Handmade Russian Prison Playing Cards, Complete 32 Card Deck carved box it all hinges on those

it all hinges on those tiny tiny hands

whose school history is tracked through this lot of 18 report cards

23 1/2" long x 5 3/4" widest x 7/8" deep

yielding a to my eye an ideal surface--scraped

Oil on canvas

Handmade Russian Prison Playing Cards, Complete 32 Card Deck carved box it all hinges on thoseI learned about the existence of Russian prison playing cards from Eric Oglander at tihngs, who has sold a few decks, and I wanted to hold a deck in my hands. They're pretty amazing. This complete 32 card deck plus two blanks came straight from Russian, and I know from the seller that they were made in IK 19 prison in Kazan in 2010. These, from what I understand, were not made by prisoners to sell, but rather are made as a single deck to use inside,