Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet and philosoper had an eerie vision about the afterlife more than seven centuries ago. His vision has been included into one of the masterpieces of the Italian culture: the Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia).

Now, 750 years after the birth of Dante Alighieri, Stefano Protino has designed a deck permeated by his vision of afterlife. Prepare yourself for hell, prepare yourself for a new, limited deck from Passione – Italian Design Playing Cards!

• the deck (52+2 cards) wrapped in paper and sealed with wax (the sealing has been purposely done so that it’s not needed to break the seal in order to open the deck). The paper has a stamp on it saying “imprimatur expectant” (waiting for the permission to print). This is our interpretation of the mood of the deck: an unfinished work (you can see it on the faces, obviously) expecting a formal ok from the Catholic Church (in the past it was not possible to have a book printed without the Vatican’s approval, after that you would have granted the “imprimatur” that means “let’s print”);
• a cardboard box with a false bottom, designed to hold 2 decks (more on this later);
• a cardboard double message (“invenit qui quaerit”: a latin motto meaning “seek and ye shall find” and “dear friend please complete my artwork”: a direct message for you – more on this later);
• a “blank” card – the one the author wants you to complete, useful for card tricks or for entering the contest (more on this later);
• a little piece of charcoal wrapped in a shred of tissue paper, to enforce the mood of an unfinished work that needs to be completed.

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

Dante Alighieri is the most prominent Italian poet and "La Divina Commedia" (the Divine Comedy) is his masterpiece, representing his vision of afterlife, divided in three reigns: Inferno (hell), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Paradiso (heaven). “La Divina Commedia” also marks the beginning of the Italian language, used in an important piece of literature, replacing the official Latin language. The court cards and the aces represent characters that Dante and Virgilio (the Jokers in Inferno - Dite), his guide, meet during the journey, until they find Lucifer (the Joker in Inferno - Cocito).

The red cards show sinner who are damned for passion-related sins, while the black cards portray sinners who used their intelligence to betray and deceive (Dante places the latter much deeper in hell).

Here you can find a list of all the characters: Dante, Virgilio, Paolo e F

rancesca, Ulisse e Diomede, Cerbero, Erinni, Minosse, Semiramide, Minotauro, Malacoda, Taide, Conte Ugolino, Pluto, Cleopatra, Gerione, Arpie, Giasone.

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

Dante Alighieri is the most prominent Italian poet and "La Divina Commedia" (the Divine Comedy) is his masterpiece, representing his vision of afterlife, divided in three reigns: Inferno (hell), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Paradiso (heaven). “La Divina Commedia” also marks the beginning of the Italian language, used in an important piece of literature, replacing the official Latin language. The court cards and the aces represent characters that Dante and Virgilio (the Jokers in Inferno - Dite), his guide, meet during the journey, until they find Lucifer (the Joker in Inferno - Cocito).

The red cards show sinner who are damned for passion-related sins, while the black cards portray sinners who used their intelligence to betray and deceive (Dante places the latter much deeper in hell).

Here you can find a list of all the characters: Dante, Virgilio, Paolo e F

rancesca, Ulisse e Diomede, Cerbero, Erinni, Minosse, Semiramide, Minotauro, Malacoda, Taide, Conte Ugolino, Pluto, Cleopatra, Gerione, Arpie, Giasone.

There are three different types of Bee Wynn playing cards in existence: Signature, Icon and Encore. The first type - Signature cards - are standard Bee Casino diamond-baked cards. These cards have the word \'Wynn\' written on them, and are available in Red, Blue and Brown. They were used on gambling table at the Wynn\'s casino in Las Vegas. The second - Icon type of Wynn’s decks - have a solid back color (white-bordered) with the Wynn\'s \'W\" icon printed on either end. They were also used on the gambling table at Wynn casino. Icon Wynns were available in Red

There are three different types of Bee Wynn playing cards in existence: Signature, Icon and Encore. The first type - Signature cards - are standard Bee Casino diamond-baked cards. These cards have the word \'Wynn\' written on them, and are available in Red, Blue and Brown. They were used on gambling table at the Wynn\'s casino in Las Vegas. The second - Icon type of Wynn’s decks - have a solid back color (white-bordered) with the Wynn\'s \'W\" icon printed on either end. They were also used on the gambling table at Wynn casino. Icon Wynns were available in Red

There are three different types of Bee Wynn playing cards in existence: Signature, Icon and Encore. The first type - Signature cards - are standard Bee Casino diamond-baked cards. These cards have the word \'Wynn\' written on them, and are available in Red, Blue and Brown. They were used on gambling table at the Wynn\'s casino in Las Vegas. The second - Icon type of Wynn’s decks - have a solid back color (white-bordered) with the Wynn\'s \'W\" icon printed on either end. They were also used on the gambling table at Wynn casino. Icon Wynns were available in Red

2,500 printed per update from artist in this thread at United Cardists

There are three different types of Bee Wynn playing cards in existence: Signature, Icon and Encore. The first type - Signature cards - are standard Bee Casino diamond-baked cards. These cards have the word \'Wynn\' written on them, and are available in Red, Blue and Brown. They were used on gambling table at the Wynn\'s casino in Las Vegas. The second - Icon type of Wynn’s decks - have a solid back color (white-bordered) with the Wynn\'s \'W\" icon printed on either end. They were also used on the gambling table at Wynn casino. Icon Wynns were available in Red

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1927433849/bicycle-blackbeard-playing-cards-printed-by-upscc