52 Plus Joker 2024 Club Deck
Inspired by Andrew Dougherty’s legacy and particularly by the design classified as AD1 in The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards by Tom and Judy Dawson (U.S. Games Systems, 2020), this limited edition deck has been created for 52 Plus Joker, the largest playing card collectors’ association in the world.
In particular, the AD1 court cards stand out for a quirky, intriguing style, and the description presented in the Encyclopedia, which you can find detailed below, portrays this design as the perfect medium for bridging European and American cultures.
“AD1 ANDREW DOUGHERTY, 78 Cliff St., c. 1850. An early deck of Cliff St. cards with strange, and somewhat homely, courts with a somewhat European flavour. It is recorded that Dougherty manufactured Spanish cards dated 1849 while at this address, but we have been unable to confirm this by locating actual cards.”
Left: Hochman AD1 Ace of Spades. Source: plainbacks.com, © Paul Bostock 2024
Although the project draws inspiration from Dougherty’s work, it embodies a modern aesthetic and illustration style. Notably, all the design elements are uniquely tailored, ensuring that the Club Deck stands out as a fresh and original product.
Left: Hochman AD1 King of Diamonds. Source: plainbacks.com, © Paul Bostock 2024
Left: Hochman AD1 Jack of Hearts. Source: plainbacks.com, © Paul Bostock 2024
In particular, the pips and numerical cards, which pay homage to Dougherty’s Illuminated Deck (c. 1865), republished by U.S. Games Systems, Inc., and referred to as the ‘Civil War Illuminated Poker Deck’, can serve as an example of the kind of creative process involved. The Club Deck retains some of the decorative motifs from this design, but it diverges significantly in geometric structure, colour palette, and distribution of the embellishments across the numerical cards.
Additionally, unlike Dougherty’s AD1, which predates the invention of Jokers in the 1850s, the Club Deck consists of 53 cards – 52 plus a Joker. The central illustration for the Joker was inspired by the club’s pictogram, which, in turn, derives from the design classified in the Encyclopedia as SU15 STEAMBOATS #199&1/2, formerly MSW72 (Crescent Playing Card Co., Chicago, c. 1900).
While the concept for this deck is rooted in creative expression and sustainability, aiming to spotlight and spread knowledge about something meaningful from a historical and cultural perspective, the design of the box – which may be regarded as the most innovative part of the project – involved a genuine consideration of functionality.
In particular, its construction draws inspiration from wrappers used before the advent of contemporary packaging items, such as today’s tuck boxes. The Club Deck box is a hybrid – a blend of styles – so we referred to it as a tuck wrapper. It features multiple layers and details to explore including, on the inside, a brief introduction to the project, an initial version of the back design, and a rich blue pattern. Notably, the box assembly does not require glue, adding a touch of elegance in terms of functionality.
The card backs feature a pattern inspired by the so-called plainbacks. After exploring various design approaches, this choice emerged as the most thematically fitting and aesthetically appropriate.
The 52 Plus Joker 2024 Club Deck was released on the 3rd of October 2024 in Niagara Falls, New York, during the club’s annual convention. I was pleased to present the project in attendance and meet Judy Dawson in person.
Photography ©Frank Alan Cuvin