Gangsters • Mugshots • Infamy
The True Crime Collector Set brings together three themes from the history of crime and justice: gangsters, mugshots and infamy.
Each deck focuses on a different aspect of the subject. Gangsters trace the rise of organised crime, from Prohibition-era figures such as Al Capone to the wider network of crime families that shaped American cities through violence, corruption and control. Mugshots present individuals at the point of arrest, a direct record of law enforcement and the systems used to document crime. Infamy gathers those whose actions secured lasting notoriety, where criminal acts entered public consciousness and remained there.
Each image is tied to a real case, a real individual and a documented moment. These are not constructed stories but records drawn from the history of crime, policing and public record.
Taken together, the set reflects why true crime is collected: an interest in how criminal networks operate, how law enforcement responds, and how certain figures move from reality into lasting reputation. The detail matters, names, dates, places and outcomes form part of a wider understanding.
The Gangsters deck shows how organised crime developed under pressure, particularly during Prohibition, where illegal markets created opportunity on a national scale. Figures such as Capone built systems of supply, protection and control, combining violence with business structure. What followed was a shift towards more organised and less visible networks, embedded within legitimate industries.
Mugshots and Infamy extend this record. One captures the formal process of identification and arrest. The other shows how certain crimes and individuals remain fixed in public memory.
Collecting brings these subjects into a structured whole. Individual cases sit within a wider pattern, and across the set the scale, repetition and variation of crime becomes clearer.
Explore the individual decks:
Gangsters Playing Cards
Mugshots Playing Cards
Infamy Playing Cards
To learn more about the history, context and cultural framing behind these subjects, visit the Bird Playing Cards blog.
If you are interested in how these collections are designed and structured, discover more on our art playing cards page.
Add the True Crime Collector Set to your collection and continue building your historical archive.
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