Thomas De la Rue & Co Ltd
Spanish suited pack for Nestlé
Spanish-suited pack produced by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd for South America.
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.
Swastika designs
Swastika design playing cards by De La Rue, c.1925.
Tempest
Tempest is a family card game designed by W. Heath Robinson and published by Thomas de la Rue & Co. Ltd, c.1920s
The Evolution of Bezique boxed sets, 1869 to 1990
The first company to register Bezique materials with Stationers’ Hall was Josh Reynolds & Son in September 1869.
The Evolution of Whist and Bridge Boxed Sets, 1870s – 1930s
Boxed sets of cards, markers, scorers and rule booklets have been around for many decades. Some of the "shop perfect" items in my collection are well over 100 years old.
The Search for New Games in the late 19th century
A few new games survived and are still around today; most came and went and are only witnessed in the literature by the equivalent of a vapour trail.
Travel Agent
Travel Agent is a card game designed by Martin A. Foley and manufactured by Thomas de la Rue & Co Ltd, c.1960.
United Kingdom
Playing cards first arrived in England during the 15th century, but none have survived from such an early date.
Vac-tric Electric Vacuum Cleaners
Vac-tric Electric Vacuum Cleaner playing cards manufactured by De la Rue, 1930s.
Warburg’s Skandinaviske Bridge Kort
“Warburg’s Skandinaviske Bridge Kort” published by Aktieselskabet Emil Jensen, København, c.1935.
What can we learn from mini-booklet advertisements?
Over the years I have collected a large number of mini-booklets and pocket guides offering rules and play guidance on a wide variety of games.
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.
Word Making and Word Taking
How crossword and spelling games became popular.