This late nineteenth century fortune-telling deck has illustrated pip cards suggesting their divinatory meanings. In some instances the pips are actually part of the design, which makes “Ye Witches” a partial Transformation Fortune-Telling deck. Some of the period dresses in the illustrations are interesting. An accompanying booklet contains the rules for interpreting the cards and how to use the deck in more detail. The court cards are standard except that their hair is filled in black. The Joker has an image of a horseshoe, rabbit's foot, three four leaf clovers and a broken wishbone.

Ye Witches Fortune Telling Cards published by the United States Playing Card Co., 1896. 52 cards + Joker + extra card in box. Available with plain or gold edges and a variety of different back colours. The back shows a coven of witches with a steaming cauldron, surrounded by interlacing dragons and bats. The divinatory interpretations are not printed on the cards, so it was necessary to memorise them, or to improvise. The illustrations are suggestive enough so as to give a hint as to the meaning.

Text and ye-witches-large image from http://www.wopc.co.uk/usa/uspcc/ye-witches with images credited from the collection of Rod Starling, author of "The Art and Pleasures of Playing Cards".  Additional images courtesy of Barb Lunaburg

After having created several modern original decks of playing cards I have recently been inspired from playing cards from the past. And in this campaign I will present you 2 of my favorites; the Vanity and Faro. Both of these deck were originally produced in the late 19th century. The Vanity deck is based off of the famous "Vanity Fair" transformation deck copyrighted in 1895. The Faro deck is based off of the Russel & Morgan Squared Faro first printed in 1887. The Faro deck was supplied to casinos for the game of faro and is more of a "workers" deck while the Vanity deck would be considered more of a "novelty" deck. Special thanks to "the World of Playing Cards" for providing a source of information on these and many other historical decks. Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/416-vanity_no41_green_clown_back

Description from the website: This delightfully wicked playing card deck presents devilish boys and ghouls and all manners of ghastly creatures. Inspired by vintage transformational decks, Royal Mischief’s suit marks are mischievously hidden in the aberrant artwork by infamous tarot artist Patrick Valenza. The sepia-toned poker deck features graphite gilded edges to complement the hand-drawn pencil artwork. 54-card deck includes two naughty Jokers and comes in a substantial two-piece box, perfect for giving as a gift to frenemies. Warning: Not for sensitive souls and delicate dispositions—this little deck bites! Published by US Games Systems. Full Deck Scan: https://cardscans.piwigo.com/index?/category/349-royal_mischief