This is the English Pattern in meticulous detail and vivid expression. Over the last two and a half years, artist Brett A. Jones has been working on a rendition of the Anglo-American deck that does justice to the instruments they are carrying, and the centuries they have existed for. With all the tradition and refinement that has gone along with playing cards, the idea was never to change anything, but to preserve it for what it is. With reference to the English Standard, and its ancestor, the French Rouen design, Brett A. Jones has created a free-hand rendering of the English playing card that imbues dimension and expression in the characters that inhabit them. You can view an exhibition of these playing cards in our Gallery »

« Find Out More »

Origin of Playing Cards

It is not known from where playing cards originated, nor has it been easy to document their introduction to European culture. Playing cards appeared in Europe almost everywhere at once in the latter half of the 14th century. Various explanations have been proposed for their arrival, but none have pieced together the entire story. Read More »

Brett A. Jones

When it was suggested to Brett that a way to explore his artistic talent might be to design a deck of playing cards, he shrugged with vague disinterest and never mentioned the subject again. Then on some evening, forgotten when, he dragged himself from his self imposed hell just long enough to see the rich imaginings that lay beneath the lines and and simple patterns of the English Standard. Slowly, he turned, and then sank into an all consuming artistic morass from which only now he has finally emerged. Read More »