The Vintage 1800s were the first ‘aged’ deck I ever owned, and as such have a special place in my heart. Now re-printed with a marking system that means these gorgeous looking cards are even more useful than ever. Only £6.49

When my daughter asks me my favourite colour I usually answer purple, so I was pleased to see the new Viola Playing Cards from Collectable Playing Cards. In addition to the tasteful colour (!) the art deco style design is very pleasing – with the court cards in particular very striking. I’d like a little less yellow on them, but you can’t have everything. £8.99

I love these new cards from USPCC. Although they’re designed with cardistry/XCM in mind, I think the Blue Bicycle Cardistry deck would look cool in any context. Just look at those fantastic cut out court card faces. £7.99

The Blue Edition JAQK deck has some slight similarities to the Cardistry deck but is even more striking with extra colour. And the fact that they’ve been made in conjunction with a winery makes them even more appealing to me! Likely to sell out fast. £10.99

That’s our selection this month. There were a number of other releases – notably the Justin Froyd series inspired by coats of arms that just didn’t grab me. Let me know if you’ve seen any you think we should have included…

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Let’s start with one for the magicians.  I’ve always had a soft spot for the Ellusionist Vintage 1800s – one of the first ‘aged’ decks produced.  They’ve recently printed a new batch which are marked – which obviously makes them a fantastic weapon for the magician.  They look old but handle like new.  What’s not to like?  £6.49

The Run Playing Cards – which are available in two different colour ways – seem to make a bold statement.  They come with a hardened cover which seems to go around the normal tuck case – which is quite cool.  Both editions are fairly limited (10,000 for the red and 15,000 for the cheaper green deck).  Heat Edition (=Red) is £12.99, Standard Edition (=gamblers green) is £8.99. If you really like them, why not go for the Uncut Sheet?

We have noticed a real increase in the number of ‘historical themed’ decks produced recently, and the Golden Spike Deck is a nice example of this trend.  Beautifully illustrated court cards in the style of the artwork of the late 1800s. Update – there is also a Limited Edition Gold Edition.

The Rarebit Copper Edition is a really unusual deck of cards – and we just love the glorious tuck case  (see below)!  If you get in quick you might still be able to get the pre-order price on these (£7.99 instead of £8.99) – and if they’re anything like their first edition predecessors – they will sell out quickly and become highly collectable!

And finally, if you’re buying lots of new cards for Christmas, you’re going to need somewhere to put them. We’ve mentioned JP Playing Cards range of storage boxes in the past, but they have recently introduced a new 18-deck box, which is a nice compromise between the previous brick or 36-deck boxes. Available in black or white and highly recommended (we use them ourselves!). The 18-deck box is a very reasonable £6.49.

Enjoy your Christmas cards!

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Ever since the wonderful Ellusionist Vintage 1800s there have been any number of decks which adopt this approach.

But I still love the idea – especially for story-telling type effects or slightly more bizarre magic.

So enter the rather lovely Bicycle Expert Deck.  As you can see, it has a rather attractive back design – first printed in 1895.

The faces of the cards have all been individually weathered – which makes for a very interesting display.

The backs, however, all have the same weathering (i.e. are identical) – which gives an effect more like a fanning deck!  Of course you have to ‘suspend your belief’ when you are using ‘aged’ cards – but this does slightly spoil the effect.

However, I like the back design a lot – the penny farthing type bicycles are displayed in four small circles and there is a pleasing leaf-work design over the rest of the card.

They handle beautifully as you would expect and would be ideal in any magic routine or cardistry display.

As ever, with aged cards, if you are performing you need to watch lighting and your spectators’ eyesight – especially if you want them to identify cards in the course of the trick.  But we think this is a nice little deck.  Only £5 at MAPro Magic (who kindly supplied a review copy).

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