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Published July 23, 2012 Updated June 02, 2023

Four Continents Patience

Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience, c.1910.

1910 Germany Dondorf Geography Miniature Patience Add to Collection

Dondorf: “Four Continents Patience”

Dondorf's “Patience-Karte Vier-Erdteile” (“Four Continents Patience”) was first published in c.1870 with square-cut corners, no borders and no indices. This edition has rounded corners, border lines and small indices, and was published in c.1910. As in the full-sized pack of the same name, each suit sign is assigned to a continent: Clubs represent Africa, Hearts Europe, Spades Asia and Diamonds represent America. The four Aces each have two landscape scenes from their corresponding part of the world. The Ace of Clubs shows coconut palms and Lake Moeris (Egypt); on Hearts we see an Italian forest and a German medieval castle; Spades the Great Wall of China and Indian palms; on Diamonds the Niagara Falls and South American Pampas.   See also:   Four ContinentsKinder-Karte Patience No.25.

Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience

Above: Aces and court cards from Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience, chromolithography, with rounded corners and borders, after 1906. The court cards depict stereotyped persons from each of the Four Continents. In this edition the captions on the four Aces are in French but versions with German captions were also produced. 52 cards; 64mm x 43mm. Images courtesy Barney Townshend.

German Inscriptions

Italian tax stamp dated 1923.

Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience c.1923 Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience c.1923

Above: courtesy Rex Pitts.

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131 Articles

By Barney Townshend

Member since October 06, 2015

Retired Airline Pilot, interested in: Transformation Playing Cards, Karl Gerich and Elaine Lewis. Secretary of the EPCS. Treasurer of the IPCS.


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