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Gerrymanders

Published August 20, 2019 Updated July 10, 2022

Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900.

1900 Germany United Kingdom Oppenheimer und Sulzbacher Globe Series Zoology Card Games Misfitz

Gerrymanders card game designed and published in UK by Globe Series of Games (trade mark of Oppenheimer und Sulzbacher, Nurnberg), made in Bavaria, c.1900. Some animals escaped from the zoo, but gruesomely got chopped up and mixed in a mincing machine... see the Rules

Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900
Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900 Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900 Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900

Above: Gerrymanders by Globe Series of Games, c.1900. Presented in a wooden box, may have also been sold in a card box as some others were.

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.

His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.

Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.

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