fb pixcode

My Cart
Gift Certificates

GRAPHIC DESIGN

PUBLISHER
FUEL Publishing

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 5 x 8 in. / 272 pgs / 250 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date
Active

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2018 p. 59   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780993191121 TRADE
List Price: $32.50 CAD $42.50

AVAILABILITY
Out of stock

TERRITORY
NA ONLY

THE FALL 2025 ARTBOOK | D.A.P. CATALOG

Artbook | D.A.P. Catalog Cover Link
Preview our FALL 2025 catalog, featuring more than 500 new books on art, photography, design, architecture, film, music and visual culture.
  

FUEL PUBLISHING

Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards

Edited by Damon Murray, Stephen Sorrell. Foreword by Varlam Shalamov. Introduction by Raul Kaasik. Text by Arkady Bronnikov.

Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards

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.

Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards

STATUS: Out of stock

Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA AND BOOKS BY DANZIG BALDAEV
Russian Criminal Playing Cards

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL PLAYING CARDS

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780995745544
USD $20.00
| CAD $29.95

Pub Date: 9/25/2018
Active | Out of stock


Russian Criminal Tattoos and Playing Cards

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOOS AND PLAYING CARDS

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780993191121
USD $32.50
| CAD $42.5

Pub Date: 10/23/2018
Active | Out of stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Police Files

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO POLICE FILES

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780956896292
USD $32.50
| CAD $42.5

Pub Date: 3/22/2016
Active | In stock


Soviets

SOVIETS

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780956896278
USD $32.95
| CAD $43.95

Pub Date: 4/30/2014
Active | In stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Postcards

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA POSTCARDS

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780956896261
USD $29.95
| CAD $39.95

Pub Date: 10/31/2013
Active | In stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume I

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA VOLUME I

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780955862076
USD $34.95
| CAD $48.95

Pub Date: 10/31/2009
Active | In stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia Volume II

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPEDIA VOLUME II

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780955006128
USD $34.95
| CAD $48.95

Pub Date: 9/30/2011
Active | In stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume III

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA VOLUME III

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780955006197
USD $34.95
| CAD $48.95

Pub Date: 11/1/2008
Active | In stock


Danzig Baldaev: Drawings from the Gulag

DANZIG BALDAEV: DRAWINGS FROM THE GULAG

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780956356246
USD $32.95
| CAD $43.95

Pub Date: 10/31/2010
Active | Out of stock


Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Limited Edition Boxed Set

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL TATTOO ENCYCLOPAEDIA LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780955862038
USD $1,995.00
| CAD $2400

Pub Date: 12/31/2012
Out of print | Not available


OF RELATED INTEREST

Russian Criminal Playing Cards

RUSSIAN CRIMINAL PLAYING CARDS

FUEL Publishing

ISBN: 9780995745544
USD $20.00
| CAD $29.95

Pub Date: 9/25/2018
Active | Out of stock


FORTHCOMING AND NEW: DESIGN AND DECORATIVE ARTS

Love and Lightning

LOVE AND LIGHTNING

Valiz

ISBN: 9789493246478
USD $35.00
| CAD $49

Pub Date: 11/18/2025
Forthcoming


Serigrafistas Queer: Freedom for Sensibilities

SERIGRAFISTAS QUEER: FREEDOM FOR SENSIBILITIES

Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand/KMEC Books

ISBN: 9786557770788
USD $45.00
| CAD $64 UK £ 36

Pub Date: 11/18/2025
Forthcoming


Giovanni Pintori: Advertising as Art

GIOVANNI PINTORI: ADVERTISING AS ART

Silvana Editoriale

ISBN: 9788836657063
USD $45.00
| CAD $64

Pub Date: 10/28/2025
Forthcoming


Architecture Record Covers

ARCHITECTURE RECORD COVERS

nai010 Publishers

ISBN: 9789462089303
USD $39.95
| CAD $54.95

Pub Date: 9/30/2025
Forthcoming


Lettres Décoratives: A Century of French Sign Painters’ Alphabets

LETTRES DéCORATIVES: A CENTURY OF FRENCH SIGN PAINTERS’ ALPHABETS

Letterform Archive Books

ISBN: 9798989142392
USD $65.00
| CAD $90 UK £ 52

Pub Date: 10/28/2025
Forthcoming


Passenger Information System

PASSENGER INFORMATION SYSTEM

Lars Müller Publishers

ISBN: 9783037787847
USD $60.00
| CAD $85

Pub Date: 9/30/2025
Forthcoming


Alphabet in Motion

ALPHABET IN MOTION

Katherine Small Gallery

ISBN: 9780997175912
USD $85.00
| CAD $130 UK £ 70

Pub Date: 11/4/2025
Forthcoming


Clara Istlerová: A Life Among Letters

CLARA ISTLEROVá: A LIFE AMONG LETTERS

Inventory Press

ISBN: 9781941753804
USD $35.00
| CAD $53 UK £ 30

Pub Date: 7/29/2025
Active | In stock


A Queer Year of Love Letters

A QUEER YEAR OF LOVE LETTERS

Inventory Press

ISBN: 9781941753798
USD $24.95
| CAD $37.95 UK £ 21

Pub Date: 8/19/2025
Forthcoming


Fracture: Japanese Graphic Design 1875–1975

FRACTURE: JAPANESE GRAPHIC DESIGN 1875–1975

Set Margins’ publications

ISBN: 9789083449845
USD $38.00
| CAD $57

Pub Date: 2/11/2025
Active | In stock


Lucian Bernhard

LUCIAN BERNHARD

KANT

ISBN: 9788074374135
USD $75.00
| CAD $115

Pub Date: 11/12/2024
Active | Out of stock


NKF: Piet Zwart’s Avant-Garde Catalog for Standard Cables

NKF: PIET ZWART’S AVANT-GARDE CATALOG FOR STANDARD CABLES

Letterform Archive Books

ISBN: 9798989142316
USD $60.00
| CAD $87.5 UK £ 52

Pub Date: 11/12/2024
Active | In stock