The Key to the Kingdom: Fantasy Playing Cards in Verse

by Tony Meeuwissen

Book Overview

Transformation cards, or decks of playing cards in which conventional suit signs were transformed into fanciful designs, originated in 18th century Europe. The Key to the Kingdom recreates this clever... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561380725
• ISBN13: 9781561380725
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Richly designed

This is a drop-dead gorgeous deck of cards and with the delightful accompanying rhymes is fun for use as a kind of quirky (free association) cartomantic deck as well as for regular play. A quality production & beautifully packaged book/card set. Highly recommended!

Metamorphosis and Transformation

I was first introduced to this deck when it first was first printed some years ago. As a graphic artist by trade I was not only very pleased with the art, but also the incredible quality that the deck and the companion book had in the final, printed delivery. The poetry, prose and lyric associated with each card makes for a whole new dimension in playing cards. The only piece of information, or lack of information that left me wondering was in the product description as it did not say whether this was the original complete set or just the book, sans cards. An outstanding collectible for anyone who enjoys playing cards.

Fantastic!

I bought this around the holidays in 1992, and it kicked off my interest in card collecting. This is a work of art, and of all the art I own, this is my favorite. Ostensibly, it's a transformation deck of cards with an accompanying book, but it's also a series of beautifully executed paintings (the ace of spades is a spider, the 3 of diamonds is the Titanic sinking, the 4 of spades is a yellow jacket), each with an accompanying verse. Hidden inside all of the verse, however, is a puzzle to solve. This is so clever on so many levels, it's amazing. If you enjoy intellectual stimulation in your art, track this down. It's a shame it's out of print.

One of the most witty, beautiful decks you will ever see!

I highly recommend this deck to anyone who collects cards. It lives up to it's name and more! Tony Meeuwissen has very cleverly used the suits to create wonderful illustrations of traditional rhymes and verses on every card. (It's not tecnically a transformation deck, but once you've seen it, you won't care) No written review can possibly do it justice, it really has to be seen to be appreciated. Well worth hunting down an (unfortunatly) out-of-print copy!