Poker Patience

The game Poker Patience, according to an early 20th century author working under the name “Jackpot”,^[1] was “introduced so recently as the autumn of 1908”. I can find no earlier references in the literature to question this assertion, although there are increasingly brief summaries of the game in Patience Games books in the 1950s and 60s. Jackpot offers no explanation as to the origins of the game but confidently states that by the time of writing (1909/10?) this game “has become a first favourite among card players”.

Jackpot, in his reference to 1908, is almost certainly writing about the Goodall & Son mini-book “Poker Patience and Progressive Poker Patience” by Charles Vidal Diehl published for the first time in that year. In his preface to the booklet, Deihl writes that the origin of the game is “quite as doubtful as that of Bridge or Poker itself”

suggesting that the game may have originated in China. In doing so he downplays his own, obviously critical, role in drafting the rules and advising on methods of successful play. Did he really just discover the game and codify it, or was he rather more involved in devising the game and then promoting it? I have my suspicions but we may never know.

Above: Goodall & Son’s “Poker Patience and Progressive Poker Patience” by Charles Vidal Diehl.

Above: The preface and introduction to Charles Vidal Diehl’s Poker Patience rules.

Above: A red Court Series Poker Patience booklet cover.

Above: A green Court Series Poker Patience booklet cover.

As originally described, the game is played with a well-shuffled pack of cards from which the cards are taken one by one and placed somewhere on a five-by- five grid. The first card is placed in the centre. Once a card has been placed it cannot be moved. Each subsequent card has to be placed touching a card that has already been played. The aim of the game is to create as many scoring lines, horizontally and vertically, as possible, based on poker hands. When 25 cards have been placed, the board is scored as follows: 1 point for a pair, 3 for 2 pairs, 5 ^[1] for a Flush, 6 for 3 of a kind, 10 for a full house (2 and 3) 12 for a straight, 16 for 4 2 3 of a kind, and 30 for a straight flush .

Through my research and collecting of poker-patience artefacts I have been trying to make sense of what little information there appears to be about this game which had its heyday somewhere between 1909, say, and 1925. In a preface to the revised edition of the Goodall booklet, dated July 1912, Diehl writes: “The issue of the book having run into scores of thousands, the sale extending to every part of the world, I have been deluged with correspondence making suggestions and asking questions”. As a result, although the basic text remains the same, he has added two and a half sides of variations of the basic game “which have become popular in some places. In connection with this I would direct special attention to the Continental form of Poker Patience which appears to have developed in Austria and spread into Germany.” He goes

on to speculate that many players of the game will be “likely to adopt this variation in future”. The author clearly did not anticipate the unlikelihood of British players adopting a German form of the game in the years after 1912!4 I have so far identified at least three companies who produced materials designed specifically for the Poker-Patience Game. The first of these is the “Court Series”

produced by Messrs. Edward Mortimer, Halifax and London. I have acquired three similar sets produced in the “Court Series”. Two in red and green card sleeves respectively, and one with a more expensive light brown suede cover.

Above: A pale leather-look cover from a Court Series Poker Patience set.

Above: A Court Series folding Poker Patience board arranged with playing cards.

Above: A second view of the Court Series Poker Patience board and its scoring layout.

Above: Court Series Poker Patience cards and the accompanying rules booklet.

All three have similar contents, namely a folding board to which can be attached five rows and columns of cards, a pack of gold-edged miniature Little Duke patience cards, and an instruction booklet by Charles Vidal Diehl, pictured here in their relative sizes. ^{[2] [3]} one, they find the same card and place it on their grid in any way they see fit. ^[4] names and references by hand rather than reset the type.

The Court Series booklet advertises folding poker patience boards and scoring blocks as well as “Whist and Bridge scoring pads and games”. The back advertises different styles of Fauntleroy and Little Duke patience cards all originating in the USA. I can find nothing more about this particular firm and/or its links with others. And this is where the story becomes somewhat intriguing.

The instruction booklet accompanying the Court Series game board is by Charles Vidal Diehl and is word for word the same text as that published by Goodall in 1908. Both carry the label “copyright”, presumably to Diehl himself. Because the Court Series instructions are undated, it is impossible to know with certainty who published the Diehl text first. But I strongly suspect that the initial promotion came from Goodall & Son and that the Crown Series was produced (presumably with Diehl’s agreement) by another company interested in producing the folding boards as a means of playing the game at home or when travelling. However, neither company acknowledges the other and if there had been some kind of agreement between Goodall and Court, why did the latter use and promote Little

Duke cards from the USA rather than the Goodall equivalents, Elfin? I have only recently confirmed that Goodall did indeed produce more than just a popular booklet to promote the game. According to an advert published in Outfits” for this game ranging in price from 2/6 (2s 6d) to 30/- (£1 10s). I have managed to find two examples, although I have no idea where they fit on the advertised price range. ^[5] The first box pictured above is made of textured card, typical of Goodall boxes, and is 10 x 8 x 5 cm. It contains two packs of (well-used) “Elfin” cards, the Diehl booklet and two blocks of “Elfin” Poker-Patience Scoring Tablets The second is much larger (16 x 11 x 6 cm), but made with similarly textured card

Above: A small Goodall Poker Patience box with gilt lettering.

Above: A Goodall Poker Patience set opened to show Elfin cards, booklet and scoring tablet.

Above: A larger Goodall Poker Patience box with a dark green and black finish.

Above: The larger Goodall set opened to show four packs, a booklet and scoring cards.

and carrying the gold-leaf name on the lid in exactly the same script as the smaller one. It is dark-green shading to black on the outside with a green silk lining. It has four packs of medium-sized Goodall cards and a huge stack of poker-patience scoring cards published by C.G & S Ltd.

Interestingly, in terms of pinning down production dates, the Goodall boxed sets of poker patience cards were not advertised in the 1908 Poker-Patience booklet itself, which would have been an obvious source of promotion if the items had been available at the time. The earliest advert I can find was in 1912 which suggests that the sets were produced only when popularity of this new patience game had become established i.e. by 1912. The fact that both the Court series and Goodall were producing materials with which to play Poker-Patience, albeit of a different kind, suggests they were involved in competition rather than collaboration with each other.

The next box set from my collection contains two packs of medium-sized patience cards in cardboard sleeves and a booklet of instructions all marked with the company’s name – The International Card Co., London.

The booklet is (sadly) undated and written by the aforementioned “Jackpot” but its reference to the use of the joker in variations of the game suggest it is somewhat later than the Diehl text. Intriguingly, the cards contained in the boxes labelled The International card Co. are by Goodall (1897 – 1921) and appear to be in the Linette range. Was this company a Goodall subsidiary? I have found nothing to suggest this but others may know more. Did this company incorporate Goodall cards by agreement? Who knows?

Above: A black Poker Patience box with gilt lettering.

Above: An International Card Co. Poker Patience set with its booklet and cards.

Above: A green and black Poker Patience box with a gilt logo.

Above: A Poker Patience set opened to show four packs of cards and its instruction booklet.

My next exhibit is much larger and grander than the one above and poses many more questions than it answers.

It comprises a dark green box with a brass catch and drop-down front, large enough to house four packs of medium-sized patience cards. But the box contains three items, one each from the three companies identified as promoting this game: the instruction booklet is from the International Card Co., the cards are by Goodall & Son (1897-1921) and the tray underneath contains two “Court Series” Poker- patience scoring pads clearly designed to fit this box! Sadly, it is impossible to know which of these items (apart from the Court Series scoring pads) were original to this box set, but, because of the scoring pads, it seems likely that this was one of the Court Series boxed sets listed in the advert below. The research will continue.

Moving on, my collection includes this delightful little box labelled Poker Patience containing four gilt-edged packs of Little Duke cards in their original boxes, sadly, while the purpose of the box is clear, it contains no instruction booklet to help pin down the source.

Finally, the status and role of the International Card Co. in the story of Poker- Patience is for the moment unclear. While, I have acquired several copies of the “Jackpot” booklet from various sources, as far as I am aware I have not yet found any of the other artifacts which are advertised in the back of this booklet. But the adverts suggest that the ICC made, or was trying to make, a significant contribution to the promotion of this particular game.

Above: A brown Poker Patience box with gilt lettering.

Above: The brown set opened to show four Little Duke toy-card packs.

Above: International Card Co. advertisement for Poker Patience scoring blocks and sets.

Above: Advertisement for the “Gem” Poker Patience Board, designed to hold the cards in position.

As you can see, the company was producing a book of rules (6d), Poker-patience sets from 5/6 and 12/6; scoring pads and “playing sheets”. They were also advertising the “Gem” Poker-Patience Board which was, presumably, a similar design to that produced by the Court Series but available in two sizes – small (for midget cards) and large for “patience cards”. In addition, the company was advertising no fewer than six Poker-Patience sets of various sizes and prices. The larger sets incorporate Goodall’s “Linette” cards.

Was one or more of the sets in my collection described above produced by this company? I do not know at this stage, although the large green set is a possibility.

So, what do we know so far about the promotion of Poker-Patience and the production of materials in order to play it.

First, the first promotion of the game was from Goodall & Son by publication of the Diehl booklet in 1908. It may have been “discovered in the East” as Deihl suggests or be his invention given a more exotic back story.

Above: International Card Co. advertisement for Poker Patience sets in several sizes and prices.

Second, within a couple of years The Court Series of Boards for the game were produced, using the same Diehl text as the Goodall publication, with or without agreement between the two companies.

Third, by 1911 Goodall were producing a range of boxed sets specifically directed at Poker-Patience, but I can find no evidence that they produced boards to facilitate play.

Fourth, the International Card co., appears to have been a big player in the production of materials for poker-patience although few of their artifacts have so far come to light.

Research continues and any further information or corrections would be most welcome.