Prince of Wales National Relief Fund 1914
A two-pack patience set produced by Thomas De la Rue on behalf of the Prince of Wales National Relief Fund in 1914.
A two-pack patience set was produced by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd on behalf of the Prince of Wales National Relief Fund in 1914. The design consists of the Prince of Wales’s Feathers on a tinted background surrounded by a garter and patriotic design in gold, blue and red. The cards have either pink or light blue backgrounds and have a cambric surface which makes them easier to deal.
A column in the Daily Telegraph published on August 7th 1914 quotes the appeal from Buckingham Palace regarding the National Relief Fund►
Above: a two-pack patience set produced by Thomas De la Rue on behalf of the Prince of Wales National Relief Fund in 1914.
Note from Roddy Somerville
I think it is worth pointing out that both patience-size and full-size (62.5 x 90 mm) packs were produced with this fine back design. Here is what a sealed full-size pack looks like: tied with string to the 3d duty wrapper is a sample card with one corner cut off. The layout of the text and the decorative border on the box (and on the wrapper under the duty wrapper) are slightly different on the full-size version. (Click either image to zoom).
By Matt Probert
United Kingdom • Member since March 02, 2012
I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.
Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.
Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.
I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.
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