This is a really great item - a vintage Steamboat Svengali deck. The box and the cards are in good condition. You can find the item on ebay here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Steamboat-Svengali-deck-vintage-magic-playing-cards-/182565858211?hash=item2a81c5eba3:g:4PUAAOSwurZZEJRp

If you want to read a little story about how the deck was unexpectedly found, check out this blog post:

http://www.herbsmagic.com/magic-in-new-york-blog/i-dream-of-steamboats

I also have two contemporary decks for sale under the same ebay username.

Hello Forum Members - This Saturday I will be hosting a sale of rare, collectible, and every day playing cards at Cafe Rustico, 25 West 35th Street in Manhattan from noon to 5 p.m. I'll also be selling a wide range of magic materials. I'll have decks available from US Playing Card Company, Conjuring Arts/Expert Playing Card Company, Theory 11, Legends Playing Card Company, King's Wild Project, and numerous others. Among the collectible decks that will be on hand are the David Blaine Create Magic/Microsoft Deck, Zen Pure Red Prototype, Dan and Dave Smoke and Mirrors Private Reserve, and much more, including a handful of vintage decks. There also will be a wide range of everyday decks at great prices. Feel free to bring your own decks to show or sell. Cafe Rustico is a pizza restaurant that is a hangout spot for magicians on Saturdays but card collectors are welcome too! You'll see the group of folks hanging out around a large table in the back. Hope to see you there. http://www.herbsmagic.com/magic-in-new-york-blog/a-major-magic-sale-from-herbs-magic

Folks here may be interested in the interview linked below with Steve Cohen about the making of his "Tycoons" cards. The talk goes into considerable detail about many aspects of contemporary card-making. The interview is on the Magic in New York blog, where I cover the New York magic scene. You may find some of the other articles and postings of interest also.

Herb

http://www.herbsmagic.com/magic-in-new-york-blog/steve-cohen-interview-on-the-making-of-tycoons

The New York Public Library currently features two 17th-century card decks and two relatively new decks from its collections in its exhibition "Play Things" on the third floor of its building at 42nd and Fifth Avenue. In each case only a sampling of cards is shown. The cell phone photos I've attached here don't do the materials justice, but you should get the idea. The two older decks are

 "A deck of cards depicting Titus Oates's 'Popish Plot," 1684; and
"Jeu de la Mythologie" also called "Jeu des Fables" (Game of mythology or game of fables) - 1644

The Library's descriptions of the cards note that the English deck depicts the "alleged existence of a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II". It's cool to see the story of this supposed plot depicted on the faces of the cards. It reminded me almost of "The Da Vinci Code" or something like that. The French deck was designed to be "a didactic amusement for the young Louis XIV' and shows images of the Roman gods.

"Artball," 1972, by Don Celender, is an art piece in which the faces of art world celebrities are superimposed over football players in action poses.

The contemporary deck (2009) is by Tauba Auerbach

Hello - I've been having a problem with the Captcha image when trying to send a private message. Instead of seeing the info to enter, I just get the blue question mark - so it is impossible for me to send a message. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with my computer company's support technicians trying to resolve this from my end because I think it is some sort of issue with Java, but I thought that it would be worth inquiring if anyone else is experiencing this or if it is possibly something stemming from the site.

This is beside the point, but I do wonder if the multiple layers of security to send a message are necessary since at that point one has already logged in via a password.

Aside from all this I hope to become a more active participant in the forum soon - rather than an active lurker. Thanks for any response or help with this.

Herb