Description: Superb boxed twin-deck set of playing cards specially commissioned for Bernhard Altmann "The House of Cashmere" New York, as a holiday promotion for Bernhard Altmann's Cashmere in 1950; drawn by Hans Lang and produced by Piatnik of Vienna, Austria. The decks come in a lidded twin-section box.The front of the box features a pastoral scene of the Cashmere goats. The cards measure 91mm x 61mm and are in excellent condition and the box is good with blemishes noted in condition description. (see photos). According to Wikipedia, Bernhard Altmann (1888 – 1960) was a textile manufacturer whose business was Aryanized and whose family's art collection was looted by Nazis because of their Jewish origins. He introduced cashmere wool to North America on a mass scale in 1947. Each deck has 52 cards, with 52 different designs, plus 2 Jokers, 12 court cards are warriors, rulers and women who were particularly interested in the Cashmere trade, the Aces and other pips through to 10 feature some aspect of the cashmere industry, each have background vignettes that portray the attributes of each group of people involved in Cashmere trading. The card back design features the 'Seal of the Khans' in ancient Mongol script, one deck in red the other in black, the 2 jokers feature two different Chinese theatrical masks. According to The World of Playing Cards website, "Bernhard Altmann is from the 'The House of Cashmere' and these playing cards honour their best-known commodity: the fleece of the graceful horned Cashmere goat. Hans Lang created the symbolic artwork for the deck, dedicating each suit to the group of people that had the greatest significance for Cashmere through the ages: Clubs-Chinese; Hearts-Indians; Spades-Persians; Diamonds-Mongolians. The King of Clubs is Ch'ien Lung, the wisest of modern Chinese emperors. The King of Hearts is Aurung-Zeb, Indian warrior, ruler of the Mogul Empire. The King of Spades is the Persian Nadir Shah, who conquered the Empire of the Moguls. The King of Diamonds is the Mongol, Kublai Khan, grandson of Jenghis Khan, host of Marco Polo and the first known patron of the Cashmere trade. . . .
Price: 105 USD
Location: Bradenton, Florida
End Time: 2025-01-21T19:20:53.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6.5 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Brand: Piatnik
Theme: cashmere trade
Country/Region of Manufacture: Austria
Age: Vintage (Pre-1970)