The Pin-Up Girl and the Purple Fan

I'm not religious or a male feminist or even a prude in some aspects of the word but I find pin-up girls and other such risque playing cards quite vulgar from an aesthetic standpoint. I understand that the world didn't always have instant access to porn on demand and that dudes and bros need a thrill on occasion but these cards are gauche. I hate them. The swimsuit and scantily clad ones worse than the fully nude because if you're going to be a pervert then go all the way.

This "The Purple Fan" card at least has some artistic merit to it despite the burlesque taint of the protruding breast and nipple. The gold arm bracelet gives off a Clara Ward vibe and the rest is classic flapper regalia so you know what you're getting with it. Even so, the colors are spectacular, the depiction well done and it is at least not raunchy. But it's still a spectacle nonetheless and since the entire point of playing cards is to play, and to openly do so in a public setting, they become detestable instruments of folly. Smut is one thing but nudity in art should at least be exquisite. Unless it's a dude and in that case just give him a fig leaf. All right, so I am a prude (and the chorus echoes: and a misogynist, too!). At least I'm not a complete troglodyte.

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A Card Within a Card: 3 Jokers and Theirs

As ruminated upon in a previous post here are three more Jokers who are depicted wielding other cards within their own. The first one is openly presenting the Ace of Spades while concealing three others with a mere Diamond peeking out over one corner of the trumvirate. On the second Joker, from a Scandinavian deck, The King of Diamonds is figured prominently as the Joker leans upon it. His poppet Joker is also holding an Ace of Hearts. What it all means would depend on the manufacturer and artist, I suppose. The last specimen from Longfield Games features an Ace of Spades as the Joker stands upon a depiction of the world as a globe which seems almost 3/4 there but not quite whole. All interpretations of this and the preceding ones would be mere speculation and without knowing the artist and his source inspiration it would mainly be a stab into the void. Which is basically what this entire blog consists of.

Tart Rhymes

I came across this excellent booklet from The U. S. Playing Card Co. on Instagram and then tracked down its source to eBay where I took advantage of the generous photos on the listing and saved them in e-book form because it's the right thing to do for posterity's sake. The booklets contains a very short sequence of rhymes that make for one bizarre folktale that wouldn't cut it in today's cancel culture. Also displayed in the small booklet are some card packs produced by the company which is very helpful towards dating the cards for novices who don't have access to the company's historical records.

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