Card Flash: Origins Shadows of History Playing Cards

Currently in fulfilment, the Origins Shadows of History deck by Rick Davidson is inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history. The beautifully crafted deck features an ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with stunning metallic foil. The face cards are entirely custom with vibrant courts, diptych jokers and a bold Ace of Spades, printed with ornate metallic ink backs. Gorgeous!

Also being fulfilled is the Rouen 1567 deck, the companion to Shadows of History deck. The Rouen 1567 deck is a recreation of the original historic deck, with full body one-way court cards that inspired today's playing cards. These cards have been meticulously drawn as closely as possible to the originals, with the addition of indices for playability. The basic back design is a design based on historical references. The deck is housed in a subtle embossed tuck case.

This is definitely one of our favorite deck series this year and if you've backed this on Kickstarter, you will love these decks as much as we do! If you haven't, see if you can get your hands on one... or two! You won't be disappointed.

News: Theory11 Just Released High Victorian Playing Cards

Theory11 just released High Victorian Playing Cards and it is STUNNING! Designed in London by Joe White, High Victorian Playing Cards were inspired by the intricate, breathtaking style of the Victorian era.

Eighteen months in the making, every element was designed from scratch with painstaking, relentless attention to detail - the Aces, Jokers, and court cards exude the grand excess of ornamentation quintessential to the Victorian era. The unique back design is intricate with lots of detail.

The tuck oozes grandeur with incredibly detailed ornamentation in stunning gold and green foil as well as an elegant pattern that embellishes the interior of the stunning tuck.




Images are taken from theory11.com

News: Fifth Issue of Kardify Magazine Now Available!

The fifth issue of Kardify magazine is now available to Patrons who pledge $3 or more on our Patreon page. The monthly magazine will be a compilation of selected articles we’ve published over mid-September to mid-October. The aim is to help you stay on top of playing card news.

Funds received from the magazine will help us keep the site running and growing, and bringing new quality content to you. Our goal is to support designers by backing on crowd-funded projects and supporting magic and playing cards retailers with their new releases. If you want to support us, please head over to Patreon page.

If you have an idea for an article you would like us to pursue, do get in contact with us. We hope you enjoy the read. In this issue:

+ RADIA Playing Cards: Encarded's stunning new deck inspired by the highly acclaimed AURUM deck.

+ Despicable Me 3 Minion Deck: A fun and vibrant deck given out as part of McDonalds Happy Meal.

+ LUNATICA Playing Cards: Find out six things you didn't know about Thirdway Industries' deck currently being funded on Kickstarter.

+ Origins: Shadows of History: Rick Davidson's beautifully crafted decks inspired by the elegance and charm of playing card history.

+ Alice in Wonderland: Sasha Dounaevski's delightful deck is back! This time on Kickstarter and 100% funded!

+ Top 12 Playing Cards for Halloween: We compiled the best playing cards for All Hallows’ Eve this year.

… and more! 32 pages of articles, deck images and more!

News: 5 Things You Should Know About The 2017 NPCCD Playing Cards

For those of you who didn't know, it's National Playing Card Collection Day (NPCCD) today (October 17th)! NPCCD celebrates the collection of one of the oldest forms of portable art (circa 1200s). Playing cards are literal galleries of art and inspiration, showing and communicating the intentions of an artist to the public while also archiving the cultural values of their time. Collecting these art pieces allow us to be curators of our own galleries to display representing different checkpoints in time. These collections can be seen as extensions of the collector and this day is a time to celebrate and share their collections to the public.

To celebrate this special day, Alex Chin has released the highly anticipated 2017 Official NPCCD Deck. This limited edition deck is printed with USPCC on premium Bicycle stock and Magic finish. Available for sale now at NationalCardCollectionDay.com. Here are 5 things you should know about the deck:

1. Features a never before seen 2-part box design.
To celebrate the Second Annual National Playing Card Collection Day Alex wanted to focus on the idea of twos and engineered a completely new deck just for this holiday. Alex told Kardify, "The deck features two different layers (inside/outside) as well as two different pieces (top/bottom) to play with this design theme. The exterior acts as a friction sleeve which is why it lines the sides from top to bottom, but also exposes the box itself highlighting the thumb tab where you pluck the box open. I call it a Pluck Tuck."

2. Pearl Sleeve Colors are random and extremely limited. 
According to Alex, "I wanted to play with our ideas of limited edition and embrace variety." There are two different editions of the deck (Hand-gilded Black Sleeve and Pearl Sleeves). Both editions are run out of 499 decks making them extremely rare. But of the pearl editions, there are a variety of colors featured within that 499 with some colors being rarer than others. So there might be 150 of one color, 25 of another color and 75 another color all within the pearl sleeve numbering system. "I liked the mystery of not knowing what color you might get when you order them but still having them rare making it a lot of fun to collect. If you order more than one though I'll guarantee you that you won't get the same colors in the same package so you're not stuck with duplicates."

3. The design aesthetic comes from the quatrefoil "the fanciest shape" 
"I stumbled on this fascinating podcast about the origins of the quatrefoil symbol in America. It actually came about during the peak of the Industrial Revolution when designers were seeking "simpler times" and so they referenced pattern books that featured this quatrefoil. It unintentionally became a symbol that represented handcraftsmanship and uniqueness away from the factories. Eventually, it got culturally adapted into a symbol of luxury. But I loved it because it sort of represents where the market is right now and also reflects the nature of the box as well. Each box is assembled and packed by hand referencing this era of craftsmanship the quatrefoil used to represent."

4. There's a limited 48-hour launch sale going on NOW. 
For only 48 hours the decks will be set at a special launch release pricing and be raised after October 19th midnight. I wanted to reward people who were actually celebrating the event itself since this deck is about bringing more awareness to the holiday.

5. 100% of deck profits go towards a good cause, Portfolio52, the world's largest playing card database. 
All of the profits from NPCCD deck sales go towards helping maintain and build Portfolio52.com. It's a completely free tool to help discover new playing cards, trade with others, and make managing your collection easier. "It's something I wished I had when I first started collecting! Unfortunately running a site this big costs a lot of money and time. Instead of asking directly for donations which felt a bit weird, I wanted to give back to the community by creating a unique deck they could display in their collection as a badge of support for the website and the art of card collecting in general."


Celebrate National Playing Card Collection Day by showing off your collections on social media! As a special promotion for the 2017 NPCCD deck release, Alex will be holding a photo contest on Instagram (@seasonsplayingcards). Share a photo of your collection today with #CardCollectionDay for a chance to win your very own deck! To learn more visit the website NationalCardCollectionDay.com