Albert Field ’38CC was Salvador Dalí’s personal “archivist,” hired to distinguish real Dalís from thousands of fakes. He was also a playing-card collector. Field, who died in 2003, left his collection of 6,400 decks to Columbia. An exhibit of cards spanning four hundred years and four continents will be on display at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library starting September 23.
Karata Playing Cards: Colour Print Ltd. Kenya, circa 1970-1985.
Standard deck of playing cards with Italian suits. Ant. Herrl (publisher). Gratz, Austria, 1790.
Baraja Capricho, Enrique Pastor Cortina, artist. Lit. Viuda de Ismael Haase, for Fabrica de Chocolates El Barco. Valencia, Spain, 1875-88.
Artball, Don Celender (1931-2005), artist. USA, 1972.
Rock'n Bubble, for Dandy Gum. Netherlands, circa 1986.
Eroticartes, J. M. Simon. France, 1983.
New York City, Standard Playing Card Co. Chicago, 1905.
Transformation cards. Germany, 1856.
This article appears in the Fall 2019 print edition of Columbia Magazine with the title "Wild Cards."
