#95 PIATNIK – BLUMEN QUARTETT and TIER QUARTETT (1955)

Here’s two of the oldest sets of cards that I own. They are quartets made by the Austrian cardmaker Piatnik, and here they're presented with its original case from the first editions. There are also later re-editions in which the cards were sold in plastic cases. 

The case is made of carton, and has an inner part and the outer sleeve. This outer sleeve includes a drawing taken from one of the cards, the name of the company at the time (“Wiener Spielkartenfabrik Ferdinand Piatnik and Söhne” or “Viennese Card Factory F. Piatnik and sons”) and gold bands at the sides. The “jockey” in the horse has always been the logo of Piatnik. This flowers-set was released with the reference number 278.

The deck consists of 40 cards divided in groups of 4, as in other "quartett" games. Each card has a drawing of a flower plus its name and category in German, English and French.

Back of one Tier Quartett Card

In the back of the cards, many facts about the plant/animal are explained. It’s not a single card game; it is also a little book in which children can read a lot of information about flowers and plants and animals, so it is also an educative game.

This card back tells us that the deck (both decks) does not belong to the very first edition, but to a later one. Older versions have a girl with a watering can or a girl with a dog (in the flowers quartett). Because of the many reeditions it is very difficult to date this deck exactly, but the original decks with the reference numbers 278 and 279 were released in 1955.

Blumen Quartett seems to be a more recent edition than the Tier-Quartett, according to the box style, font used, horse logo not present, and information on the front of the "Schuber" (case).

As I usually do when presenting card games, here is every single card in the game:

BLUMEN QUARTETT:

TIER QUARTETT:

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: BLUMEN QUARTETT and TIER QUARTETT (Nr. 278 and 279) 
• Alternative Names: „FLOWERS QUARTET“ and "ANIMALS QUARTETT"
• Year: 1955
• Company: Piatnik Wien (Austria)