The MAD DECK is a series of playing cards which feature stunning illustrations by Ozlem Olcer. The deck was created for PAG, an Istanbul based design company developing projects and manufacturing products in collaboration with graphic artists and illustrators. The name Mad Deck - short for ‘Magicians, Astronauts & Dancers’ - is given after the first 3 dream jobs of the designer as a child. The deck is a reflection of unusual and edgy designs with an innocent feeling, much like the designer herself. This combination shows itself both on the one by one hand drawn shapes of spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds and also on the expressions of the characters in J, Q and K. The Joker of the deck is King Puhu, the famous and beloved drawing of Özlem Ölçer.

2 deck set.

Fox Lake Gaffs and trick decks were standard in the 1970s, long before 'Bikes' became the standard deck for magicians. The Fa-Ko decks were made up of many different gaff cards.

This is Mark Shortland's second deck produced from original artwork. Each was painted while working as a headline performer on board cruise ships around the world. Each card shows a different magician recognisable from either their look or signature effect. Each original painting is 20cm x 25cm in size and painted in acrylic on artists' paper. These paintings were then scanned in high resolution and the digital file was used to make each playing card. The artwork has not been enhanced or changed from the original work unless absolutely necessary. Mark's own handwriting and drawings are used for the indices. The deck contains 56 cards; 52 playing cards, a joker, a picture showing all 53 magicians and two information cards explaining who each of the performers are. The cards are expertly printed on 310gsm linen finish card stock, cut and beautifully finished. The unique back design is Mark's own creation and contains the name of each of the 53 magicians appearing in the deck. It is the same in either rotation. I have added the group card, so you can see all 53 magicians, and the three of Hearts, which is Cardini, to give you an idea of the faces, to the gallery.