SX36 - New York World's Fair, 1939-40

This was actually a Kem Card Sales Corp deck, and not Kem Playing Cards.  Here are the red and green decks in color, along with the special case for the 1939 New York World's Fair.  Deck backs show the Trylon and Perisphere.

It's a sharp-looking pair.  It's a shame that Kem doesn't make boxes like those anymore - they're pretty sweet.  They don't even use plastic now - it's just a plain cardboard box with a lid, sitting in a slipcover.  The slipcover helps keep the lid from falling off in transport.  Nothing at all like those elegant cases.

Ladies and gentlemen,


I spoke with Lee Asher about the error we made regarding the LotR Vol 2 deck, and Lee agreed to let me reach out to the voters who chose that deck and allow them to recast their DOTY vote.  Meanwhile, the deck has been removed from the ballot.


I want to extend sincere apologies to Jackson Robinson and the rest of the membership.  I regret not having caught the error earlier and want to thank EndersGame for bringing the error to my attention.


I also want everyone to be aware that Jackson is still very much eligible for the Artist of the Year nomination.  It's a rare artist that is both as excellent and as prolific as Jackson is - there is no shortage of examples of his work that he released during the eligibility period.

For a deck to be eligible for a Diamond Award, it has to be released and in people's hands between July 2022 and June 2023.

The Kickstarter for Jackson's Two Towers deck (which is the one listed on the voting ballot) finished in April 2023, but these decks didn't come out before July 2023.  My understanding is that people don't even have them yet, and people are only just starting to get notifications that they are being shipped, as you can tell from comments on the Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingswildproject/the-lord-of-the-rings-playing-cards-vol-2

They're also not available for purchase yet on this page over on Jackson's own site

So I don't even think this deck was even eligible to nominated for the 2023 Deck of the Year Award, and yet it made the list.  Did the nomination committee just blunder here, or am I missing something?

Exactly - we blundered.  Many committee members nominated it, clearly from online images or Jackson's rep.  I can say that it looks like Vol. 1 may be eligible...


It's not always easy to research exactly when a deck went (or will go) on sale or became available to the public.  We used to keep a post thread that had all the releases in it, but the number of releases got too hard for any one person to track.


I spoke with Lee - he said to simply leave it for now.

Quote from: Don Boyer on August 09, 2023, 03:08:13 AM

Quote from: Chuqii on August 06, 2023, 04:26:30 PM

And here are the Spade courts, Ace and Joker.  See above post for all sides of tuck for 1936 Stud Playing Cards.

Hey, Chuqii, are you sure that those are from 1936?


Every source I've found listing a history of Stud Playing Cards says that Walgreens didn't start making them until 1980.


http://playingcards.wikidot.com/other-uspcc:stud
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/playing-cards/stud-playing-cards/#:~:text=In%201980%2C%20Walgreens%20began%20producing,cards%20with%20a%20complete%20makeover.
https://www.collectorplayingcards.com/2019/10/16/stud-playing-cards/
https://blackmarketdecks.com/products/stud?variant=31561835773986

I have an idea - are there any ZIP codes printed on the tuck box?  If so, it's definitively not from that long ago, as ZIP codes weren't developed until the early 1960s and weren't in widespread use until the early 1970s.

hi,don


The content posted on the wiki is just a volunteer compilation of preliminary information at the time, including rumors that were circulating in the industry. Why do you continue to worship the wiki's old information so much and deny the latest research? I don't understand.

When I was looking through American newspaper advertisements, I found traces of Lee Asher. I admired his dedication to research. I would love to hear his opinion.


My guess is that the STUD deck that Chuqii posted was acquired from a famous collector, not from the general marketplace such as ebay. A 1936 STUD should be as rare as a Radium Deck.

It's not a matter of worship - it's simply that this information is in contradiction to all other information I'd obtained to this point.  That doesn't mean my sources are right - just different.

The deck pictured above (Fellowship of the Ring) is volume 1.  If volume 2 is indeed the nominee, it is the Two Towers deck.

Thanks for the correction, old friend!  My knowledge of cards is far less encyclopedic these days than it used to be, with so many new decks coming out.


And I have here a corrected link for the page on the Two Towers deck at Jackson's site:
https://kingswildproject.com/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-two-towers-luxury-playing-cards


Thanks to Jackson for pointing this out to me!  I never take it personally when corrected - I'd rather know what's true than insist on being wrong.

How do you RESEAL a deck of playing cards?

Easy - just buy replacement tuck seals

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/epDbu4ETZq8

That's great for sealing the lid shut - but what about the cellophane?


It depends on how carefully you removed it in the first place... 

2023 DIAMOND AWARDS - SEVENTH ANNUAL

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU JUDGE A NOMINEE

ARTIST OF THE YEAR (AOTY)
AOTY is judged on the entire portfolio of International Standard decks released by the artist within the eligibility period, and only within that period, not before or after.  Tarot decks, divination decks and other decks not conforming to the International Standard for playing cards (52-card deck plus optional jokers/gaffs/ad cards/other extras) are not eligible for consideration in the artist's portfolio.  A list of eligible releases for each AOTY candidate is listed in their PCF topic in the link on their ballot entry - if you happen to spot an error or an omission, please leave a comment in the forum topic.  For this category, you are judging the artist's works during the release window using the same criteria as in the DOTY judging.

DECK OR THE YEAR (DOTY)
DOTY nominees are judged solely on a single International Standard deck release/project, though a single release/project may comprise more than one variant, edition, back coloration, etc., such as two of the same deck design with differently-colored backs and/or two differently-sized decks and/or standard/deluxe/limited edition(s), etc.  DOTY nominees should be judged based on "the full package" - the design, artistry, manufacturing quality, features, packaging, etc., as seen in all of the decks in that release.

MORE INFORMATION ON NOMINEES - THE FORUM TOPICS
To find more information on a nominee, click on the TinyURL link at the end of the nominee's ballot entry.  That link will take you to a topic on PlayingCardForum.com (PCF), the official online forum of 52 Plus Joker, with info about the nominee, including photos and links to other pages online.  In any cases where an Artist of the Year nominee also created a Deck of the Year nominee, there is a single, combined topic to cover both nominations.  Nominated artists and creators of nominated decks have been invited to comment on their topics, so please feel free to present any questions about their work you may have to them if they make their presence on the forum known!

By the way, I suggest that you try clicking on the images in the topic posts.  In most cases, you'll see an enlarged version of the images, and in some cases, you may even see a GIF animation!

WRITE-IN VOTING ELIGIBILITY
For each category, you may opt to create a write-in vote for the candidate of your choice, subject to eligibility.  To be eligible for consideration for either/both award(s) in the current award cycle, an artist must have released at least one International Standard playing card deck/project during the eligibility window of July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 inclusive.

DEFINITION OF "RELEASED" FOR ALL NOMINEES AND WRITE-IN CANDIDATES
"Released" is defined as made available for retail sale, offered as part of a subscription (if the subscription service is open to all members of the public), given away to the public for free, distributed to crowdfunding backers or made available as a free, limited promotional item, with the final determination of eligibility to be made by the Diamond Awards Committee and the Board of Directors of 52 Plus Joker.  Private releases not made publicly available are not eligible.  Prototype decks, even if they are publicly released, sold, given away, etc., are considered an unfinished version of a work and are not eligible for award consideration, regardless of the number of prototype decks created and distributed.  The defining parameters of a prototype are 1) any deck labeled by the artist as a prototype, and/or 2) any deck judged by the DAC and/or the 52+J Board to be a prototype - key criteria for the DAC/Board to consider would be how finished the project appears, whether a later or future release of the same deck in larger distribution was/is planned, and how many copies of the deck were released (with lower amounts being more suspect than larger ones).

THE AWARDS CEREMONY
Winners of the Diamond Awards will be announced at the Seventh Annual Diamond Awards Ceremony, scheduled to be held during the Gala Dinner ending the Annual 52 Plus Joker Convention, on the evening of Saturday, October 14, 2023 at the Best Western Plus Hotel at 15471 Royalton Road, Strongsville (Cleveland), Ohio, United States - details will be provided to all 52+J members when the full schedule becomes available.  In the event of a health-related, climate/weather or other emergency, the ceremony schedule and/or venue may be subject to change or may be presented via videoconference.

FINALLY...
If you have questions, if you suspect some of the information we have is incorrect, please - contact me, Don Boyer, by emailing me at donboyermagic@gmail.com.

OK, OK, I know - it says "Meadowlark Playing Cards" on their Kickstarter project.  But imagine my surprise when I clicked through to see the project creator's profile and I saw the website was "www.meadowlarkpharmacy.com" - and even more surprised to see that the site was an actual pharmacy located in Hickman, Nebraska!

Considering that they previously released a deck called "Pharmacy on Main," I shouldn't have been all that surprised, but I've been following custom playing card decks since the very early days of Kickstarter decks, and even I have never seen such an unusual origin for a pack of playing cards - and I've seen one made for a store that specialized in bacon!

Elettra Deganello is no stranger to the Diamond Awards, having been nominated before for her Florentia release with PassioneTeam in late 2020.  In this release, she does a wonderful job of decorating courts and some spot cards to look like advertisements of the type seen over a century ago.  Continuing the early 20th-century vibe, her decks have diptych jokers and Volume II comes in a box-in-a-box, the outer box designed to look like an actual almanac.

Click to see the Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/meadowlark/the-rx-almanac-playing-cards
Click to see Elettra's website: https://shop.elettradeganello.com/
Click to see the Meadowlark Pharmacy homepage: https://www.meadowlarkpharmacy.com/

Ethereal Dreams was produced by Max Playing Cards.  According to their website, it's a collaboration between two artists: "Digital Desires" and David Bollt.  Please note that the project is divided into two decks - a poker deck and a tarot deck.  For the purposes of voting on this project, please evaluate the poker deck ONLY.

The playing cards come in two models: a Limited Edition and a Luxury Gilded Edition.  The overall artwork is very dream-like and leans into a darker palette, with lovely near-photo realistic imagery.  In a nod to players of trump-suit games, the cards were thoughtfully designed with four-color/no-revoke suits.


Click to see the Ethereal Dreams at Max Playing Cards: https://www.maxplayingcards.com/en/portfolio-item/ethereal-dreams/
Click to see the Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/minds-eye/ethereal-dreams-tarot-and-poker-decks/
Click to see David Bollt's website: https://www.mindseyeplayingcards.com/

Celsius Pictor is an illustrator based in Madrid, Spain.  For his very first Kickstarter project and first deck design, he teamed up with Max Playing Cards to create Mechanimals, a whimsy-filled deck that draws heavily from 19th-century engraving work.  Printed by Legends Playing Card Co., the deck comes in two editions: a Limited Edition and a Deluxe Gilded Edition that comes with a sleeve protecting the tuck box.  Based on this one deck project, Mr. Pictor is a nominee for the Artist of the Year.

Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/celsiuspictor/mechanimals-playing-cards/
Artist's home page: https://www.celsiuspictor.net/
Artist's Behance page: https://www.behance.net/celsiuspictor
Artist's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/celsiuspictor/

Ms. Kelly is no stranger to design work or playing cards, having work extensively in corporate design as well as being the resident playing card designer for the ancient guild known as "The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards."  You might recognize her from the talk she gave for 52 Plus Joker back in April of '22 (there's a link below if you missed it).

Working as Squiddle Ink, the deck Sardines Playing Cards in Tomato Sauce" is her first playing card project as an independent and her first Kickstarter project.  Printed by Legends Playing Cards, the deck's modern design aesthetic works splendidly with the tongue-in-cheek theme.  The first thousand decks were attractively packaged in a small metal box meant to resemble an actual sardine tin.

Based on the strength of this deck, she was selected as a nominee for Artist of the Year.


Kickstarter project page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/squiddleink/sardines-playing-cards-in-tomato-sauce?ref=discovery&term=sardines%20playing%20cards
Stacy's talk during the April 2022 52+J Virtual Playing Cards Weekend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha82A02jgHM&t=1797s
Squiddle Ink home page: https://squiddleink.com/index.html (note: you may get a security warning for an expired certificate on this page)

Lorenzo Gaggiotti is no stranger to the Diamond Awards, to be sure!  This year, he produced two decks:

• Black Requiem | Counterspell, a special edition based on his first release, 2014's "Requiem."
• 17th Kingdom Experimental, his Deck of the Year nominee, released as a Patreon reward and quickly sold out.

In addition, he's also been selected as a nominee for this year's Artist of the Year award.


For this one, I'll simply let the images and links to the talking for me...


The artist's website: https://www.stockholm17.cards/
A brief Kardify article on the 17th Kingdom Experimental deck: https://kardify.com/2023/02/deck-view-17th-kingdom-experimental-playing-cards.html
Sale page for Black Requiem: https://www.stockholm17.cards/collections/frontpage/products/black-requiem-counterspell-1
A video showcase of 17th Kingdom Experimental made by the artist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5MBPA-IENc

Hello, iamthecardguy,

I appreciate the enthusiasm for your design - but please try to keep it to a single topic!

Cheers,
Don