I can answer some of your questions. The Full House deck was released around April 1895 for draw poker. These are the cards with "patent applied for" on them. It wasn't until the following year that it got patented.

60-card poker basically died out around 1897 so there was lots of unsold stock. USPCC tried to sell the decks for other games in their 1898 official rules book. The game of Five Hundred seems to have been first published by the USPCC in 1899. I could not find the original rules but I suspect they were played with just 52 cards plus the joker. In 1904, USPCC released another book on Five Hundred. I think this is when "500" branded decks were released because the earliest mention of six-handed Five Hundred games being played that I could find are from 1905. Hochman says the deck expanded with the red 13s in the mid-1920s but I couldn't pin down an exact year.

I've attached the 1895 patent  copyright card from the virtual card catalog here:

The Ad Lucem Playing Cards project was recently fulfilled after successful funding on Kickstarter, and I just got mine in the mail yesterday.  It's a Renaissance themed deck that was produced by the collaborative efforts of Christian Buss (project visionary and art manager), Ritu Bhattacharva (lead artist/illustrator) and Bivas Bhattacharjee (digital artist and designer).

This project turned out magnificent, especially the Sovereign Edition.  The gold foil on the card faces really looks stunning, especially in combination with gilded edges.  This deck was printed by WJPC, and they've done a great job with the quality.  It turned out exactly as good as you see in the pictures below.

The artwork is beautiful, and it's a picture of class all round.  Amazing work once again from Bivas and Ritu, and from Chris!



























The special 3D rotating Renaissance coin also looks fantastic.

Thanks Toby - great info.  The Colombiano deck continues to elude me after all these years...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digitalcat/colorful-flash-memory-card-for-kid/

please let me know what you guys thanks, thanks

 Kickstarter: JOY - A Different Deck of Playing Cards by Brian South

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/teachbymagic/joy-deck-a-different-deck-of-playing-cards

Creative playing cards that hide hundreds of words and numbers in the pips - can you find "JOY" on every card?

Project ends: Friday, March 22, 2024



Brian South is from "Discover Magic", and it's already been a decade since he produced two wonderfully creative decks of playing cards.  These were the Mazing Deck and the Different Deck, which I covered in detail in this article. 

The Different Deck was a huge hit, with over 1500 backers on Kickstarter generating nearly $75,000 in funding.  This novel deck immediately caught my attention at the time due to its unique approach: each card had a single pip that is composed of illustrations and words corresponding to that card's rank.

 So instead of a standard 3 of Clubs, the Different Deck depicted a single Club made up of threes; instead of a 5 of Diamonds, there was a single Diamond made up of fives; and instead of a Queen of Hearts there was a single Heart made up of Queens.



The cards were also filled with hidden elements, including historical and pop culture references.  For example, if you look closely at the Queen of Spades shown above, you will not only see the word "queen" written in several languages, but also a queen chess piece, and even a Queen Elizabeth signature. The result is that each card has a single pip that is a unique piece of art that can be carefully explored and enjoyed. 

It took a number of years and a lot of work to turn this idea into a reality, but with the help of artist Nike Meyer, in 2014 the Different Deck finally saw the light of day. 



And that brings us to the present, which is the tenth anniversary of the original Different Deck.  Since the release of the Different Deck, Brian and his wife have experienced a lot of joys but also trials, including a failed adoption, financial loss, and even cancer.  But with the strength of their personal faith, they decided to approach these hardships with a positive perspective, by choosing joy. 

The Joy Deck is a brand new version of the Different Deck that captures this attitude to life.   The basic artwork of the original Different Deck has been retained on the card faces, but the word "JOY" has been added onto each and every card. 





The card backs feature a new design which revolves around an ambigram of the word JOY. 



And there's a new colour scheme, with a bright pink and blue producing a sense of vibrancy and energy. 



A sunburst around each giant pip also reflects the positivity exuding from this deck.



As a special touch, the cards will have gilded edges in bright purple.  How can you not feel joyful when you open a deck like this?



The deck is being produced by WJPC on their 310gsm stock.  This reputation of this playing card manufacturer has been growing in leaps and bounds in recent years, and folks in the world of playing cards have been speaking very highly of their quality, even comparing it very favourably to USPCC produced cards, which is high praise indeed.

Brian's goal is to spread joy, and to encourage us to look for joy - and we can literally do that on every single card. One of the extra cards included also gives a list of other things to look for in the deck, so it's certain to keep you busy for a long time.



Extra bonus items available with the project include JOY stickers, and limited edition decks with foil tuck boxes.  Some of the previous editions of the Different Deck and their related items are also available as add ons, as are magic tricks from Brian's Magic Explorers program.



I'm pleased to see this lovely project, and especially appreciate the thinking that underlies it.  Many new collectors may never have heard of the Different Deck, so this is a great chance to get this creative custom deck, now dressed in upbeat and positive new clothing.  Choosing this deck is a great way to start choosing joy in your own life!



Project link

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/teachbymagic/joy-deck-a-different-deck-of-playing-cards