The Maker

Published by the Reclamos Cimedevilla firm in Valencia around 1927, this deck was designed by Catalan painter and illustrator Antoni Vercher Coll. Vercher published caricatures in a number of Spanish newspapers and periodicals, as well as illustrating several important books. It seems, however, Vercher's designs were only ever transformed into a single deck of playing cards.

The Cards

Using the traditional Spanish system, in which suits are categorised as Coins, Cups, Clubs and Swords, the symbols, in this deck, for these suits are incorporated into the design of each image, meaning that the cards can be considered a "transformation deck".

The court cards depict male icons from the 1920s, all portrayed in the contemporary art-deco style. They include movie stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, explorer Roald Amundsen, aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh, motorcycle racer Vincente Riera, as well as famous sportsmen. The pip cards show a variety of sports, such as polo, football, cycling, rowing, boxing, skiing and tennis. On the back of each card is a numbered image. When viewed quickly, one after another, they form a so-called "flick-book", an artificial "movie" starring Periquito the cat!