Smith-Corona Marchant
Simplified yet colourful court card designs by Avoine for Smith-Corona Marchant.
At first glance, all four kings look almost identical – ditto for the queens and the jacks. On closer inspection, there are differences in the crowns, the clothing, and so on. The artist Avoine (Paul Audin, 1939-2017) has used bright primary colours for the kings, pale pastel colours for the queens and stronger pastel colours for the jacks. The pips on the numeral cards are all ‘one-way’, with no miniature suit-signs in the corners. On the reverse one finds the name of the advertiser, Smith-Corona Marchant, makers of office equipment including typewriters and calculators, and their tri-bar logo.
Above: promotional playing cards made by B.P. Grimaud, France, for Smith-Corona Marchant, 1972. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 2 extra cards. Size: 58 x 89 mm.
By Roddy Somerville
France • Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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