<\/a>We all love a game of cards, don’t we?<\/p>\n

I usually\u00a0take\u00a0a deck when we go camping, or on holiday. And they always come out at some point over Christmas too.<\/p>\n

I have many fond memories of playing Newmarket, or Trumps, or Cheat with friends and family over the years. Losing usually, but never minding too much.<\/p>\n

The decks of\u00a0cards\u00a0I own are just the plain, ordinary common-or-garden ones. You know, with those scrolly patterns on the back in red and\u00a0blue and\u00a0gold.<\/p>\n

However, I have long admired the artwork found on the backs of vintage playing cards.<\/p>\n

<\/a>You see them\u00a0crop up on Ebay and Etsy, sold in ones and twos usually, for framing I suppose, or making artwork with.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>Such an array of colour and\u00a0subject matter; so much retro loveliness to be found\u00a0in these miniature works of art.<\/p>\n

Just lurking there, unnoticed for the most part, hiding their light not under a bushel, but on\u00a0the reverse of the business side of things…<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>It makes me\u00a0wonder about the people\u00a0that drew\u00a0these designs. Who were they?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>I imagine they were perhaps\u00a0in-house designers, or maybe freelance illustrators producing their pictures\u00a0and selling them on to publishers or\u00a0manufacturers.<\/p>\n

I wonder whether\u00a0they were well paid, or\u00a0if they scratched out a meagre living?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a>I actually have no idea.<\/p>\n

The designers \/ artists are generally uncredited on the playing cards themselves,\u00a0anonymous and unknown.<\/p>\n

But, as you can see, their wonderful designs\u00a0live on.<\/p>\n

<\/a>You can find these and more designs on my newest Pinterest board<\/a> – follow along as I collect them.\u00a0\u2665<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all love a game of cards, don’t we? I usually\u00a0take\u00a0a deck when we go camping, or on holiday. And they always come out at some point over Christmas too. I have many fond memories of playing Newmarket, or Trumps, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,14,18],"tags":[23,25,301,557,1439],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n