Celsius Pictor together with our friend Max of Max Playing Cards is currently seeking funds on Kickstarter for a deck with a unique and meticulously crafted universe that honors the history of playing cards.
Mechanimals Playing cards is a true work of art with 100% custom design without neglecting deep respect for the history of traditional playing cards based on the following narrative,
July 25, 1880. In a small inn on the Spain-France border along the Way of Saint James, an exhausted pilgrim recovers his strength with a jug of wine after his journey. He takes a deck of well-worn playing cards out from his bag and invite his table companions to play a game. The deck was printed in England, with the tax mark on the Ace of Spades. Each card, from numbered to court, reproduces the already centuries-old printing traditions. The pilgrim deals the cards, and the game begins.
Celcius is passionate about details, elegance, and storytelling. Mechanimals is a personal project that brings together all his passions, developed over the last years of his career, and which he intends to share with the playing cards community.
Every aspect of this deck is thought out and illustrated in great detail to create an atmosphere that carries you to a unique historical universe, blending the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution in a bunch of imaginative and surprising characters.
Each face card features beautifully illustrated characters that honor the heritage and history of European playing cards in a unique and fantastical way. Celcius continues,
We could create a story between them, imagining how King David, the lion of the Judah tribe interacts with the knight Lahire or the beautiful lady of clubs in that medieval city in which they all live, but I would love if you could create yourself a new story each time you spread out all the cards.
For the card back design, four warriors distributed around a pond guard the card. Arriving in Europe from Jerusalem under the command of the great Sultan Saladin, these four warriors stand guard in an environment inspired by the medieval Arab art and atmosphere of the ancient kingdom of Al-Andalus.
TWO editions are available during the campaign- the limited edition and DeLuxe Gilded edition. The limited-edition deck is housed in an embossed tuck case with a design reminiscent of a luxurious skyline from the European Middle Ages. The tuck back is an elaborate coat of arms that combines the mechanics and heraldry typical of tradition. The inside of the tuck hides a secret,
As a surprise in this collectible deck, the inside of the tuck case hides a surprise: an image of the moment in which the first cards were possibly designed, and that can only be seen in its entirety if the case is disassembled. An inaccessible design just as the artisans of the Gothic cathedrals carved figures on the inaccessible roofs to delight only the sight of God.
The DeLuxe Gilded edition deck comes with a stunning die-cut tuck case sleeve. It enhances the elegance and beauty of this deck and shows Domenico Gonzaga, one of the first condottiere who fought in Italy during the Renaissance.
From this luxurious sleeve, this Renaissance great man sponsors and protects the Mechanimals deck, with a metallic blue reminiscent of ultramarine blue, the finest and most expensive pigment used by artists from the Renaissance to today!
Printed by Legends Playing Card Co. and pledge starts at $18 on Kickstarter.
