Jack Horner Snap
“Little Jack Horner” Snap made by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1890.
“Little Jack Horner” Snap
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner
Eating his Christmas pie,
He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
And said "What a good boy am I!"
The nursery rhyme was often used to parody the politics and leaders of the day. Seemingly innocent rhymes could easily spread scandalous and scurrilous messages. Their original meanings are often forgotten with the passing of time.
Above: “Little Jack Horner” Snap manufactured by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1890. There are 13 different rhymes with 4 cards of each. They are: Oranges & Lemons, Little Bo Peep, Old King Cole, Little Tommy Tucker, Little Miss Muffet, Humpty Dumpty, A Frog He Would a Wooing Go, Little Jack Horner, This Little Pig Went to Market, Pat a Cake, Tom the Piper's Son, Old Woman who lived in a Shoe and finally Old Mother Hubbard. Images courtesy Adam West-Watson.
See also: Nursery Rhyme & History→
By Adam West-Watson
Member since September 01, 2014
I have been fascinated by playing cards ever since I can remember, and still have several of the card games I had as a child. And although I had accumulated quite a number of packs of various sorts over the years, it wasn't until I was in my 50s that I began collecting in earnest. My tastes are quite varied, and my collection of 800 or so decks includes:- children's games, standard and non-standard playing cards, adult games, fortune telling and oracle cards, tarot cards, and even cigarette cards.
Related Articles
Boddingtons Bitter playing cards
Cool-looking courts advertising Boddingtons Bitter, originally brewed in Manchester.
OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner
Twentieth-century personalities promoting a millennium dinner at the Oxo Tower in London.
Kids Fun Box playing cards
Colourful cards for children with four non-standard suits connected with the natural world.
Tangle Foot Ale
Badger Brewery Tangle Foot strong ale advertising pack.
Scientific Whist
“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...
Agent Provocateur
Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.
Nimbus playing cards
Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.
Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited
Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...
The Decadent Deck
Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.
Historic Shakespeare
“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.
Copechat Paramount Sorting System
Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...
Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893
A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.
Rap Rummy
Rap Rummy made by Parker Brothers in 1926, only 4 years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s to...
Batman® playing cards
Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.
Can You Believe Your Eyes?
“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.
Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind
The “Pastime” Playing Cards for the Blind manufactured by Goodall & Son Limd., c.1910.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
