The illustration below shows how playing card designs have evolved from full length figures, with square corners and no index pips, to double-ended ones, with the addition of indices. To see further details of early English playing cards, please click here . However, square cornered cards were still produced until around the turn of the century.
Life is a pack of cards.
Sometimes the shape of the cards is different, sometimes the court cards are representations of political personalities , royalty or cartoons. A pack of cards may be produced to honour a Royal commemoration, a political party, a new tourist attraction or the next millennium . Advertising Playing Cards bear advertising propaganda, either on the reverse of the cards, or else on the pip cards, court cards, aces, jokers or even the box. Some of the more popular collector's advertising themes include breweries, shipping lines, and household products. Naturally, the style of advertising on playing cards changes over the decades, not only due to changing technologies, but also fashions and taste.