Treasure Tuesday--playing cards

I'm not a card player, and the very idea of bridge hurts my head! But once upon a time, every house, it seems, had a bridge table or plain fold-up card table and decks of cards. Those two-pack sets are for bridge, but of course there was also various forms of poker, gin rummy, old maid, crazy eights, etc. and the brats in the family always had to "get" a newbie with the famous "52 pick-up"! Preferably not with the "company" cards, though!

This is a set of Sears cards with great graphic roosters in turquoise and pink. I can just imagine a bridge table all set in this theme! (These are available here.)

 

Or this set from the venerable Tiffany & Co. The box makes a little drawer with ribbon pull that opens to reveal the tasteful cards in mint and Tiffany blue. But the real fun begins with a glimpse of the faces:

Check out that king of hearts with his giant jam jar! (Available here)

Or there's these cool cards, also from Tiffany. While these are a little less elegant than the set above, I just love the red and blue drummer boy graphics. (Available here)

Do you have a soft spot for playing cards? I love these little works of art that can lend themselves to hours of social entertainment. Or solitaire! At this point, I could give you the book report on the collecting of such cool playing cards, but instead I'll send you to the place where all the information is: Vintage Playing Cards--Collectors Weekly.

Enjoy the wealth of information about these fun works of art!