Sunday, May 13, 2018

Jokers Featuring Playing Cards

Admittedly, all joker playing cards have something to do with cards. By definition.  

But I have discerned, that there is a category of playing card jokers which feature cards and I have made this a section in my collection.  

Here's my favorite. I'm going to call her Hearts n Diamonds. (Note to self: show to wife to get the brand of the shoe that she is advertising. And offer to buy her a pair).

Hearts N Diamonds - Isn't she fabulous?
Hearts N Diamonds - Isn't she fabulous?

Here's one set of mostly ladies dressed with card themed clothing.

Some card-themed jokers are simply playing cards like the tough guy below.
A Randy Butterfield Joker (Midnight Cards)
A Randy Butterfield Joker (Midnight Cards)

Here's another one along that theme, this time three imps playing cards. Actually, not imps! They are the Cox Palmer Brownies who were popular characters and who lent their name to the youngest branch of Girl Scouts and to an early Kodak camera. There  are  a number of Palmer Cox Brownie-themed joker cards.

 And since these are historic jokers (but not from 1896), I'll show his back also. He is listed on page 113 of Hoffman Card Encyclopedia.


Next, the ladies!  First, a flirty look during a card game. I wonder who she is playing with and what she is playing for.



Next, a sweet lady is showing her petticoats which seems to be almost all hearts but there are some diamonds.  No spades or clubs  (meaning no farmers or violence) under her skirt! Just lots of  love and a maybe a few gems.


 This next joker features a dandy astride the Earth with cards behind him.  A world class gambler?



This next lady is more of a critter since she has 6 arms and a pair of legs. Not to mention a very sharp stingy nose.  

Now there's a nice poker hand.

This next one is an example of a geometric card design.
 I've built houses out of cards before but to be honest, never have I constructed more than three levels. This eight level card tower would be an amazing achievement! (Or use scotch tape!)
eight level card tower
An eight level card tower


Today, 2-21-2021 there are  117 (126 on Oct 30th, 2020.  I wonder how it shrank, miscount? Recategorization? 12/20/2018, there were 67 jokers) in this section. And here are the jokers about playing cards, all together.






















The lines between some categories of jokers can require some explanation. For instance, the joker below is related both to this card section and the Joker Juggling, so where does he belong? Great question!  In fact, his name is Scatterman and he is one of the world's most popular jokers. There are so many many variations of him, that I have a section totally dedicated to my dozens and dozens of  Scatterman variations (not yet posted). This joker in a B&W form was first developed by Mesmaekers from Turnhout in the 1930's. Mesmaekers was purchased or merged with Van Genechten, Biermans and Brepols and all was bought by Carta Mundi who made this their primary joker.  
Juggling or Card Section?

Also closely related, there is the Joker Performing section that has dancers, jugglers (not cards), jugglers with cards, performers not using cards, and performing using cards.   

For example, this jester is performing a magic trick. His name is Truco.  He is in the Performing section, card trick  performing subsection
Performing or Card Section?

So much to think about. Anyone want to share their thoughts on joker taxonomy to help move me along?

And here is the answer to questions about the line between jokers classified as Card Jokers, Juggling Jokers, Mirrored Jokers, and Performing Jokers? 

1. If a joker is mirrored, it goes in the TopsyTurvy section regardless of the theme (animals, jesters, jugglers, whatever). 

2. The jokers go into the card section (this section) if the cards are the most important graphical element (not the person) and there are only a few cards or pips. 

3. They are  jugglers if they are actually juggling or if there is a large or magical number of cards or pips in the air. Pips pouring out of thin air go into the juggling section.

4. The performers have the character and performance as the most important graphic element, the cards (if there are any) are secondary. 

These are the natural laws for the joker taxonomy that I am revealing. The canonical laws. (It's not a set of arbitrary rules that only I understand or care about.)  LMAO

Want to see the overall joker organization? Or go right to the closely related section of jesters performing with cards or the topsy turvy card themed jokers?