Compendium of Play:
A Menagerie of Historical Iconography

A deck of playing cards combining historical suits and motifs.

We’ve all spent a day playing cards, whether it's a poker match with friends, a slapjack game to the death with siblings, or just a friendly game of go fish with your little cousins. Playing cards, while innocuous, are an ever-present object in history around the world. Compendium of Play takes motifs and ideas from different suits of cards throughout history and the world and combines them into a new deck. These cards are a combination of historical research and serial design work with intent to present this project and research further.

Depicted is a handmade paper comp of the full 54-card deck and box.

The front and back were printed on two large sheets on an inkjet printer and glued together in a faux duplex. The cards were then hand cut and corners rounded via a corner punch. The box was constructed similarly but without a corner punch.