The Deck

Published in 1963 by Humor House, Inc., the court cards in this deck are portrayed by various members of the Kennedy family and their friends.

Due to the tragic ending to John F. and Bobby Kennedy's lives, you rarely see political caricatures of them like these. Seeing them given a light-hearted treatment like this harkens back to what, from today's perspective, seems to be a simpler, more innocent time in the world's past.

The deck contains an extra card which, in light of events to follow, rings rather sadly:

"The royalty of playing cards has variously represented Adam, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Helen of Troy, Pallas Athena and others. Our own national leaders and heroes have been occasionally commemorated on face cards.

The Kennedy Kards have been conceived within this tradition and confirm what voters have said in recent elections - we have a new JACK of Hearts.

The White House is now a full house.

Long live the King, the Queen and the Jack!"

The Cards on Display

• The Queen of Hearts - The First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.
  
• The Jack of Clubs - Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson
  
• The King of Diamonds - Bobby Kennedy, the Attorney General.
  
• The Ace of Spades - John F. Kennedy himself. Looks surprisingly like present-day caricatures of Bill Clinton...
  
• The Joker - The Democratic donkey.
  
• The Card back - The whole clan (note actor Peter Lawford on the right).
  

JFK Resources on the Web

• John F. Kennedy - The White House's JFK web page. Part of an interesting series of pages on all U.S. Presidents.
  
• Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis - The White House's page on her, part of a parallel series of pages on all U.S. First Ladies.
  
• Auctions: THE ESTATE OF JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS - Sotheby's web site describing the "auction of the century".
  
• Alta Vista Search - Search the net for more JFK sites!
  

Back to The Lobby