06/d04862/d04862.htm

[atzenhofer]

A little while ago I received this advertising postcard as a gift for an order of decks from an eBay auction.

Pre-perforated mini cards with a size of 13 mm x 19 mm
The slogan on the back translates to "And for everyone who prefers to always have an ace up their sleeve: the limited JPS PLAYER'S Edition. So let's get going before they're gone again!"
The seller sent "Greetings from Berlin" as well.

[atzenhofer]

"Die verkehrte Welt" / "The topsy-turvy world" - a Berlin pack of playing cards

The original deck is from around 1810-20 and was produced by C.A. Müller in Berlin. This reprint was produced in 1982. Some offers online claim, that it was a limited edition of 2000 copies, but I couldn't find any proof for that.
It consists of 21 tarots, 16 face cards, the fool, and 40 number cards, in total 78 cards.
Besides the fact that animals are dressed as humans and performing human activities, there's another clue to it. The animals have been assigned activities that are in direct opposition to those attributed to them, some related to proverbs.

About the tarot (all the info comes from the textbook that comes with the deck):

I Monkey as a birdseller

II Billy Goat as a gardener
Refers to the proverb "Make the ram a gardener", which is documented since the 16th century. A proverb from Gdansk goes like this: He who sits the ram besides a
gardener, sends the dog for lard and the cat for bratwurst, rarely gets anything home.

III Tom Cat as a fiddler
Reference to unmelodious cat music

IV Monkey as a barber
In the engraving "The Disgusting World," a donkey became a barber. In another illustration, a ram cuts someone's hair. Years after that deck was published, Wilhelm
Busch described how a monkey would do the job

V Turkey as a gentleman
Posing like monkey and donkey as fashionista

VI Ram as a scholar
Refers to the proverbial stupidity of the sheep

VII Donkey with a lute plays for a dog
Refers to the proverb "He fits for it like a donkey for playing lute"

VIII Hyena as a nursemaid
Contradiction between wildness and nurture

IX Cat as a woman carrying water
Alludes to cats' aversion to water

X Dog as a chef
A proverb from 1639: "Don't let the dog near the kitchen, the ram in the garden, and the cat near the milk"

XI Ox as a watchmaker
Oxen are considered clumsy and awkward

XII Camel as a sentry
Contradiction between stupidity and attention

XIII Rooster as a monk
Alludes to the rooster's role in the chicken coop. Contradiction to the monks' celibacy

XIV Owl as a lamp lighter
Contradiction between the job and the owl's night vision

XV Bear as a dancer
Contradiction between the clumsiness of a bear and the elegance of a dancer

XVI Wolf as a sheperd
Many proverbs, such as "wolf in the sheeps' fur"

XVII Stork as a soldier
Known as a bringer of life, now he's doing the opposite

XVIII Fox as a poultry dealer
Similar to ram, dog, and wolf. Proverbs like "to entrust the chickens to the fox" and many similar.

XIX Hare as a hunter
Illustrated in the "Neuruppiner Bilderbogen" and so on. A motif that was widely popular in the fairy tale "Struwwelpeter"

XX Pig as a chambermaid
Contradiction between the pigs' uncleanliness and the cleaning task

XXI Death and snake as a doctor
Contradiction between the relentlessness of death and falsehood of the snake and the helping hand of a doctor. A German proverb: Death is the last doctor. This
card is the highest trump in the game.

[atzenhofer]

[Honeybee]

It looks fantastic Atz. How did you get a hold of one?

[atzenhofer]

Thanks! As is so often the case, it comes from a mixed lot on a local marketplace.

[GandalfPC]

It looks fantastic Atz. How did you get a hold of one?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/336496556726

[acetofive]

Beautiful cards.