How we started
BIRD PLAYING CARDS was founded in about 1995 (the archivist is unclear) by Nicky Bird. Nicky was the publisher at the V&A and in that time produced a pack of caricature playing cards to accompany the 1983 General Election, featuring the main politicians of the day, including Mrs Thatcher, the PM. They were drawn by Marc, Trog, Gerald Scarfe and John Springs. It caused a flurry of publicity and sold out. Some time after he left the museum Nicky thought he could do the same thing – publish caricature playing cards – with 18 members of the Royal Family.Making fun of royalty
There is a long and noble English practice of mocking royalty. To uphold this tradition, Willie Rushton, wit, cartoonist and co-founder of Private Eye, was asked to draw 18 mildly seditious cartoons. 
Dieter Strehl, the Austrian head of Piatnik, the venerable Viennese games company, saw the originals in a gallery window and wanted to produce the pack. He did. It sold very well and created a nice furore in the media, upsetting Buckingham Palace, who demanded the pack be banned. ‘Fergie’, the Duchess of York, thought her portrait made her look crass.
Dieter Strehl, the Austrian head of Piatnik, the venerable Viennese games company, saw the originals in a gallery window and wanted to produce the pack. He did. It sold very well and created a nice furore in the media, upsetting Buckingham Palace, who demanded the pack be banned. ‘Fergie’, the Duchess of York, thought her portrait made her look crass.From this irreverent start, we have become a publisher of collectable cards (about 150 packs to date – SEE BELOW) that appeal to all brows, both high and low. From the sublime (Leonardo) to the ridiculous (Straight Flush – ‘A light-hearted celebration of vintage water closets, chamber pots… and all things lavatorial’). Some are huge sellers (Banksy, Van Gogh, Monet…) and some are more niche. Subjects include film, music, art, history, fashion, sport… and humour.
The cards
All our PLAYING CARDS are designed by Haime & Butler
and manufactured by Piatnik [< Piatnik ad, c1900].
Every card in our packs is illustrated. The cards are
poker-sized (90x65mm) and come in a neat tuckbox.
For retailers looking for discounts etc. please contact:
Nicky Bird at nick@nickybirddesign.com
and manufactured by Piatnik [< Piatnik ad, c1900].
Every card in our packs is illustrated. The cards are
poker-sized (90x65mm) and come in a neat tuckbox.
For retailers looking for discounts etc. please contact:
Nicky Bird at nick@nickybirddesign.com
Some recent ART PACKS
1950s
1914-18*
1980s*
A Day at the Races*
Aces High
African American
Air Travel
Ali*
American Dream Cars*
America’s Cup
Angels
Animals
Art Detail
Art Pack*
Art of Alice*
Australia Fair
Austria!
Ballet*
Banksy*
Banksy 2*
Battle of Britain*
Battleships*
Beach
Beatles
Beaton’s Royal Family
Bicycle
Birds
Book Covers
Bruegel*
Cabarets*
Caravaggio*
Cassatt (Mary)*
Cezanne*
Chateaux of the Loire
Chocolate
Churchill
Civil War (American)*
Classic Cars*
Classic Firearms*
Come to Britain
Crikey! British Comics*
Dawn of Flight
D-Day*
Degas*
De Gaulle*
Deutsches Bier
Dressed for War
Egypt
Elvis
Entertainment*
Erotica
Film Noir*
Football*
Frans Hals*
French Resistance
Frida Kahlo*
Gangsters*
Genius of Nature
German Resistance
Gin*
Glory of Venice
Glory Days of Rail
Golden Age of Cruises
Golf (Art of)
Goya*
Great War*
Greek & Roman Art
Handbags*
Hitchcock
Hollywood 1
Hollywood 2
Horror Movies*
Horse (Beauty of)
Impressionist Portraits*
Inspirational Women*
Japanese Prints*
Jazz
JFK
Joy of Wine*
King & Queens (NPG)
King Charles III
Lautrec (T-L)*
Leonardo*
Lichtenstein*
Lingerie*
London*
London Transport Posters
Luggage Labels
Man
Magritte*
Matisse*
Michelangelo*
Modern Art (Guggenheim)
Modigliani*
Monarchs*
Mondrian*
Monet*
Motor Racing
Motorbikes
Movie Monsters
Movie Posters
Movie Stars
Movies – The Golden Age*
Mugshots*
Musicals!*
Napoleon*
National Parks*
Nelson*
New York
Niagara Falls*
Nude
Ocean Liners
O’Keeffe*
Paris*
Pin-Ups*
Pirates
Presidents*
Propaganda*
Prosecco*
Pubs
Quirky Britain
RAF Centenary
Rail Art
Raphael*
Renoir*
Rock & Pop Icons
Rothko*
Rousseau*
Royal Babies*
Royal Brides
Royal Wedding*
Rugby
Saucy Seaside (McGill)
Sci-Fi*
Sherlock Holmes*
Shoes
Sixties*
Ski Art*
Spies
Stately Homes*
Straight Flush
Strike It Lucky
Tanks*
The Art of Venice*
The Queen*
Tiepolo*
Titanic*
Toy cars
Travel USA
Unshaven*
Van Gogh*
Velázquez*
Vermeer*
For Valour: Victoria Cross
Vigée Le Brun*
Vintage Comic Art*
Viva Italia!
Warplanes*
Waterloo
Wild West
Whisky
Willie Rushton’s Pack of Royals
Wine*
Women Artists*
Wonders of World (2 covers)
World Cup Greats
World War 2*
World War One Centenary
Writers & Poets (NPG)
Zodiac
*Packs marked with an asterisk are currently in print