Overrun of the original limited ‘El Dorado’ deck from the May 2022 Vintage reimagined subscription.

Lithographer and printer Bernhard Dondorf founded the B. Dondorf company on April 2, 1833 as printing and trading company in Frankfurt, Germany. He specialized in high-quality print products. From 1839 they mainly focused on the production of playing cards. With this revived and redesigned deck from the late 19th century I want to honor these almost forgotten art pieces.

Similar in design to the reprints; these older editions were printed in 2012 by the U.S. Playing Card Co.

They were available in Arizona Red and California Blue. Printed by the US Playing Card Company on premium stock with a cambric finish. Incorporating a leatherette tuck case, off-white faces, and an organic array of colors, no detail has been spared. They came packaged in a bespoke carton for orders of a dozen or more.

Inspired by classic decks from the golden age of playing cards: Imported Playing Cards is a fully custom deck of poker-size playing cards drawn by hand in a warm, vintage style and features standard re-drawn Courts, pips and Aces in a velvety soft tuckbox drawn in the style of an antique tax wrapper. The Ace of Spades features the import seal of Mercury set against a cluster of new world tobacco leaves while each other Ace has been stamped to show the imported status of the deck. This deck is 52 standard cards plus two custom Jokers and an extra card: perfect for card games, magic, cardistry and collecting. Printed and finished to the highest standards by Legends P.C.C. on their industry-leading Viper Finish stock for supreme handling and durability, this one is for collectors and workers alike.

From the book: ”Jeff Busby’s Secret of the Palmettos” As a playing card alone – even without the “Secret of the Palmettos” – the Texan is a superior card. Aside from the appeal of the elegant back design, its equal to the standard Bee diamond Back or the old Bee Worm Back for visual deception with a false deal. The finish is well-known air-cushion finish which allows the card to literally “float” over each other. They are highly flexible, so steals and palms work beautifully. Moreover, they have a “slip”, “snap”, and a thin feel to them that makes turning over a double, feel like handling a feather. The cutting process is superb. (Jeff Busby, 1998)