Pneumatic c.1960-1965

Published May 13, 2015 Updated June 08, 2022

De la Rue were producing Pneumatic cards with the “special graining for ease of handling” as late as early 1960s

1960 United KingdomDe la RuePneumatic

De la Rue Pneumatic playing cards with special herringbone graining for ease of handling were being produced until the early 1960s. The silhouette ace of spades without the three pence tax and the harlequin joker date from c.1960-1965 (the cards were manufactured for De la Rue by Waddingtons).

De la Rue Pneumatic cards with “special graining for ease of handling” 1960-1965
De la Rue Pneumatic cards with “special graining for ease of handling” 1960-1965 De la Rue Pneumatic cards with “special graining for ease of handling” 1960-1965

Above: De la Rue Pneumatic cards with “special graining for ease of handling” 1960-1965. Images courtesy Matt Probert.

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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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