Politicards are a deck of

playing cards 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 fi ...

produced each election year in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with 54

caricatures A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...

depicting political candidates and prominent political figures. The first Politicards deck was produced in 1971 for the 1972 election by the artist Peter Green, the writer Lee Livingston, the businessman Mike Killeen and the designer Norman Friant."What the Deuce?", ''Southland Sunday'' magazine, June 18, 1972. By 2016, about 200,000 packs of cards were being sold during each election cycle. Decks were said to have been used at the time by then New York Senator James Buckley and by the ladies of Mamie Eisenhower’s bridge club.Stumbo, "Politicards Sweeping the Nation", ''The Los Angeles Times'', December 27, 1971. Decks of "Politicards" have been produced for election years 1971, 1980, 1984Krebs, "Notes on People", ''New York Times'', August 16, 1980.Vaillancourt, "Artist is Playing With a Full Deck", ''Glendale News-Press'', October 29, 2007. and 1996 onwards. The 1980 and 1984 edition decks were produced by the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

Victor Kamber Victor Samuel Kamber (born May 7, 1943) is an American labor union activist and political consultant in the United States. A Democrat, he worked for the AFL-CIO in the 1970s before forming The Kamber Group, a public relations firm, in 1980. The ...

, who purchased the Politicards name in 1979. In 1996, the name expired and was reclaimed by the original artist Peter Green, who has since produced decks for every election through to 2016. Green released an alternative set to the standard 2016 edition titled "Politikids" and depicted political figures as children.

References

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External links

The Official Politicards website. Contains more information about the history of Politicards. American political satire Rhetoric Playing cards Politics of the United States Cultural depictions of American people Cultural depictions of politicians American humor