Mas Reynals - "Suits" Catalan Playing Cards

8/07/2026

Mas Reynals - "Suits" Catalan Playing Cards

INTRODUCTION

Today’s deck might look familiar to some readers, and it wouldn't be an unjustified case of déjà vu. It bears a striking resemblance to another piece we’ve previously analyzed. In fact, I’d even go so far as to call it its direct predecessor.

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

This deck was produced by Mas Reynals before its rebrand to Varitemas, likely between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. This is second-hand information, however, as there is no physical evidence on the cards themselves to confirm it. Neither a model name nor a reference number is provided; in fact, the only inscriptions in the entire pack appear on the Fours, restricted solely to the names of the suits: "Oros", "Copas", "Espadas", and "Bastos". Faced with this complete lack of documentation, and needing a designation for our archive, I have coined the name "Suits" Catalan Playing Cards—a purely descriptive, unofficial label we will use to refer to it.

ICONOGRAPHY & DESIGN

It is a 40-card Catalan Pattern Spanish deck with straightforward designs that do not appear to be directly inspired by any particular deck.

The court cards are especially striking, being virtually identical to those found in another deck from the same maker (Ref. 201A). The only noticeable differences are color variations in some of the garments and, more importantly, a lower level of detail in the compositions—a distinction that becomes clear when comparing them side by side, though it might easily go unnoticed if viewed separately. In fact, they almost look like prototypes or preliminary versions of the courts seen in the newer deck. Oddly and somewhat paradoxically, however, the faces in the older deck appear slightly more detailed, or at least feature cleaner line work.

The Aces and the rest of the pip cards follow the conventions of the Catalan Pattern, but depart further from Ref. 201A, coming across as simpler and more rudimentary—a trait particularly evident in the Aces of Cups and Batons. That said, I don't find them aesthetically unappealing; in fact, I'd even say they lend the whole set an endearing character.

PRINT ANALYSIS & POSSIBLE DIGITAL ORIGIN

The printing deserves special mention, not because of its high quality, but rather the lack thereof—which, in this particular case, isn't necessarily a defect. Inspecting the cards closely reveals jagged edges (aliasing) across almost the entire deck, most prominently on the Cups. Most notably, this effect is inconsistent, being far more pronounced in some illustrations than in others. These incongruities can be spotted even on the same card: on the Courts of Cups, for instance, the suit symbols' seem more pixelated than the figures holding them. I encourage the reader to examine the full-resolution images, where these details are clearly visible.

What might this mean? We are entering speculative territory here, but I would suggest that source images of varying resolutions were compiled into the original digital master. Taking it a step further, I might even venture that this deck could be an early example of playing card design built from scratch in a digital environment—humble beginnings that today may strike us as crude or unpolished. However, we should keep in mind that classic techniques like lithography undoubtedly went through their own technical growing pains.

Retroactively comparing the images of Ref. 201A, these flaws appear toned down, yet they can still be easily identified by checking the spots where they stand out most in the earlier deck. This would indicate that the artwork was not redrawn for the newer edition, but instead subjected to bicubic interpolation or some other anti-aliasing filter by way of a digital "remaster."

All that said, and without wanting to spark a debate, I end this section with a short thought. In the analog realm, what we often categorize as organic grain or charmingly natural strokes appears here in the form of clunky pixels that jar the eye. Maybe it is simply a matter of time, and in a century's time, our view of this early digital aesthetic will be entirely transformed.

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Recommended Further Reading:

Mas Reynals – Ref. 201A: A similar Catalan deck featuring virtually identical court cards. As discussed in this post, it is likely a modern revision of the designs seen here.
Mas Reynals – Ref. 201: A deck with completely different artwork. Nevertheless, aliasing flaws can also be identified across its cards.