Dutch Scenic aces 1- "Bridge plastic coated

"Bridge/canasta plastic coated" [Scenic aces], anon, 52c + Joker ( incomplete?)
 
We present here an example of a particular genre of playing cards, the "scenic aces". These cards have been produced since the 19thc, and are particularly popular in the Netherlands and Belgium. What sets them apart is the depiction of landscapes on the Aces.

The court cards themselves are unremarkable, being of the standard "Belgian pattern" .

Observe how each side of the ace contains a different landscape.

Here are closeups of the Aces.

The landscapes here appear to be sorted out by Geographical region. England, is represented by Big Ben and Canterbury cathedral. Europe, by the Doge's palace and the Eiffel tower, Africa/Asia by the sphinx and Borobudur, and America by the Capitol and the statue of livery.

Note the depiction of the statue of liberty on the ace of spades. Compare it with the depiction in http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/2011/10/belgian-pattern-katja.html

 

 

 



"Canasta special"- Modanio

"Canasta special"-Modanio-  54 x 3 cards

If you were to first see this deck of cards, without any introduction, one may be forgiven for thinking they were produced for a children's game- After all, how would you expect any serious game to be played with a deck which consists of pictures of fruit?
 
  However, it is not so. A serious game is indeed played with these cards, and it is Canasta. This becomes more apparent upon examining the deck's structure, and with a knowledge of how it is played.

 The subjects of a normal deck, have been replaced in this one with images of plants and animals. If one were to observe the indices of the deck. Firstly, the joker has an image of a copurnica ( D).  There are a pair of these cards, in each deck.

 Secondly, The 2s and aces are represented by a basket ( canasta in spanish) , and a pineapple.

( B, C) To reflect the black and red suits in a normal deck, Two of the cards have black frames, and two others have red ones.

  The red 3s of a normal deck(3♦, 3♥) now bear the image of a squirrel. The black 3s (3♣, 3♠,)  bear the image of a hound. There are only 2 of each card. ( A, J)

 The  4s, 5s, 6s and 7s have been replaced with images of berries. Like the pineapple and basket, their colour is reflected by that of their frame,  along with the colour of the fruit's stems and indices .

The 8s,  9s, 10s,  and the three court cards have been replaced with images of other kinds of fruit. Note the minature depictions of the fruit in the card's corner.

If you are somewhat confused, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta

"canasta"( modanio)

"Canasta" ( modanio ), 162 c. ( 54 cards x 3 )
This curious variation of the international pattern is made for only one thing in mind, that is, the playing of the game of Canasta.
As some of my readers will know, in canasta,  only the colour of the suit  counts ( that is, there is no distinction made between hearts & diamonds nor spades or clubs) . Therefore, the ingenious italians have made a special deck expressedly for this game, with red or black dots replacing the suits.

As in Italy, the game of canasta is played with 3 decks of cards, this "pattern" comes only in 162 card sets, with 3 copies of each card.

Note that the courts used in each "suit"  are identical.