What a Magician’s 26,000 Playing Card Decks Can Teach Us About Collecting
by Jason Collins © Gifts for Card Players
At a certain point, a playing-card collection stops fitting neatly on a shelf, and for Steve Brooks, a magician, designer, and Magic Café founder, that point passed a long time ago. In his 2020 interview with PlayingCardDecks.com, Brooks estimated that he owned close to 26 thousand decks. That’s a really impressive collection, despite the fact that it contains duplicate sets and unopened bricks.
Brooks described storing his collection in large plastic bins and admitted that moving the collection would require trucks, rather than a few cardboard boxes you could load onto a pickup. Oh, and don’t get us started on the weight; paper doesn’t seem particularly heavy until you stack thousands upon thousands of decks together.
But the numbers and sheer volume of Brooks’ collection isn’t the interesting part. The interesting part is how and why playing cards become collectibles in the first place, and how people see them as more than just objects made for entertainment. There are many different types of cards, and Brook’s own collection stretches from Civil War-era Faro decks to modern designer releases, transformation cards, gilded decks, and even playing cards made from wood and metal.
Taken together, the cards show how something designed to be shuffled, handled, and eventually worn out can also become a historical artifact, a miniature artwork, and an object worth preserving. They also offer a useful lesson for anyone tempted to start collecting cards themselves: a good collection doesn’t come with quantity, but with something that makes you want to look closer.
Start With the Story, Not the Price
Books had collected cards casually since childhood because he liked the artwork, but this interest became more serious through another hobby: American Civil War history. That led him towards decks produced during the period, particularly Faro decks, which are associated with a game mostly remembered today as an Old West gambling game.
However, Faro was very popular in the United States during the nineteenth century, and Faro decks could be found in gambling houses across the country. It was widespread enough during the Civil War that contemporary decks can now connect a collector to a very specific part of American Social History. In fact, that’s one of the easiest ways to understand why old playing cards become collectibles.
A deck doesn’t have to depict a certain battle or a famous person to document its era. The printing process, typography, tax stamps, advertising, court-card designs, packaging, and even the wear on the cards are the things that actually reveal where and when it was used. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has exhibited 15th– and 16th– century luxury playing cards as works of art that reflect the societies that produced them.
Considering that the playing cards are used until they wear out, early survivors are particularly valuable as historical objects. For collectors, that means the most interesting deck of playing cards isn’t necessarily the rarest one. Sometimes, it’s the deck with the best story behind it.
A Playing Card Can Be a Tiny Canvas
History is only one reason to collect. Brooks reportedly returned to artwork when describing what attracted him to cards, and transformation decks are among his favorites. Transformation decks are decks in which artists build illustrations around the hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades already printed on the card. Instead of simply decorating the background, the artist has to make the pips part of the picture itself.
But transformation cards aren’t a novelty. In fact, the idea is more than two centuries old. They began appearing around 1800, first as drawing exercises and novelties before developing into commercially published decks. In a traditional transformation deck, the suit symbols remain in their standard positions but become part of a larger scene. The diamond might become a part of a costume, while a row of hearts might become faces or objects within an illustration.
The limitations are also part of the appeal. A designer can’t simply place the artwork whenever they please, because the cards have to retain their familiar structure while simultaneously becoming something else. Modern custom-card designers have pushed the same idea in different directions. Brooks singles out work by designers including Randy Butterfield and Jackson Robinson, whose decks use elaborate illustrations, typography, foil, and packaging to turn an everyday pack of cards into small design objects.
Then, there are decks that abandon ordinary card stock entirely and turn to other materials. Brooks owns a 52-card deck made from real cherry wood, along with decks made from copper, brass, and stainless steel. They may not be the cards anyone would choose for a long poker night, but that’s almost beside the point. They demonstrate how flexible the basic idea of a deck can be.
Even gilding tells a story. Brooks prefers older gilded decks, where gold was applied using more traditional processes. Modern gilded cards may handle more smoothly, he argues, but the decorative edge can wear faster when the cards are actually used. For a collector, craftsmanship and usability don’t always point in the same direction.
Collecting Does Not Have to Mean Chasing Rare Decks
A collection of 26 thousand decks makes playing-card collecting sound like a hobby that requires a warehouse and a very, very understanding family. But in truth, it actually doesn’t.
One of Brooks’ more useful observations is that collectors specialize in remarkably narrow areas. Some collect entire decks. Others collect only individual cards. One person may fill binders entirely with Jokers, another with Aces of Spades, while someone else might collect old playing-card tax stamps or decks from a particular country or manufacturer. And there’s an established community around these interests.
52 Plus Joker, founded in 1985, brings together collectors of antique, vintage, and modern cards, along with designers, manufacturers, magicians, historians, and cardists. The organization runs auctions, publishes materials on card history, and holds conventions where collectors can buy, sell, and study decks.
Historical reproduction decks can provide the artwork and unusual suit designs of much older cards without the cost or anxiety of handling an original. Modern transformation decks offer another accessible route, while contemporary artist-designed decks can often be collected for little more than the cost of an ordinary premium pack.
An aspiring collector could just as easily choose a theme: aviation, advertising, casinos, military history, cats, railways, pinup art, local businesses, or decks picked up while traveling. The theme matters more than the size.
Value Is More Complicated Than Rarity
Ask any collector, and they’ll tell you that collectibles inevitably raise the question of money. Brooks, on the other hand, offers a refreshingly uncomplicated view of it. When asked how a deck should be valued, his answer was essentially “whatever the market will bear.” A deck can be scarce and beautifully preserved, but its financial value depends on someone else wanting to buy it.
That distinction matters because modern playing cards are sometimes treated like speculative products. Limited editions disappear quickly, collectors buy sealed decks, and some buyers hope that today’s relatively affordable limited edition custom deck will become tomorrow’s sought-after rarity.
That type of collecting is more akin to long-term investing, which Brooks separates from collecting for enjoyment. Some decks in his collection are valuable because they’re old or scarce, including unopened Faro decks. Others matter because of their design, craftsmanship, history, or simply because he likes them. And the latter is probably healthier advice for a new collector than trying to predict which current release will rise in price.
So, buy the deck because you would still want it if its resale value never changed.
How to Start a Collection Without Losing the Spare Room
Collections tend to grow and take up more and more space, so the easiest way to start the collection without losing the spare room is to make said collection deliberately small.
Pick one area that genuinely interests you and follow it for a while. Historical reproductions are an obvious starting point for someone interested in playing card history. Transformation decks suit people attracted to illustration. Casino decks, advertising cards, Jokers, unusual Aces of Spades, or decks from different countries can all become collections without requiring hundreds of purchases.
Condition of the deck or individual cards matters more once older cards enter the picture, and having an original box, a complete set of cards, tax stamp, Joker, and ad inserts can make an old deck much more interesting to collectors. Brooks describes collectors waiting years to complete a particular deck, sometimes finding the missing box long after acquiring the cards themselves.
Storage is worth thinking about early, and simple protective cases, archival sleeves for individual cards, or a dedicated display box make better gifts for a serious collector than simply buying another random deck. Reference books and reproduction decks can be equally useful because they let someone explore the history behind what they already own.
Most importantly, there is no need to compete with Steve Brooks. His collection is fascinating because it reflects decades of changing interests, from art, magic, Civil War history, manufacturing techniques, unusual materials, and the work of modern designers. The collection of 26 thousand decks is the result, not the point.
Final Thoughts
A playing card is one of those objects familiar enough to become almost invisible. We usually notice what’s printed on in just long enough to identify the suit and value, then play the next card.
But collectors do the opposite. They stop and look. Sometimes they find a game piece, sometimes a clever illustration, an obsolete printing technique, a piece of gambling history, or an object made by an artist who decided that 63 square centimeters of cardboard was enough room to make something memorable.
Jason Collins is a writer with more than 10 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree in English. His work often takes him into fascinating corners of history, where fact and legend have a habit of getting mixed together. He enjoys digging into the people, events, and unlikely stories behind the history we think we know.
