The Evolution of Bezique boxed sets, 1869 to 1990

Tn earlier articles I have described the evolution of games markers and boxed sets for a variety of card games popular in the 19th Century^[1]. The aim It hroughout has been to bring together available information on the various subjects, to identify the makers of the items and, as far as possible, to identify the date of their production. The most daunting task so far, however, has been to apply this process to my collection of bezique boxed sets. This is daunting partly because of the scale of the task – for some reason, antique and vintage sets are commonly available on auction sites and in collectables sales – and because I can find very little written material on the subject. In what follows, therefore, I have used all available sources as well as the items themselves to attempt to describe the variety of sets available as the game evolved from the mid-19th century into the 20th. As ever, all the items pictured are from my own collection.

I have described elsewhere^[2] how the game of Bezique was “relaunched” in Britain in 1868 when all of the game producing companies produced a new generation of cards, markers and boxed sets for what was to become a very popular pastime. The first company to register their Bezique materials with Stationers’ Hall (26 September 1869) was Josh Reynolds and Son uniquely using the “Pole”^[3] version of the spelling (“s” rather than “z”) – Besique – and including a unique design of marker.

The enclosed booklet boasts that the rules have been “carefully translated from ‘L’Academie des Jeux,’ acknowledged the best authority, and as published in ‘The Times’ of Dec. 24 “(1868).

Above: A red leather Bezique box with gilt lettering.

Above: An open Bezique set with four coloured scoring markers.

Above: Joseph Reynolds & Son rules and playing-card advertisements for Bezique.

Reynolds & Son was eventually “absorbed” by Goodall & Son in 1886^[4]. Packs of cards were subsequently issued which contained both a Reynolds and a Goodall Ace of Spades.

Goodall & Son registered their first designs only four days later on 1 October. Their early boxes show their unique feature by benefitting from the patronage of the then Duke of Edinburgh by describing all of their sets as “Royal Bezique”^[5]. The game is the same, only the name is different. Interestingly, Goodall continued to use the title “Royal Bezique” on all of its pocket guides until the takeover by De La Rue in 1922 despite the Duke of Edinburgh relinquishing his title in 1893 and his death in 1900.

And shortly thereafter came the four-person equivalent for both Bezique and Rubicon Bezique.

De La Rue also entered the Bezique market with their earliest set issued in 1869.

These next two De La Rue boxes (below), shown in their relative sizes, would have followed soon afterwards during the early 1870s and into the 1880s. Only the two-person Bezique box (15 x 11.25 x 2.25 cm) carries the DLR name on the lid, but the similarity of design in the lockable, four pack Rubicon Bezique version (23 x 17 x 5.5cm) on the right is unmistakably from the same source. The cards in the smaller box at least would probably have been square cut without corner indices. Card production may have evolved in time for the larger, lockable, four-person set. Both would undoubtedly have carried the Cavendish rules when originally sold.

Although precise dating is impossible, a yellow label inside the lid of the smaller box reads: “De La Rue & Co’s BEZIQUE with Pocket Guide by “Cavendish”. Manufacturers of Playing Cards to H.M. The Queen and H.R.H the Prince of Wales”. This confirms a production date before 1896^[6].

Willis and Co. had only emerged as a separate company in 1869 but they too were swiftly in with their first set. The square cut, no corner indices and “Entered at Stationers’ Hall” all testify to the age of the box. Willis sold off its playing card business in 1887.

J. Jaques & Son, as ever, produced an up-market, lockable version in a unique leather design, also entered at Stationers’ Hall. My version is well worn, confirming that some players, at least, maintained their enthusiasm for the game for a prolonged period.

After these early forays into the Bezique market place all of the major companies produced a range of versions in different styles and a variety of materials for different pockets. As a result, it is difficult to be precise about when items were first produced and for how long they were on sale.

Goodall & Son

The major producer of Bezique sets in the latter decades of the 19th Century was undoubtedly Goodall & Son. In his invaluable book/catalogue, Mike Goodall^[7] reproduces a list of the 24 types of Bezique sets produced by his forebears’ company between 1870 and 1922. The materials used included coromandel^[8], French Morocco (leather), cloth, enamelled, fancy cardboard, walnut, Mahogany, hard-grained roan, fancy enamelled and cardboard covered imitation calf. Eleven of these sets were made for 4 players, two for three players and eleven for two. They varied from basic sets in cardboard to the more exotic and expensive “deluxe”. These included 32-card packs varying from Moguls, 2nd Moguls, Harry’s, Highlanders and Viceroys. This advert from the 1920s confirms the variety but without any of the details.

It is very difficult to know the precise production dates of the many Goodall sets. Some may have been short lived while others continued in production up to and beyond the De la Rue takeover. In addition, so many of these boxed sets have been reconstructed for resale that they now contain items which may, or may not be of the same origin or vintage as the box containing them. All I can do at this stage is to illustrate examples which I have found to date, working from the cheapest in cardboard to the more expensive wooden boxes, identifying any additional information as we go.

The first examples are in various styles of cardboard or in Goodall promotional jargon, “fancy cardboard”. The booklet design in the first box dates from the 1870s.

Interestingly, none of the other standard boxes carries the “Royal” label on the lid, although the guide books inside would have done. This was so even for this next classic design, produced under the label “Camden”^[9], a version of which was produced for Whist, Piquet and most of the most of the popular games of the time.

Here are two “Camden” sets in different colours with a different pack of cards but both have otherwise identical contents – Goodall cards Ace-dated to 1867- 1897, two wheel markers in varying colours and a 25th edition of “Bezique” by “Camden” in what Michael Goodall describes as Design no.13, dated to c.1895. So many boxed sets are re-sold with non-original contents, it is nice to find confirmation – by repetition – that the Camden boxes here are as they were originally retailed.

Goodall also prodiced a variety of other designs in variously textured cardboard and colours - some plain;

others with a variety of patterns.

This one was manufactured by Goodall for distribution by Boots.

Slightly more up-market was this next version, in a similar design to one of the plain card versions above, but more robust with a drop-down front and covered in linen. The cards and other contents also date from the late 19th century but the booklets and cards may or may not be original to the box.

The various leather-covered sets produced include this one, with a drop-down front, containing two packs of bezique cards and two markers which were available from the 1870s. This set contains the rule booklet “Rubicon Bezique” by Angelo Lewis and Bezique by “Camden” and is dated 1922. The cards are Goodalls issued between 1897 and 1921. All the contents are consistent with a box from the early 1920s suggesting that this particular set might have been available for more than 30 years with the later editions containing the rules for “Rubicon”. It is perhaps worth noting that this particular font on the lid is also seen on contemporary whist and patience sets, as well as some of the card sets above.

This next example is the top-of-the-range “York” bezique cabinet in mahogany designed for two, three or four players. (“The Sandringham” whist cabinet, virtually identical in design, was certainly available from the 1880s and it seems probable that the two sets were in production at the same time.) The “York” originally contained four packs of Bezique Mogul playing cards (sadly not in mine) underneath a removable tray containing four leather Bezique markers and a book of Standard Rules by “Camden”. The booklet in my set is dated 1912 and it seems probable that production of the “York” continued at least until 1922.

It is also likely that this second unnamed wooden set from Goodall was a contemporary of the “York”. It differs from the York in a number of ways. It is two centimetres smaller in each direction, is in a lighter coloured wood, carries a different lid font, has a drop-down front, no removable tray, and the brass catch at the front slides sideways rather than depresses to open. It contains four packs of wide Goodall cards (1897-1921), four Rubicon Bezique markers and the 30th edition of the “Camden” rules secured in the lid which dates to around 1910.

“The Chas. Goodall and Son’s Trade Price List” pictured in Mike Goodall’s catalogue advertises “Goodall’s Pocket Whist, Bezique and Napoleon Boxes.” I have at least one example in red leather. The “Camden” rule booklet is the 14th edition dated 1877.

After 1922, the history of Goodalls is subsumed within the De La Rue story, so it is to De La Rue that we now turn.

De La Rue

As with Goodall & Son, it is difficult without other evidence to be precise about when particular sets were produced and for how long they were made available in this form. De La Rue also produced a wide range of sets in different styles and materials – cardboards, various woods and leathers.

Any number of different sets was produced in the last decades of the 19th Century. These included this basic set in textured green paper on card, divided into two sections each containing two 32-card packs of bezique cards, two markers and a copy of the “Cavendish” pocket guide. Sets like this would have been sold any time from 1870 to the turn of the century and possibly beyond.

The next two examples are outwardly similar, made from thick textured card with matching paper lining and silk tabs to help raise the cards for use; one in navy blue, one in red. Both were manufactured by De La Rue, but the red one carries the retailers name inside (Finnigans, Manchester). If the similar contents of these boxes when acquired are to be trusted, the two De La Rue markers in each carry the name DLR but one set is DLR & Co. ie. before 1896; the other DLR & Co Ltd. ie. after 1896. Interestingly, the pre-1896 box also carries a card of instructions for Whist, and there is no mention of Bridge, thus confirming the earlier date. The profiles below show how the hinged lid fits to the base.

The next set from the same time period is altogether more substantial. It comprises a lockable, hinged wooden box covered in red leather and lined in silk. Its two internal compartments when new would have contained two packs of cards, two wooden bezique markers and the Cavendish pocket Guide. As you can see, my set has been much-used and well worn but the gold font on the lid is unmistakable as DLR, matching those immediately above.

In the last quarter of the 19th Century, DLR also produced a number of sets in a different style designed for Rubicon Bezique. Although somewhat battered and faded now, these were originally in bright red and blue made from stiff, textured card. Each contained 4 packs of bezique cards (8 to Ace x 4; 112 cards in all), two card and brass wheel markers and a folded card of instructions. Both of my sets below pre-dated the advent of the limited company in 1896.

From the start of the 20th Century, while whist was evolving through stages into Bridge, Bezique continued to be a very popular pastime, judging by the number and variety of boxed sets being produced. Here are two examples from the early years. One is in plain card for two packs; the second in heavily textured card for four packs.

Other basic card designs were available for the two-pack game for many years.

This last (orange) design, produced early in the 20th century, is an almost exact replica of one of the first DLR designs from the 1870s (shown above) as evidenced by the later addition of “Ltd” to the firm’s name.

By the 1930s, the game with its many, more elaborate four and six-pack variants, was clearly very popular. It was one of the limited number of games made available as part of the W.D & H.O Wills promotion scheme of 1933^[10] which I have not reproduced here. De La Rue continued to produce a wide variety of sets building not only on their own designs but maintaining and developing those inherited from Goodall & Son in 1922.

For example, these two sets were produced in the mid-1930s. The first is in enamelled” cardboard with a brass catch, purple silk lining and DLR booklet, drop-down front and contains two card markers and two packs of (unopened) DLR “Service” playing cards labelled “Manufacturers to His Majesty King George”. This second is of almost identical design in green textured card but containing exclusively Goodall contents, an integration of DLR and Goodall contents which was to be maintained throughout the 1930s, presumably as Goodall card stocks continued to be run down. The green silk-covered rule booklet has the same text (Rubicon Bezique by “Angelo Lewis” and the standard rules for “The Royal game of Bezique” by “Camden”) but it is published under both company names.

These faux snake-skin sets were produced frim the mid-1930s into the 1940s^[11], the larger set for Rubicon or Polish Bezique.

Here are other examples in a very different style and size. The booklets in the two sets are dated 1933 and 1935 respectively and both use Goodall markers but DLR cards, and the Goodall text in the booklets is now contained in the new De La Rue cover design sporting both company names.

By the mid-1930s, box sets were getting bigger to accommodate the new enthusiasm for Six-pack or Chinese Bezique. It was still primarily a game for two players but with many more cards! Here are two examples, identical apart from their colour and the Goodall cards they contain.

Both sets are leather covered card with a silk lining, and matching booklet by Frederic Jessel and dated 1935. They have compartments for six Bezique packs of cards and two medium sized wooden bezique markers stored vertically.

These final two examples are at first glance identical but offering a different design of six-pack box from those above. They are both in red leather with a matching silk lining containing six packs of seemingly unused Goodall cards (1925-1950), two wooden markers and the now familiar Jessel booklet dated January 1937. It is also nice to see that the elegant Goodall design of wooden markers are still being produced for these sets although this was to cease when materials became scarce from 1939 onwards. For reasons that are not immediately obvious, the second box is more than one centimetre wider than the first!

International Card Company and H.P.Gibson & Sons

International Card Company and H.P. Gibson & Sons The International Card Company was established by Harry Percy Gibson in 1903, supplying stationers with card and printed products^[12]. In 1919 the IC company was sold to De La Rue and H.P. Gibson & Sons Limited was formed in the same year. The HPG series produced a number of games including L’Attaque, Dover Patrol and a variety of bezique boxed sets. Here are two examples illustrating a variety of styles both for the boxes and the wheel markers used which evolved from card to plastic.

Finally no review of Bezique boxed sets would be complete without reference to Waddingtons.

Waddington

John Waddington Ltd. began producing cards and games in 1922 and continued until taken over by Hasbro in 1994/5. One of their box designs continued for many years with a variety of contents. I offer just three examples of the many variants available.

One variant was a simple change of colour.

This design surely dates from the 1960s.

Into the 80s and 90s, this final design was used not only for bezique but for cribbage and other card games. It, like so many of the modern designs, lacks the elegance and workmanship of those produced in the last years of the 19th Century.