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
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