A menagerie of Edward Gorey’s most recognizable characters has slithered, waltzed, or leapt onto these playing cards featuring the top-hatted skeleton from The Gashlycrumb Tinies, a one-legged Edwardian dandy, a ballerina bat holding fourth position, a French maid delivering hors d’oeuvres by swinging from a chandelier, and a miscellany of other baleful, giddy, loathsome, and loveable personae. (There’s a feline, of course, as well as a fur-coat-clad figure that looks suspiciously like the artist himself.) On the verso of each card is a labyrinth from The Awdrey-Gore Legacy.

A Renaissance man of boundless imagination, Edward Gorey created more than 100 works, designed sets and costumes for theatrical productions, and had a profound affection for ballet, literature, film, and animals. In such masterworks as his opening credits for the PBS television series Mystery!, Gorey brought to life enigmatic, humorous tales from the laboratory of his mind, leaving his unique stamp on American art and culture.

The playing cards feature a varnish and linen finish for a smooth shuffle; they have just the right ratio of flexibility to sturdiness. Each deck includes 52 playing cards and 2 jokers, plus two additional cards featuring art and an artist bio.

The deck comes in a handsome and beautifully constructed presentation box.

Poker sized cards: 3.5" x 2.5"