South African Miscellaneous
By Ken Lodge
Member since May 14, 2012
I'm Ken Lodge and have been collecting playing cards since I was about eighteen months old (1945). I am also a trained academic, so I can observe and analyze reasonably well. I've applied these analytical techniques over a long period of time to the study of playing cards and have managed to assemble a large amount of information about them, especially those of the standard English pattern. About Ken Lodge →
Related Articles
Woodblock and Stencil Joker
A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs
A limited edition art print of the Jack of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs
A limited edition art print of the Queen of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.
Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds
A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.
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...
The Place of the Fool
This paper considers three questions relating to the Fool-card in the tarot-pack.
Kuhn Khan
There is little information available about the early twentieth century card game Kuhn Kahn. It firs...
Poker Patience
Poker Patience, according to an early 20th century author, was "introduced so recently as the autumn...
Piquet: the game and its artifacts
Piquet may be the oldest card game which is still played today with origins going back to early 16th...
The Personalities and Books which shaped the game of Whist, 1860-1900
All the books described here are from Tony Hall's own collection, put together over years because of...
Majority Calling and Value Bidding in Auction Bridge; a little bit of history
The centuries-old game of Whist mutated through various stages into Contract Bridge as we know it to...
Goodall & Son Patience Boxed Sets
Goodall & Son produced a huge variety of Patience Boxed Sets at different times and for different co...
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 t...
Bezique Markers, 1860-1960
Bezique is a two-player melding and trick-taking game. Dr. Pole introduced Bezique to England in 186...
South Africa Souvenir
Photographic views of South Africa and Rhodesia.
Africa playing cards
According to the United Nations there are 54 countries on the continent of Africa
Drum playing cards
Drum playing cards depicting demographically diverse Africans of different ethnicities.
African Renaissance Deck
African Renaissance Deck published for Nkosi's Haven, South Africa, 2000.
Wüst playing cards with International scenic aces
A rarely seen pack of cards
San Playing Cards
Rock paintings and engravings of the San people, better known as the “Bushmen”.
Mr Bok
The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, promoting Bok furniture polish, 1930s.
Castle Lager
Castle Lager playing cards, c.2012.
Sandton City
African tribal mask playing cards for Sandton City, Johannesburg.
The Blue Train (Bloutrein)
“The Blue Train” playing cards from the luxury train service in South Africa.
Protea Bridge 999
Bridge size deck with non-standard suit colours, blue diamonds & green clubs, manufactured by Protea...
Shipman’s Guide: early card-packs and the Arcana
In late medieval Europe, among the various forms of card-sets that were tried, two were apparently f...
Michael Scot's rebus figure of "Juppiter" as prototype for the tarot pack's "Magus”/”Bateleur”
A precursor for the 'Bateleur'/'Magus' included in the major arcana of our tarot pack.
South Africa
Protea Playing Card Company, Johannesburg