Unicycle Jokers

The unicycle section!  Also, some skaters.  (There's a separate bicycle joker and a skater joker section). The first unicyclist is particularly tricky.

The next joker vintage jokers is the Roman Goddess Fortuna. She is the goddess of luck who probably originated as the goddess who controlled the harvest and hence prosperity or ruin. She is often shown blindfolded to emphasize that she seemed to bestow good or bad luck irrespective of other attributes. The wheel on which she is riding is often portrayed as the wheel or fortune and in her hands, is the a rudder which she steers with (not a sickle). As the goddess determining ill or great luck, she is a natural fit with cards. It's unclear to me where this image came from: Was it created for the cards or is it a recreation of an older image.

The card could be from the Russell “Fortuna” deck made by Columbia Playing Cards Company c1905, RU36, P135 Hochman. Or, as Steve Bacon said on a listing to sell a deck with this joker, it could a a “Bridgit 227” deck made by Russell (which does not seem to be listed in Hochman).

This jester's unicycle is tiny but the tweetie bird on this finger is bigger than his head. And the bells on his hat are larger than the bird's head.

Now, some clowns on unicycles...

And a clown on a sort of unicycle. Actually, it looks like a ball. But I thought he belonged here with the others.

Here are the ensemble shots, update May 2023.

 

What jokers should you look at next?  Bicycle jokers? 

Historical jokers from Dougherty from the 1800s and early 1900

Historical jokers from Kalamazoo or Russell

Monkey jokers

Harry Potter Jokers