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Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd

De La Rue

De La Rue introduced letter-press printing into playing card production and his patent was granted in 1831. He produced his first playing cards in 1832.

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14: Back Designs

14: Back Designs

A few examples of the many interesting back designs.

20: English Card-Makers 1761-1905

20: English Card-Makers 1761-1905

An initial survey of 19th century playing-card production. More detailed information appears on other pages.

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])

My interest in postage stamp variants led me to apply the same principles to playing cards.

30: The Not-So-Minor Cardmakers of the 19th Century - Gibson, Hunt & Bancks

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.

41: A Guide to Dating Playing Cards

41: A Guide to Dating Playing Cards

Dating is a particularly tricky but very interesting problem to tackle and there are many pitfalls.

49: De La Rue in detail

49: De La Rue in detail

A detailed presentation of the variants of De La Rue's standard cards.

5: De La Rue

5: De La Rue

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

53: Some recent acquisitions and corrections

53: Some recent acquisitions and corrections

The following items are additions and alterations to my collection, the rest of which is listed on page 69.

59: Owen Jones (1809-74) and De La Rue

59: Owen Jones (1809-74) and De La Rue

A selection of examples of Owen Jones's work printed by De La Rue.

67: Adverts and related material after 1900

67: Adverts and related material after 1900

The final page of material relating to playing cards from British periodicals.

68: Playing cards in glass

68: Playing cards in glass

My wife and I have recently commissioned a unique pair of stained glass windows for our home.

7: Brands and Packs

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.

A New Look at the Evolution of Whist Markers and Gaming Counters

A New Look at the Evolution of Whist Markers and Gaming Counters

This article aims to illustrate the evolution of whist and gaming counters from the 18th century to the 20th.

A Pair of Transformation Packs 1875

A Pair of Transformation Packs

Two similar but fascinatingly different hand-drawn transformation decks by the same artist, c.1875

Alice in Wonderland (Thomas De la Rue version) 1900

Alice in Wonderland (Thomas De la Rue version)

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

Amalgamated Playing Card Co., Ltd

Amalgamated Playing Card Co., Ltd

Agreement had been reached between Waddington's and De La Rue during the second world war for Waddington's to manufacture playing cards for De la Rue. Thus the Amalgamated Playing Card Company was born but it remained an unofficial name for many years.

Animal Grab

Animal Grab

Animal Grab card game by Thomas De La Rue & Co., 110 Bunhill Row, London..

Arthur Lee & Sons Ltd 1958

Arthur Lee & Sons Ltd

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

Bezique Markers, 1860-1960

Bezique Markers, 1860-1960

Bezique is a two-player melding and trick-taking game. Dr. Pole introduced Bezique to England in 1861, but it wasn't popular until 1869.

Boudoir 1906

Boudoir

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