5: De La Rue
In December 1831 Thomas de la Rue was granted his patent for printing playing cards by letterpress.
Sadly, there is no book on De La Rue's playing card manufacture similar to those by Mike Goodall on many of their competitors. And yet there is a great deal of material available in their archives. True, the material is dispersed somewhat, mainly between the University of Reading and the Fournier collection. I understand that a lot of the background material sold at auction by De La Rue in 1970 is not available at the museum in Vitoria. If that is so, it's a great pity.
There are two further interesting sources of information: one is on the wopc website and the other is a book about the firm The house that Thomas built written by Lorna Houseman and published in 1968, just before the firm sold their playing card interests to Waddington. The book only relates the story up until 1941, when the Bunhill Row premises were destroyed in an air-raid and is not restricted to the production of playing cards, so there's no doubt enough for another book on their later development.
See page 28 for a discussion of plate differences in De La Rue cards and page 49 for the database of my cards with De La Rue courts.
In December 1831 Thomas de la Rue was granted his patent for printing playing cards by letterpress. In the submission for the patent the details of both his early designs is given. D1 is a break with some of the postures and clothing of the traditional figures and D2 is based on the contemporary Type III courts used by Reynolds, Hardy and several other smaller makers such as H. Wheeler and Stopforth.
It is said D1 did not find favour with the card-playing public, because he had changed so many traditional features; D2, on the other hand, was in line with cards of other makers. De la Rue liked to experiment, even in the early days, so we find packs with a white line round every pip and packs with a lot of gold on them.
There are also packs with green added to the traditional colours; sometimes the packs have mixed gold and green and gold courts with a consistent back design. (Don't forget, packs were put together by hand, so mixing of this kind occurred quite easily.)
By 1840 he had redesigned his courts again, updating the design and adding a lot of extra decoration to the clothing. These were produced for quite a while and even survived into the post-Frizzle period.
At about the same time or slightly later the firm introduced a smaller-sized pack, possibly aimed at card-playing ladies, called The Victoria in adverts and price lists.
There is even a double-ended version of the latter.
After 1922, when Goodall and De La Rue had merged, both of their current designs were used for a few years, but by about 1930 the De La Rue design D9 had been discontinued. Eventually the Goodall design was taken over by Waddington, as they printed De La Rue and Goodall cards from 1942 onwards. De La Rue sold out their playing card interest to Waddington in 1969.
Here is an indication of the development of the JS design from c.1890-1930, also to be found on page 28.
De La Rue also introduced a number of what were considered improvements to cards to enhance handling during play. The pneumatic finish appeared some time in the 1880s and continued into the 1960s, by which time it was referred to as herringbone. There was also a silk-watered finish, which give the impression of shot silk; it seems to have been used only on one-colour plain backs.
The firm also produced cards for those with poor sight. As far back as the 1851 Great Exhibition they were showing Optik cards. What they looked like I don't know, but later ones had different coloured suit-signs and the courts and AS had an extra blue-grey added.
For a discussion of the plate analysis of De La Rue's courts, see page 28; a detailed set of illustrations from my collection is on page 49.
Back designs
From 1844 until 1874 the designer Owen Jones produced a series of colourful and highly decorative back designs for De La Rue. I have never seen a full list of the designs and it's not always possible to know for certain whether he was the designer in any particular case. It would also appear that other people designed backs for the firm as well. Here is a selection of obvious examples. The first two are from the set he designed for the Royal Family, which were on sale at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
By the 1880s, a while after his death, others had taken over, but they clearly found inspiration in some of his ideas and themes.
A selection of backs from c.1880-1910
By Ken Lodge
Member since May 14, 2012
I'm Ken Lodge and have been collecting playing cards since I was about eighteen months old (1945). I am also a trained academic, so I can observe and analyze reasonably well. I've applied these analytical techniques over a long period of time to the study of playing cards and have managed to assemble a large amount of information about them, especially those of the standard English pattern. About Ken Lodge →
Related Articles
Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts
A limited edition art print of the Jack of Hearts 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs
A limited edition art print of the Jack of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil Joker
A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds
A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.
Commoners playing cards
Created by Ian Cumpstey dedicated to the common land and the countryside.
Liber Ludorum
Liber Ludorum playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey in the insular style, United Kingdom, 2019.
Pike and Clover playing cards
Pike and Clover playing cards created by Ian Cumpstey, Cumbria, UK, 2018.
Inglewood Hunting Deck
Inglewood Hunting Deck created by Ian Cumpstey, United Kingdom, 2023.
Pin-Ups
A deck of 55 cards celebrating a golden age of cheeky, naughty, bold and curvy ladies in film.
Classic Movie Posters
A deck of 55 cards presenting vintage classic movies and their stars.
That’s Entertainment
A deck of 55 cards celebrating 20th Century vaudeville, musicals and cabaret.
British Monarchs
Commemorating the royal wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer on the 29th
Rock & Pop Legends
Stunning photos of a selection of US and UK music artists.
The Beatles • Yellow Submarine
A colourful deck celebrating the 1968 animated feature film based on the Lennon/McCartney song of th...
Dutch Court playing cards
Games & Print Services’ version of the Dutch pattern.
Past Masters’ Association Presentation Pack
The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards Past Masters’ Association Presentation Pack, 2013....
The Search for New Games in the late 19th century
A few new games survived and are still around today; most came and went and are only witnessed in th...
Miniature Card Dominoes
A miniature set of Goodall domino cards (5.9 x 3.5 cms) still in perfect condition.
T. Drayton & Son
Bezique and Whist boxed sets by T. Drayton & Son, London, c.1875.
Colour doodle deck
“1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist, UK, 2011.
Alice in Wonderland: we’re all mad here
Alice in Wonderland themed playing cards, UK, 2020.
Wren 300 playing cards
Papercuts by Chloe Campbell of the 52 Wren churches in the City of London.
Marlow playing cards
Visitor attractions and businesses to be found in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
Playing Politics 2010
“Playing Politics ’10: With no expenses spared” featuring caricatures by Oliver Preston, published b...
Playing Politics ’92: Pack of lies
Playing Politics ’92: Pack of lies with caricatures by Grant Robertson, UK.
B-Deck
“B-Deck” scurrilous playing cards poking fun at a former UK prime minister.
Winstanley Geographical cards
Facsimile of Winstanley’s Geographical cards produced by Harold & Virginia Wayland, 1967.
Meal Tub Plot
Meal Tub Plot playing cards [facsimile] with 17th century sketches by Francis Barlow.
Golf playing cards
Golf playing cards published by Marks & Spencer, UK.
Great inventions playing cards
Great inventions playing cards designed by Gary Wyatt, United Kingdom, 2011.
Christmas 1980 playing cards
Festive courts on a Waddingtons pack designed to celebrate Christmas 1980.
Gone to Pot: Gardener’s playing cards
‘Gone to Pot’: special playing cards for keen gardeners, United Kingdom.
The Tarot Strikes Back
Roy Huteson Stewart's The Tarot Strikes Back combines Star Wars with Rider-Waite tarot imagery.
Tottering-by-Gently
‘Tottering-by-Gently’ playing cards with cartoons by Annie Tempest.
Sally Ferries Euro playing cards
Sally Ferries Euro playing cards and phrase pack, United Kingdom.
Don’t come back
“Don’t come back” playing cards produced by Hounslow NHS Primary Care Trust and Feltham Young Offend...
From Empire to Commonwealth
Flags, locations and admission dates of 52 Commonwealth countries.
House of Tudor
Randy Butterfield's House of Tudor playing cards feature detailed art in a high-quality collectible ...
75: Early American cards
An overview of some of the early cards made in the United States.
The Pack of Positivity
Katie Abey’s rainbow-coloured designs using crazy animals to convey motivating phrases.
On-line offsite data backup
On-line offsite data backup publicity playing cards produced by The Bunker, United Kingdom, c. 2004....
The Famous Dinosaurs Playing Cards
54 different dinosaurs, both large and small, illustrated by Cecilia Fitzsimons.
Commemorative Olympic Playing Cards
Commemorative Olympic Playing Cards produced by Waddingtons exclusively for Stanley Gibbons Antiquar...
Dorset Dialect Trails
‘Dorset Dialect Trails’ playing cards, United Kingdom, 2015.