Souvenir Picture Playing Cards

Though not nearly as prevalent as the backs-only decks I showed earlier, many decks exist where each card, or at least many of the cards, is a picture from the place featured on the deck. Many European cities and regions, as evidenced by some of the other displays in this issue, have many decks of souvenir pictures. I have to believe that other countries have similar decks, especially in countries like Japan, China and India which have thriving playing card industries of their own, but I've never been there to find out personally. I picked six of my many decks like this as representative of the set, and chose one picture from each. Because, quite honestly, I could do another two or three issues on just these decks alone.

Lourdes - Queen of Diamonds, Le Musee Du Petit Lourdes. "Reproduction miniature de Lourdes en 1858. Au premier plan, l'eglise St Pierre di XIeme, aujuord'hui disparue." This deck contains 20 pictures of the town of Lourdes, on the face cards and the aces.
Souvenir from Greece - Queen of Clubs, Delphi. The great Oracle of antiquity, this temple still stands on its sacred lands, though weathered by the passage of time. Each card in this deck is another spectacular view of the islands and ancient structures of Greece. The only thing harder than picking one to display would be picking only one to visit.
An unnamed deck from Italcards - Seven of Hearts, Firenze - Ponte Vecchio. The Piazza Signoria can be seen in the background of this ancient (though often rebuilt) bridge-cum-building in historic Firenze. The deck contains thirteen pictures - the set of pictures is the same for each suit.
Mont Saint Michel - King of Clubs, Mont St Michel. "Vue generale du site." This beautiful island, separated from the mainland at high tide, is the home of a monastery built from thw 11th century to the 16th. Like Lourdes, this deck has pictures only on the face cards and the aces.
Monuments de Paris - Queen of Diamonds, La Concorde. "Cette immense place, fut amenagee pour mettre en valeur la statue de LOUIS XV. Du terre plein on peut s'emmerveiller des magnifiques pespectives du Louvre a l'Etoile, de la Madeleine au Palais Bourbon." Bordered by the Louvre and the Arc du Triomphe, filled with historic statues, objects and gardens, the Place de la Concorde is one of the most scenic spots in all of Paris.
Famous Views of the World- Jack of Spades, The Great Wall, Peking, China. One of only a handful of man-made landmarks visible from space, the Great Wall of China, at 1500 miles long, remains the single largest engineering project ever undertaken.

Lourdes Queen of Diamonds Le Musee Du Petit Lourdes	Souvenir from Greece Queen of Clubs Delphi
Italcards Seven of Hearts Firenze - Ponte Vecchio	Mont Saint Michel King of Clubs Vue Generale du Site
Monuments de Paris Queen of Diamonds La Concorde	Famous Views of the World Jack of Spades The Great Wall, Peking, China

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