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| Stacked Decks: The Art and History of Erotic Playing Cards | 
 enlarge | Author: The Rotenberg Collection
Publisher: Quirk Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $9.98
You Save: $14.97 (60%)
Buy New/Used from $9.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  (3 reviews)
Sales Rank: 169674
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 10.5 x 7.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 1594741549
Dewey Decimal Number: 795
EAN: 9781594741548
ASIN: 1594741549
Publication Date: June 28, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
They've been called wolf decks, stag decks, and plain old nudie playing cards. They're older than poker, older than blackjack, and they offer a fascinating window into society's ever-changing views of female beauty. Stacked Decks features images of hundreds of erotic playing cards from 1807 to the present day, all illustrated with nude or seminude models, burlesque singers, flappers, 1950s pinup girls, and international superstars. Within these pages, readers will discover unexpected celebrities, vintage advertisements, and fascinating cultural history (during the 1950s, these decks were sold primarily at drugstores). This lavishly illustrated hardcover volume is the perfect gift for fans of poker, magic, nostalgia, and vintage erotica.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Fine card book review September 11, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Interesting topic, interesting book. Good images, but resolution could be better. If you are into fine photography and a collector of cards this book is a good reference of this subject. Every card collector should consider getting a copy of this book. Emphasis is on the fine art and attractive models, and historic approach. A nice book worth the price.
 This deck is stacked August 23, 2007
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Mark Rotenberg is the obvious choice to do a book on pin-up playing cards, the intro says the contents are from his 450 decks (the world's biggest collection? Probably!). There isn't too much to say about a product that has very few clues about the models, photographers, printers yet over the years the numbers manufactured must run into the millions of packs. Of the 452 cards in the book the majority show anonymous females in predictably unimaginative stock glamour poses that card printers could buy for next to nothing.
I thought the illustrative cards much more interesting. There are a few showing the paintings of Heinz Villiger, Joyce Ballantyne, Al Moore and Gil Elvgren. Strangely no Petty or Vargas decks, were the reproduction rights too expensive? The best cards in the book are surely the two decks put out in 1955 by Parisian manufacturer Editions Philibert who commissioned artist Paul-Emile Becat to paint a series of miniatures showing erotic Florentine life during the Renaissance and another set about Casanova. When compared to these two decks the book's photo glamour material come across as the tacky cards they really are.
It is unfortunate that the book's production is very dull. The cards are presented full on, with none angled or overlapping each other. The addition of a drop shadow would have given them a lift. As most of the cards are visually unimaginative perhaps a few still-life photos throughout the book would provide some interest: a poker hand on a card table with some chips, a scattered deck of cards as a background with four or five prominent. I thought it was particular annoying that so many cards are shown larger than the originals (and some really are too big) which only emphasizes their cheap subject matter and poor printing.
If there had been more creative input in the way the contents had been presented I think this could have been a much more interesting book.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
Stacked Decks is fabulous! July 11, 2007
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
Stacked Decks is fabulous! There are many, many pages of kitschy, campy 1940s through 70s "nudie" cards, featuring both photos and illustrations. Some are sweet in that girl-next-door way, some are sexy and sultry (or even a bit slutty), and some are just plain hilarious! There are also some really old cards dating back to the 1800s and some fascinating history. It's a perfect present for anyone who loves poker or is interested in pin-up art.
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