These GGA cartoon playing cards were printed by Crown Distributing, Inc. in “?”. Poker size.
I don’t have any official information about the cartoonist. But in accordance with rumors the artist can be Bill Wenzel (a cartoonist best known as a widely published GGA*** artist for men’s magazines).
The Colour Printing Plant (USSR, Russian Federation) printed this deck in 1992 to celebrate its 175th anniversary (1817-1992). The plant was closed in 2004.
Playing cards designed by Viktor Mihajlovich Sveshnikov (Opera Playing Cards).
All pictures on aces and number cards are dedicated to the Neva river and the city Saint Petersburg (The Colour Printing Plant was located in this city). The Neva river is the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge. It is a site of numerous major historical events, including the Battle of the Neva in 1240 which gave Alexander Nevsky his name, the founding of Saint Petersburg in 1703 and the Siege of Leningrad by the German army during World War II. It flows through the city Saint Petersburg.
Saint Petersburg was founded by the Tsar Peter the Great on May 27, 1703. This city was the Imperial capital of Russia from 1713 to 1728 and from 1732 to 1918. The name of the city was changed to Petrograd in 1914, to Leningrad in 1924 and back to Saint Petersburg in 1991. Peter the Great reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a maritime power. That is why a lot of pictures are connected with naval theme. I think all court cards depict persons of the time of Peter the Great. I also suspect that all Jacks can depict Peter the Great.
The deck: 52 playing cards + 2 Jokers + 2 Ad Cards.
Dimension of playing cards: 58×90 mm – 2.28×3.54 [standard bridge size: 2.25×3.5 in – 57×89 mm]
PLAYING CARDS + ART = COLLECTING 