Ace (As) of Hearts

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Ten of Clubs

Diamonds - Industry
Ace (As) of Diamonds	King (Roi) of Diamonds	Queen (Dame) of Diamonds	Jack (Valet) of Diamonds

Most of these were created as novelties, but some were genuine attempts at innovation which never caught on with the general card-playing public. Whether this is due to the tried-and-true shape actually being the best, or simply due to a stubborn resistance to change, is a matter for debate. Regardless, while some minor changes in shape have caught on (rounded corners, wide and narrow widths), western playing-cards have stayed basically the same shape for centuries.

Spades - Defense
Ace (As) of Spades	King (Roi) of Spades	Queen (Dame) of Spades	Jack (Valet) of Spades

But while these experiments in varied shapes failed to achieve popular acceptance with card players, they produced some very striking examples of non-standard playing-cards for the collector.

One charming example of such a deck is Ovale Salon-Spielkarten, a 32-card (A,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K) deck printed around 1860 in Leipzig, Germany.

Hearts - Education
Ace (As) of Hearts	King (Roi) of Hearts	Queen (Dame) of Hearts	Jack (Valet) of Hearts

Designed by Fedor Flinzer, with lithography by A. Twietmeyer (whose name appears on the Valet of Spades), this gold-edged, French-suited pack is a treat for the eye.

Its double-ended courts portray members of four segments of society (Industry, Defense, Education and Agriculture) in historical costumes, and boast fancy borders made of the appropriate suit-signs.

Clubs - Agriculture
Ace (As) of Clubs	King (Roi) of Clubs	Queen (Dame) of Clubs	Jack (Valet) of Clubs

Even the pip cards are unusual, with each card's value printed as an Arabic number within every pip.

A truly unusual deck, providing, as so many decks do, an elegant snapshot of another place and time.