The International Playing-Card Society (IPCS) is a non-profit organisation for those interested in
playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...
s, their design, and their history. While many of its members are collectors of playing cards, they also include historians of playing cards and their uses, particularly
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
s and their history.
The IPCS is based in the United Kingdom, but has members worldwide, especially in Europe. It produces a quarterly journal ''
The Playing-Card
''The Playing-Card'' is a quarterly publication, publishing scholarly articles covering all aspects of playing cards and of the games played with them, produced by the International Playing-Card Society (IPCS). ''The Playing-Card''s articles are ...
'', which publishes articles mostly in English but also in French, German, Italian and Spanish. It also publishes occasional monographs called "IPCS Papers", and issues pattern sheets that systematize types of standard playing-card design.
History
The IPCS was founded in 1972, as ''The Playing-Card Society'', with a journal titled ''The Journal of the Playing-Card Society''. In May 1980 the names of the society and the journal were changed, becoming ''The International Playing-Card Society'' and ''The Playing-Card''. A newsletter, which became known as ''Playing-Card World'', was formerly published as a supplement to the journal, running for 80 issues from 1975 to 1995.
Notable members
Notable members of the Society are or have included:
*Sylvia Mann, collector of and writer on playing cards, and IPCS founder member and its first president (1972–4).
*
Detlef Hoffmann, German game historian, and second president (1974–7)
*
Trevor Denning, collector of
Spanish playing cards
*
Thierry Depaulis, French game historian and president (2017–22)
*
Michael Dummett
Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." H ...
, philosopher, and IPCS founder member and past president (1981–83)
*
John McLeod, card game researcher and manager of
pagat.com
*
Franco Pratesi, Italian scientist and games researcher
References
See also
*
52 Plus Joker
External links
Official Website
{{Authority control
International learned societies
International organisations based in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1972
Playing card organisations
Card game websites