I just found this neat site. You may want to bookmark it. it shows different types of playing cards by country/geographical areas (scroll down the page; hit the links):
http://www.pagat.com/class/index.html#equipment
(I bet you often came across strange decks and wondered where they came from, what they were made for.)

(My new acquisition of wood poker dice (solid perfume in each die) is shown in the picture.)

Robert