BOOK FORMAT Hardcover, 5 x 8 in. / 272 pgs / 250 color.
PUBLISHING STATUS Pub Date 10/23/2018 Active
DISTRIBUTION D.A.P. Exclusive Catalog: FALL 2018 p. 59
PRODUCT DETAILS ISBN 9780993191121TRADE List Price: $32.50 CDN $42.50
AVAILABILITY In stock
The latest in FUEL's super-informative (even shocking) yet designy book series highlighting the inventive, highly codified, secret graphic languages and pastimes of hardened Russian criminals behind bars. The book elucidates the "strange, brutal connection between Russian prison tats and playing cards" (Vice), which were produced covertly with such DIY materials as "glue" made from chewed prison bread strained through cloth and "inks" made from soot and blood. BONUS: FUEL actually published a facsimile companion deck of 54 Russian Criminal Playing Cards!
Check out our Spring 2019 catalog, featuring more than 500 new books on art & culture. We welcome new publishers Arquine, Atelier Éditions, August Editions, The Design Museum, London, Eakins Press, Editions Patrick Frey, Fulgur Press, Kasmin, Lisson Gallery, Marciano Art Foundation, Marsilio Editori, Onomatopee and Ridinghouse to our list in 2019!
Edited by Damon Murray, Stephen Sorrell. Foreword by Varlam Shalamov. Introduction by Raul Kaasik. Text by Arkady Bronnikov.
The secret art and culture of the Russian criminal playing card
This book reveals the importance of playing cards in Russian criminal culture. The handmade decks are beautiful works of art in their own right. Prohibited by the prison authorities, they are constructed from innocuous materials procured from the everyday routine of prison life. During construction both the cards and their designs are adroitly manipulated so they can be read. Once they are completed, the virtuoso player prowls the prison, searching for a suitable victim. This process is described here for the first time. Extensive diagrams show how the cards are made, while decks of actual prison cards are reproduced in facsimile.
The book also features a further 150 photographs from the Arkady Bronnikov collection. The texts and captions accompanying these images reveal the connection between the criminal hierarchy, tattoos and playing cards. The respect commanded by any criminal was directly related to his ability to play, and win, at cards. The game was viewed as a means to demonstrate cunning and bravado. Failure to pay a gambling debt could result in a forcibly applied pornographic tattoo, lowering its bearer's status. The loser would also be made to pay the "pricker" (tattooist). Fingers, ears, even eyes might be lost—cut off in the presence of other prisoners as witnesses. Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards provides unique insight into the design of these playing cards and their link to the Russian criminal underworld.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Vice
Alex Norcia
Explores the intimate, overlapping history of tattoos and card games in Soviet-era prisons.
in stock $32.50
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FORMAT: Hbk, 5 x 8 in. / 272 pgs / 250 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $32.50 LIST PRICE: CANADA $42.5 ISBN: 9780993191121 PUBLISHER: FUEL Publishing AVAILABLE: 10/23/2018 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
The latest in FUEL's super-informative (even shocking) yet designy book series highlighting the inventive, highly codified, secret graphic languages and pastimes of hardened Russian criminals behind bars. The book elucidates the "strange, brutal connection between Russian prison tats and playing cards" (Vice), which were produced covertly with such DIY materials as "glue" made from chewed prison bread strained through cloth and "inks" made from soot and blood. BONUS: FUEL actually published a facsimile companion deck of 54 Russian Criminal Playing Cards!
Published by FUEL Publishing. Edited by Damon Murray, Stephen Sorrell. Foreword by Varlam Shalamov. Introduction by Raul Kaasik. Text by Arkady Bronnikov.
The secret art and culture of the Russian criminal playing card
This book reveals the importance of playing cards in Russian criminal culture. The handmade decks are beautiful works of art in their own right. Prohibited by the prison authorities, they are constructed from innocuous materials procured from the everyday routine of prison life. During construction both the cards and their designs are adroitly manipulated so they can be read. Once they are completed, the virtuoso player prowls the prison, searching for a suitable victim. This process is described here for the first time. Extensive diagrams show how the cards are made, while decks of actual prison cards are reproduced in facsimile.
The book also features a further 150 photographs from the Arkady Bronnikov collection. The texts and captions accompanying these images reveal the connection between the criminal hierarchy, tattoos and playing cards. The respect commanded by any criminal was directly related to his ability to play, and win, at cards. The game was viewed as a means to demonstrate cunning and bravado. Failure to pay a gambling debt could result in a forcibly applied pornographic tattoo, lowering its bearer's status. The loser would also be made to pay the "pricker" (tattooist). Fingers, ears, even eyes might be lost—cut off in the presence of other prisoners as witnesses. Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards provides unique insight into the design of these playing cards and their link to the Russian criminal underworld.
