Issued for the 1936 Olympics

The Maker

The designer of these cards, Ferdinand Herwig, has left his name on the Ace of Hearts, while the name of the publishing firm, Badische Spielkartenfabrik, is found on the Seven of Hearts.

Herwig (1884-1959) studied at Stuttgart before pursuing his artistic career in illustrations and painting. He is known to have presented pieces for exhibition at the Munich Glass Palace and the Great Berlin Art Exhibition. The Badische Spielkartenfabrik firm appears to have been a playing card manufacturer based in Baden, with these cards as the only known deck attributed to it.

The Cards

Dedicated to the theme of sport and athletics; it is possible that this deck was published for the occasion of the infamous 1936 Olympic games, held in Berlin under Nazi rule.

Each of the Ace and court cards shows a different sport taking place. The Aces present scenes of cross-country skiing, sailing, flying and motorbike racing, with only the central suit marks and borders coloured. By contrast, the court cards show brightly coloured double-figure images of athletes in action. Both male and female competitors are shown, along with the various accoutrements of their sports, which include tennis, boxing, football and track and field. The athletes on the King cards are crowned. The pip cards are presented in the traditional style, with the number of suit marks corresponding to the value. Two versions of this deck exist, the present example with 32 cards, and a later edition with 52 cards and a joker. The joker depicts a hapless football player getting hit in the face with the ball.