Love & Retribution Playing Cards | Victorian Narrative Series

Love & Retribution Illustrated Playing Cards

Fully illustrated, narrative-driven Victorian playing cards

HISTORY

Launched as a Kickstarter campaign in August 2025, Love & Retribution tells the fiery tale of a forbidden love in Victorian England. Set against the backdrop of Fairhurst Manor in rural Lancashire, an area right on the doorstep of the real-life home of A. Haines Playing Cards.

Vintage playing cards with intricate designs on a textured surface

DEVELOPMENT

Charlotte created an entire world, expounded in the collector's edition hardback book available as an exclusive item to Kickstarter backers only, and Alex illustrated that world into three packs of playing cards: with deck 1 (pictured above) telling the story of the first half of the book, and deck 2 (below) inspired by the dramatic second half of the book. A third deck was also created, which features below. Each court card in the deck is a character from the book, with the hero and heroine illustrated as the King & Queen of Hearts: Sarah Fairhurst and Henry Williams.

THE HIGHWAYMAN

In keeping with the dramatic conclusion of the book, the tuckbox for deck 2 features a bold, iconic Highwayman expertly illustrated in a vintage line-etching style and pressed from luxury silver foil onto the special navy blue tuck paper - thick and grained for a truly luxury playing card experience. The deck itself is available in two versions: standard and gilded (you can shop the collection below).

LUXURY GILDED VERSIONS

Each deck was made available in standard and gilded editions, with limited numbers of each. Deck 1 features a rich gold gilding to complement the classic red colourway, while deck 2 features a shimmering silver gilding to perfectly offset the midnight blue colour scheme. Truly luxury vintage decks of heritage playing cards that collectors will treasure.

OUR FIRST EVER MINI DECK

Henry's loyal canine sidekick - Dash - is the inspiration behind our first ever mini poker size deck of hand-illustrated vintage playing cards. Made from premium quality materials and featuring authentic antique faces without the corner index - we hope you love this charming deck as much as we do! We think you will agree, whether buying the full set as a bundle, or individually choosing your favourite pieces, the A. Haines Love & Retribution illustrated vintage playing cards make for the perfect gift idea be it for Father's Day, Christmas or a Birthday. Shop the collection below.