Regional Diversity
This set of playing cards is held at the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. It was digitized as part of the RNL's collaboration with the Library of Congress. The phenomenal result of their collaboration was the "Meeting of Frontiers" project.
The full name of the set is: Album of Geographical Playing Cards of Russia, arranged on 80 cards according to maritime basin. An earlier version was produced in the 1820s.
Here is how the playing cards are described by the Meeting of Frontiers project:
"This souvenir set of eighty-two illustrated cards–one for each province of the Russian empire--presents an overview of each region’s culture, history, economy, and geography in the second half of the nineteenth century. The front of each card depicts the distinguishing features of that region, such as rivers, mountains, major cities, and chief industries. The back of each card contains a provincial seal and map and has information about climate, natural resources, and local populations and tribes."
