Description
The 1864 Poker Deck is faithfully reproduced from an authentic Civil War era Poker deck. As with the original 1864 Highlander deck, the cards in this 55-card deck have square corners. The deck has full-length, single-ended court cards. The box features a reproduction of the original tax stamps with hand cancellation dated June 2, 1864. The deck includes two informational cards, which provide a brief history of Early American Playing Cards.
This replica deck captures a unique moment in playing card history, as playing card manufacturers were refining industrialized multi-color printing. This deck is based on a deck printed by L. I. Cohen (one the earliest US-based playing cards manufacturers) in 1864. It uses the english pattern of the french playing card suits, which is a fancy way of saying that it is a predecessor to the modern 54 card poker deck. (Any game that uses a poker deck can be played with this deck without issue.) Illustrations on royalty cards are highly stylized but not yet symmetrical, and there are no card indices. The cards have square corners, so extra care must be taken when shuffling to not nick or damage them.
While historically, this deck may hale from the 19th century, its crude block printing gives it a much older feel, making it a great thematic fit for games with medieval or renaissance settings.
- 55 square-corner cards & 2 informational cards in a historically-reproduced storage box
- Cards measure 2.5″ x 3.5″
