Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd
In December 1831 Thomas de la Rue was granted his patent for printing playing cards by letterpress.
5: De La Rue
In December 1831 Thomas de la Rue was granted his patent for printing playing cards by letterpress.

Lobo
Lobo, the London Underground card game published by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd, 1930s.

68: Playing cards in glass
My wife and I have recently commissioned a unique pair of stained glass windows for our home.

67: Adverts and related material after 1900
The final page of material relating to playing cards from British periodicals.

59: Owen Jones (1809-74) and De La Rue
A selection of examples of Owen Jones's work printed by De La Rue.

Pashas
“Pasha” is one of Charles Goodall’s brands which first appeared in c.1898 and was retained until after the De la Rue takeover.

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.

When three brands merge...
After De la Rue factories were bombed in 1940 their cards were printed by Waddingtons. In 1962 Waddingtons and De la Rue combined forces to form the Amalgamated Playing Card Co.

Help Yourself Society
The “Help Yourself” Society was formed in 1927 to run fundraising activities for hospitals.

49: De La Rue in detail
A detailed presentation of the variants of De La Rue's standard cards.

Vac-tric Electric Vacuum Cleaners
Vac-tric Electric Vacuum Cleaner playing cards manufactured by De la Rue, 1930s.

Jungle Jinks
Jungle Jinks card game with artwork by Constance Stannard Chapman, manufactured by Thomas De La Rue & Co Ltd for H P Gibson & Sons Ltd, c.1905.

Noah’s Ark Card Game
Noah’s Ark Card Game, c.1905, which in its day helped to teach the Old Testament worldview

Peter Pan
“Peter Pan” pictorial card game published by H. P. Gibson & Sons Ltd in c.1912 and manufactured by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd from drawings by Charles A. Buchel (1872–1950).

Electrical Mah Jong
Electrical Mah Jong was produced by De La Rue for The Western Electric Company Ltd in 1924 for the Wembley Exhibition.

Travel Agent
Travel Agent is a card game designed by Martin A. Foley and manufactured by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1960.

Iddy Umpty
“Iddy Umpty” card game based around learning to read the Morse Code Alphabet. by Thomas de la Rue & Co., Ltd, c.1905

Bread & Honey
A charming Victorian family card game involving Clowns, Queens, Kings, Maids and thirty-seven Blackbirds manufactured by Thos De la Rue, c.1900.

Spin & Old Maid
Lovely Victorian family card game with illustrations by the famous humorous artist, cartoonist and illustrator Richard Doyle (1824-1883)

Stop Thief & Snip-Snap
Another late Victorian family card game by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1895 with beautifully illustrated period characters.

Moods & Faces
“Moods & Faces” round game by Thos de la Rue & Co Ltd,. c.1900.

Cavalry Game
The “Cavalry Game” manufactured by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1900-10.

Gipsy Fortune Telling Cards
“Gipsy” fortune-telling cards with original artwork by Hylton Cock, published by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd., c.1910.

Tempest
Tempest is a family card game designed by W. Heath Robinson and published by Thomas de la Rue & Co. Ltd, c.1920s

Golliwogg, c.1902
The stories about the Golliwogg and the Dutch dolls were written by Bertha Upton (1849-1912) and illustrated by her daughter Florence Kate Upton (1873-1922)

Kikit
Kikit is an indoor football game made by De la Rue, c.1920.

A Pair of Transformation Packs
Two similar but fascinatingly different hand-drawn transformation decks by the same artist, c.1875

Empire Card Company: Star Playing Cards
The “Star” special pack of playing cards manufactured by Thomas De la Rue under their Empire Card Co subsidiary, c.1910.

Pneumatic Series ‘F’
De la Rue Pneumatic Series ‘F’ playing cards, c.1925.

Rūfa
Rūfa is a game designed by Ernest Legh and manufactured by De la Rue. The object is to build a pagoda with specially-designed cards without causing the building to collapse.

Arthur Lee & Sons Ltd
Advertising deck produced for Arthur Lee and Sons Ltd of Sheffield by Thomas De la Rue around 1958.

De la Rue’s 125th anniversary
In around 1955 De la Rue introduced a new coloured joker and a series of aces of spades with a silhouette of Thomas de La Rue which coincided with their 125th anniversary

Whist and Gaming Counters and Markers
History.of Whist and Gaming Counters and Markers from the 18th Century to modern times.

Pneumatic c.1960-1965
De la Rue were producing Pneumatic cards with the “special graining for ease of handling” as late as early 1960s

Warburg’s Skandinaviske Bridge Kort
“Warburg’s Skandinaviske Bridge Kort” published by Aktieselskabet Emil Jensen, København, c.1935.

Rufford Playing Cards
Rufford playing cards is one of several brand names used by Boots for their stationery department, and probably the most popular.

Jack Horner Snap
“Little Jack Horner” Snap made by Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1890.

Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland card game based on original designs by Sir John Tenniel published by Thomas De la Rue & Co. Ltd, c.1900

De la Rue for export
Non-standard playing cards produced by De la Rue & Co. (London), c.1930s

41: A Guide to Dating Playing Cards
Dating is a particularly tricky but very interesting problem to tackle and there are many pitfalls.

Draughts League Medals
Arthur Charles Prince worked for De la Rue as a playing card cutter and later was promoted to supervisor of a small team of workers of same until his death aged 50.

30: The Not-So-Minor Cardmakers of the 19th Century - Gibson, Hunt & Bancks
A preliminary look at the card-makers operating in the 19th century.

28: How to Analyze and Differentiate Playing Card Plates (De La Rue, Waddington and the Berlin pattern [französisches Bild])
My interest in postage stamp variants led me to apply the same principles to playing cards.
![28: How to Analyze and Differentiate Playing Card Plates (De La Rue, Waddington and the Berlin pattern [französisches Bild]) 28: How to Analyze and Differentiate Playing Card Plates (De La Rue, Waddington and the Berlin pattern [französisches Bild])](http://www.wopc.co.uk/core/cache/wopc/thumbs/var/www/wopc.co.uk/htdocs/images/blog/2015/10/JS_D1-D2-D3.71cb0cdb.jpg)
International Playing Cards
Designed by Reuben Townroe (1835‑1911), the artist who designed the ornamented terra cotta work on the exterior of the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Paramount Film Stars
Promotional playing cards for the Paramount film company with film stars on the court cards.

Film Star Playing Cards
Promotional playing cards for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film company with film stars on the court cards.

20: English Card-Makers 1761-1905
An initial survey of 19th century playing-card production. More detailed information appears on other pages.

14: Back Designs
A few examples of the many interesting back designs.

7: Brands and Packs
The introduction of brands commenced during the late 19th century as a development of the old qualities: Moguls, Harrys, Highlanders and Merry Andrews.

5: De La Rue
In December 1831 Thomas de la Rue was granted his patent for printing playing cards by letterpress.

Gath & Chaves
Gath & Chaves, Ltd

Boudoir
“Boudoir” playing cards were introduced by Chas Goodall & Son in 1906 in a new, slimmer size.
