THE KELLY GANG deck. Outlandish Playing Cards very easy to catch
The stories about bandits have always been exciting and, even despite being outlaws persecuted for justice, many of them have become legendary heroes. This is the case of Ned Kelly and his gang that now receive a tribute in the form of a deck of cards: THE KELLY GANG.
Son of an Irish father, a convict transferred to the British colony of Victoria (Australia) in the mid-nineteenth century, Ned Kelly grew up with an indelible idea about rebellion against the English government. Thus, he challenged all types of authority since his adolescence. His background and a constant choice of the worst company kept him out of the law throughout his short but intense life in which fleeing the police became a game as exciting as breaking the law. Throughout the twentieth century he became a cultural icon thanks to a ton of biographies that praised him to the category of popular hero. An Australian Robin Hood that still today splits the opinion of the local society.
Aleseva Design Studio launches their first deck with the collaboration of my friends from BuyWorthy, the Australian reference of playing cards production and distribution. The artist Erik Suswanto has taken as inspiration this man and his “adventures” to illustrate a very special deck, in which elegant and stylized pips are combined with simple and monochromatic linear designs in the court cards, with a traditional schema, and in the aces, which show Ned and his henchmen.
The back shows two revolvers with the quote “Such is Life”, mentioned by some historians as the bandit’s last words before dying in 1880.
The jokers are also two interesting references to the metal helmet and armor that he used in the very last of his confrontations with the police before being captured and to his mother, an essential figure that deeply inspired Kelly’s rebellion and fight against the system.
These playing cards will be printed on a limited edition of 1000 decks by NPCC (Noir Arts) in a tuck case with gold foil and inner printing.
If you want to be part of the history of the bushrangers from of colonial Australia, visit THE KELLY GANG the project website and raise your pledge.
Good luck!
