Scans of each card can be seen at www.marytcusack.com/maryc/decks/html/Cards/Origins.html

This deckis a sequel to the Origins Playing Cards decks, which were voted United Cardists Best Overall Deck of 2014.

The Shadows campaign features two new decks and a special hand crafted Black Label edition, inspired by rare 16th century originals. The goal for this campaign is again to produce premium quality decks.

The Shadows deck is a modern deck inspired by historic originals. It will be printed by the United States Playing Card Company. Rare art sheets which form the inspiration for these decks were sourced over months from respected archives including the British Museum, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Archives Department of Seine-Maritime, and Fitzwilliam Museum of Cambridge.

Religion was a major theme in 16th century art and the Shadows deck is inspired by the story of Adam and Eve, and the choice between Innocentia (innocence) and Cognitio (the acquisition of knowledge). Which will you choose?

The Shadows of History deck features: An ornate premium quality tuck case, embossed and hot stamped with metallic foil. The cards are entirely custom full colour face cards, printed with ornate metallic ink backs. The Shadows deck will be produced using the highest quality paper sourced from sustainable forests, and printed with vegetable-based inks and starch-based laminates.

A time before the United States existed, a time when we were subjects of a King across an ocean. The Sons of Liberty operated in the shadows, leaving secret signals, passing hidden messages, and meeting in the dead of night. However, people soon rallied with them, and their cause to resist British oppression quickly spread throughout the colonies.

These playing cards embody the spirit of freedom that the Sons of Liberty fought for, featuring Freemason symbols, the Liberty Tree, and many other secret images. A few of the many heroes of the War are represented on the court cards, giving you a chance to become acquainted with some of the brave men and women who risked their lives for our freedom.

In a redesigned white tuck-case.

Victorian London

London 1843. The construction of Big Ben begins, but there are already many bells tolling long echoes through the dark streets of London. These narrow streets are inhabited by suspicious figures that cast long shadows. A thief, a beggar, a prostitute, a corrupt politician and his cunning wife. All sceptical and scheming about the intentions of the shadowy figure right around the corner and at the end of the street.

★ 19th century Victorian London theme

★ Embossed tuck boxes with gold/silver foil + TUCK INTERIORS UNLOCKED!

★ Exclusive to Kickstarter backers & www.isolatedthunderstorm.com

★ Limited edition (print run is 2,500 for each edition)

★ Custom, numbered tuck seals

★ 52 poker sized playing cards + 2 unique diptych jokers

★ Metallic gold/silver ink on card backs

★ Printed by TWPCC (LPCC/EPCC)

★ Self-fulfilled by Isolated Thunderstorm

A bridge-sized deck portraying 52 distinguished Black Americans, with the jokers showing two different examples of West African sculpture. It is from 1977. The spades show heroes of Human Rights; clubs show heroes of Adventure; hearts show heroes of Science and Industry, and diamonds show heroes of the Arts. There is an extra card with quotations of Dr. Martin Luther King on both sides. The backs of the cards is one-way and features a banner created by Marcus Garvey in 1921 for the convention of his organisation UNIA. It is a vertical Pan-African flag with nine white stars on a black bar above it, and an eagle above that. The artwork is by Langley Newman, and the biographies are by Deloris L. Holt. There is a comprehensive booklet with the 52 biographies of those pictured on the cards. The box has a cut out window showing the deck of cards, but after the cellophane is removed, there is nothing to hold the cards in place.