Novelty

Stacked Decks: The Art and History of Erotic Playing Cards

Chronicle Books

Reviewer: Jay Marlowe

From mildly spicy to deliciously saucy, the images on naughty playing cards are some of the best examples of erotic art through modern history. Vintage erotica curator Mark Rotenburg presents the finer points of his vast collection, with an assortment ranging from 1813 to the present.

The beautiful color plates show decks featuring Asian women, comic cards and a special 1966 "girl fight" set of BDSM imagery, to name just a few. Rotenberg's detailed introduction and commentary on the themes and origin of the cards is well written and interesting, and his love for the medium is obvious. - Jay Marlowe