March 21

 

Cards from this deck have recently been shown by Scott Kruse in another FB group, but it was on my list to show here too. To make the difference I will shown all the cards here. Also because this Lockdown series will be placed on the DXPO site once it has been ended here. But I just heard that the lockdown measures and the curfew will be prolonged because the number of covid-19 victims hasn't decreased. Hopefully by the 1st of April the numbers will look better.
We bought the deck during the joint 52+J/IPCS convention in New Haven in 2000. It wasn't cheap, but in excellent condition and complete with the joker, the explicative leaflet and the box. The deck was printed by the USPCC and published as "Ye Witches Fortune Cards No. 62X" in 1896. It's not a transformation deck, not even a semi-transformation, but rather a deck with illustrated pip cards. Still, some of the illustrations are delightful. The courts have an English/International pattern, but with a special way to represent the hair of the Kings and Jacks. There are no lines to accentuate the hair, but instead in each suit a different solid colour was applied, with a different coloured outline. For example, the spades have black hair with a yellow outline and the hearts have a gray king (note the gray beard) and a blond jack with a black outline. The illustrations seem to have a slightly feminine touch. No artist is ever mentioned as designer. However, there's one clearly visible name in the deck: on the 7 of spades the letter is addressed to a Mrs A Biduw or Beduw. The address is deliberately made unreadable. A subtle artist's signature?

 

 

 

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