Bicycle – The Lumberjacks Playing Cards. 2nd Edition – on Kickstarter NOW!

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Bicycle The Lumberjacks

Bicycle The Lumberjacks

Bicycle branded The Lumberjacks Playing Cards 2nd Edition are being funded on Kickstarter NOW! Click here to be taken to the project page.

Usually, when something is described as being a ‘2nd Edition’ we presume that it is simply an updated, slightly moderated, the-odd-tweak-here-and-there version of the ‘1st Edition’. Well, it has to be said, not with this deck. ‘The Lumberjacks’ 2nd Edition Playing cards by Baltimore based Vadim Smolenskiy may have the same theme as the 1st Edition. They may be Bicycle branded like the 1st Edition. They may be printed by USPCC on their Air Cushioned Finish card stock, yes, you’ve guessed it, just like the 1st Edition. But….. in my opinion….. these are a completely different animal to the first deck. Worthy of being their own ‘1st Edition’ in fact.

The Lumberjacks Playing Cards (Left - 1st Edition. Right - 2nd Edition)

The Lumberjacks Playing Cards (Left – 1st Edition. Right – 2nd Edition)

But I can see where Vadim is coming from here. He clearly has a passion for the lumberjack trade and history. The deck is full of imagery and little nods throughout to the art of felling trees using nothing more than axes, saws and good old fashioned hard graft. I’m presuming that after completing the first deck, and getting it successfully funded on Kickstarter, Vadim looked at his creation and – as we ALL do – thought about what he could have done differently. Not necessarily to make it ‘better’. But little points here and there that were maybe left out or not done quite to the full effect that he’d have liked. {Like I say, this is my presumption… I’m sure Vadim will let me know if I’m wrong ;) } And so, the 2nd Edition deck was born.

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition

With pure black backgrounds and luminous reds and blues throughout, this solid deck is the embodiment of strength and robustness. The design on the inside of the tuck box is the ever recognisable ‘red plaid’, representing the shirts that we all associate with lumberjacks. Trees and leaves, saws and axes, even Butterfly knotted ropes all feature in the designs on both the fronts and backs of the deck.

The 4 Aces have all been designed from scratch. Each one representing either trees yet to be felled (the Aces of Spades and Clubs) or the leaves that have been stripped from the trees which have already been chopped down (the Aces of Diamonds and Hearts).

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Aces

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Aces

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Pips

The pips are all standard with just the Clubs veering towards the traditional German style design. This is all that is needed for this deck, because there is so much detail in the court cards, Jokers and Aces. Delving into the thinking behind the design of each face card we can see just how much work was put into The Lumberjacks.

Firstly, we have the Kings – the elders of the community. The guys who have been doing this since they were in nappies (hey… I’m from the UK), who have probably come within a hare’s breath of death more than a few hundred times, and who tell the stories to anyone who will listen. The Jacks – the young upstarts who appreciate how it ‘used to’ be done, but know there’s a safer way (hence why they all wear hard hats). And the Queens – each one a symbol of strength in her own right. Given such a masculine, hardy, strapping occupation as lumber-jacking, it’s good to see Vadim has included strong female characters in this deck.

Novel writing software without the learning curve.
The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Courts

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Courts

Many (many!) years ago, the men went out to the forests for months on end to do their work. The women did not accompany them but stayed at home until their husbands, sons and fathers returned. As I’m sure you can imagine, with a camp full of men, there wasn’t much of this ‘going down to the river to bash your overalls against a rock’ nonsense, so the camp would get a tad niffy. This lack of personal hygiene only served to encourage illness and lice infestations were rife. This all changed, thankfully, when the families of the workers were able to move out and set up homes and schools, and eventually whole communities were formed around the industry. Naturally this resulted in the women helping out. It may have only been moving the timber once it was felled, but it was invaluable and much appreciated.

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Queens

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Queens

Two of the Queens therefore depict these ‘helpers’ – the Queens of Clubs and Diamonds. The Queen of Hearts, naturally, is depicted as a tree-hugger who is probably more concerned with conserving the trees than chopping them down. (I imagine SHE wasn’t too popular in camp…!) Then of course you have to have the ‘rebel’ Queen – The Queen of Spades. Who is shown yielding an axe. I can imagine her marching out into the forest yelling orders and insisting that she’s as good as any of the men, and “no I do not have any clothes to wash!!”

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Courts - Spades

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Courts – Spades

An interesting touch here, is that the Jack of Spades is the only Jack (or indeed any character) holding a pint of beer, not a tool. It would seem that the Queen has taken it off him. Now, I’m not sure whether the Queen took his axe so he decided to have a beer because he couldn’t work, or whether he couldn’t work because he had been drinking and the Queen decided to step in. Either way, for many years, my favourite playing card after the Joker has been the Jack of Spades. And I also like beer…. So this particular part of the story made me chuckle :)

To contradict this though, the Jack of Spades is also depicted as one of the ‘diptych’ Jokers (basically, an image split in two to form 2 different images, but when joined together then creates one – I had to Google it..!) He is using a 2-man saw which is no mean feat, so I like to think that he is an extremely hard worker who simply deserved a well-earned pint. Like me.

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Jokers

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Jokers

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition King of Hearts

The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition King of Hearts

This deck is full of ‘oh! I hadn’t noticed that!’ moments. Including the King of Hearts, who is carrying an axe. This seems perfectly logical enough, you might say, since he is a lumberjack. But traditionally the King of Hearts is known as the Suicide King due to the fact that he appears to be stabbing himself in the head with his sword. This, however, was simply a result of poor copying by card makers. The King used to be holding an axe across his shoulders, but – somehow along the way – it lost it’s head and became half a sword. The 2nd Edition Lumberjack deck gives the King of Hearts back his axe. And he wears it with a venerable stance. I certainly wouldn’t cross him..!

All in all this is a really sturdy deck. It is a strong bold theme, depicted in strong bold colours, with strong bold characters. As a 2nd Edition it definitely stands out on it’s own as a solid 1st Edition. As it’s only being funded on Kickstarter now, I can’t personally say how it feels and handles. But with the USPCC Bicycle card stock and the Air Cushioned Finish, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a joy to handle. There are 2 Jokers and 2 gaff cards – one a double backer and one with the same red plaid as the inside of the tuck box – great for magic routines.

As with the vast majority of Kickstarter funded decks, this will be a limited edition print run – only 2500 will ever be made. That means this is a highly collectable deck.

If you’d like to get in on the Kickstarter funding of the Bicycle branded The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Playing Cards, then just click on this link – but hurry!! – there’s only 18 days to go. Oh, and check out the uncut sheets. A must for any lumberjack wannabe’s man cave :)


What do you think of the Lumberjack 2nd Edition deck? Please leave any questions or comments in the box below and I’ll be only too happy to respond. Also, please feel free to ‘share’ this post on your own social media sites by clicking on the buttons below. Thanks :)

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18 thoughts on “Bicycle – The Lumberjacks Playing Cards. 2nd Edition – on Kickstarter NOW!

    1. Jyl Post author

      Hi Keye – how is your collection coming along? I’m glad you like these ones – I’m particularly fond of them myself. Thanks for your comment :)

      Reply
  1. Tina

    Hi, I really love the design of your site and the content is engaging even so that my son saw me reading your site and took over my computer, so much to say that he loves your site as well and had to write down the site address for him.

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Hi Tina – I’m glad you both like the site :) I’ll be adding more decks regularly so keep checking back – there’s so much to get through :D

      Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Thank you Melinda. I’ve been finding that people who ordinarily wouldn’t have been ‘into’ playing cards are liking a lot of the decks that I put on here, which is great for me! :D

      Reply
  2. George

    Wow! I just love the Lumberjack playing cards!
    They are so unique and beautiful that I wouldn’t
    dare to use them for games! Only for display!

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Hi George – I know!! I’m getting more and more decks that I’d never let anyone play with :D
      Have you seen the uncut sheet? That would look great framed and on the wall – no chance of anyone getting their sticky mitts on it then!! :)
      The Lumberjacks 2nd Edition Uncut Sheet

      Reply
  3. Forrest

    Jyl, This is a beautiful deck of cards. I love the way you walked us through it and the very interesting way you explained the story behind the cards.
    Just one question though, what is a gaff card?

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Hi Forrest. Thank you for your comment. Good question about the gaff card – means you were paying attention!! :D
      It’s basically an extra card or cards in a deck that aren’t for use in ‘game play’ but are rather for use by magicians in tricks.
      For example, a double backed card, or maybe a card that – depending on which way up it is – could be either a King of Hearts or a Queen of Spades.
      Then you get a gaff card that might have a ‘reveal’ on it. So say this card says on it somewhere ‘The 3 of Diamonds’. Then the magician, using his skills, would get a spectator to “choose” the 3 of Diamonds, and would reveal his guess using the gaff card, giving the trick an extra twist. I’m not sure I’ve explained that right…. does it make sense…?

      Reply
  4. Cathy

    I love the 4 Ace cards! Awesome collection you have got. With designs that are very unique for a card collector. I certain would want to use it for playing because they are so cool I’d rather keep them as a collection.

    Jyl, thanks for share this article. I have learned something today.

    Cathy

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      I know Cathy – there are cards for playing with and there are cards for keeping ‘good’. My problem is that ALL my decks are for keeping ‘good’!! Haha! People get annoyed when I’m having a poker night and I bring out a bog-standard deck of playing cards because they want my collectable decks :D Ain’t gonna happen…. :)

      Reply
  5. Terry

    I like the different types of cards you are promoting, and these design are very unique for any card collector. I could only imagine over time, how these cards will increase in value if taken care.

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Hi Terry – thank you. I try to highlight the more unusual of all the decks available. And you’re absolutely right – most of these decks are limited editions. So if you get one and don’t open it, it’ll be worth much more in just a few years. So get collecting!!

      Reply
  6. Joe

    Very interesting, informative and comprehensive website. I’ve never thought about collecting playing card decks. After reading this article I can see the various nuisances of different cards within the deck.
    Thanks for publishing this information.
    Joe

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Thanks Joe. Playing card designs seem to have ‘exploded’ in recent years, and as someone who has collected playing cards and Jokers for the guts of 35 years, it’s great to see it. So many decks, not enough time in the day to review them :D

      Reply
  7. Liz

    I love the Lumberjack playing cards! Wow there is some great artistry that is put into these. I always enjoy looking at what different cards you have. These are way cool!

    Reply
    1. Jyl Post author

      Thank you Liz – there’s always something special about a deck that has some kind of story behind it. You can tell that the designers have actually thought about it :)

      Reply

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