The World of Playing Cards Logo
Published May 16, 2014 Updated March 05, 2021

Pierre l’Ebouriffé

Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894) wrote the Struwwelpeter stories in 1847 for his son Carl. The stories quickly became famous and were translated into many languages...

Germany Dondorf Childhood Card Games Add to Collection
Dondorf No.314 Pierre l'Ebouriffé, c.1890
Dondorf No.314 Pierre l'Ebouriffé, c.1890

Dondorf No.314 Pierre l’Ebouriffé - Jeu de Cartes

Alongside their magnificent range of luxury playing cards, Dondorf also produced a varied range of games for children. This example based on the “Der Struwwelpeter” stories first published in 1847 was evidently made for export to Holland, Belgium and France as it is accompanied by bi-lingual instructions. It was published in UK by A.N. Myers in c.1890. The game contains 9 sets of four cards numbered consecutively. Each set is like a comic strip with a moral lesson, telling a story about a naughty child who gets into trouble for such things as disobeying their parents, bad table manners, harming animals or making fun of foreigners.

Dondorf No.314 Pierre l'Ebouriffé, c.1890

Above: the complete set contains 36 cards. The print quality and quality of the card and packaging are all excellent. According to the label on the box the game is authorized by the publisher as well as by the author, suggesting that it was first published before the death of Frankfurt psychiatrist and author Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894), who wrote the Struwwelpeter stories in 1847 for his son Carl. The Struwwelpeter stories quickly became famous in Germany and the success spread to other countries. The stories were translated into many languages

Right: the box. All images courtesy Rex Pitts.

Dondorf Card Games

Dondorf began producing card games (rather than playing cards) in around 1870 with a then fashionable “Question and Answer” game which was obviously aimed at children because all the illustrations were of children. Around the same time there were children’s quartet games with sets such as Ass, Moon, Sheep etc and a musical game. By 1900 the “Struwwelpeter” game and “Wappen Quartet” were on the market. A “Black Peter” game appeared by 1905 but not so much with pairs of characters but pairs such as Trees, House and Cyclists. It seems that all the games cards were catalogued with a number beginning with a “3” and many are numbered between 314 and 352. This would suggest that at least 37 games were published up to the time when Dondorf were taken over. At this point Spears purchased the rights to the card games and continued to publish the educational ones featuring flowers and animals etc.

avatar
773 Articles

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.


Related Articles

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Clubs

A limited edition art print of the Jack of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

A limited edition art print of the Jack of Hearts 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs

A limited edition art print of the Queen of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

1993 Hansaplast<sup>®</sup>

Hansaplast®

Advertising pack for Hansaplast, with comic courts sporting sticking plasters.

The Search for New Games in the late 19<sup>th</sup> century

The Search for New Games in the late 19th century

A few new games survived and are still around today; most came and went and are only witnessed in th...

1978 Wedding of Krechinsky • Свадьба Кречинского

Wedding of Krechinsky • Свадьба Кречинского

A pack of cards depicting characters from the famous play "The Wedding of Krechinsky" by Sukhovo-Kob...

2004 Freimaurer Spielkarten / Masonic playing cards

Freimaurer Spielkarten / Masonic playing cards

Masonic playing cards created by Ivan Wojnikow, 2004.

1989 Orientierungslauf Skat

Orientierungslauf Skat

Humorous designs by Helmut Härtelt on the subject of orienteering.

1990 Borna Skat

Borna Skat

Publicity pack for the Saxon town of Borna, with designs by Andreas Wachter.

1987 Postgeschichte

Postgeschichte

A celebration of different postal systems in Germany from 1630 to 1850, with designs by Volker Hartm...

1870 Kings and Queens of Brazil & Portugal

Kings and Queens of Brazil & Portugal

Historical playing cards by C. L. Wüst depicting monarchs of Brazil and Portugal.

1825 Mythological tarot by Michael Schatzberger

Mythological tarot by Michael Schatzberger

Mythological tarot by Michael Schatzberger, Passau, Bavaria, early 19th century.

1819 Ansbach pattern by Emil Doll

Ansbach pattern by Emil Doll

Later Ansbach or Nürnberg pattern by Emil Doll, Neustadt.

1825 Cartomancy deck by Johann Ernst Backofen

Cartomancy deck by Johann Ernst Backofen

German-suited Cartomancy deck published by Johann Ernst Backofen, Nürnberg.

1739 Trappola pack by Joseph Fetscher

Trappola pack by Joseph Fetscher

Trappola pack published by Joseph Fetscher, Graz, 1739.

1820 Animal Tarot by Joseph Fetscher

Animal Tarot by Joseph Fetscher

French-suited Natural History Tarot deck by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, c.1820.

1820 Heathen Wars

Heathen Wars

German-suited ‘Heathen War’ playing cards published by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, c.1820.

Mythological and Allegorical tarot

Mythological and Allegorical tarot

Mythological and Allegorical tarot produced by Peter Paul Fetscher junior, Munich.

1825 Fantasy deck by Joseph Fetscher

Fantasy deck by Joseph Fetscher

Fantasy French-suited pack produced by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, c.1825.

1810 Miniature playing cards by Joseph Fetscher

Miniature playing cards by Joseph Fetscher

Uncut sheet of miniature Bavarian playing cards by Joseph Fetscher.

1760 Vogelspiel

Vogelspiel

Vogelspiel, a German card game known as the “cuckoo game” also known as “Gnau”.

1830 Bavaria pattern

Bavaria pattern

Classic German-suited Bavarian pattern by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, early 19th century.

Animal Tarot by Andreas Benedict Göbl

Animal Tarot by Andreas Benedict Göbl

French-suited Animal Tarot deck produced by Andreas Benedict Göbl, Munich.

Standard French-suited Bavarian deck by Göbl

Standard French-suited Bavarian deck by Göbl

French-suited Bavarian deck by Andreas Benedict Göbl, late 18th c.

1820 Historical playing cards by Joseph Fetscher

Historical playing cards by Joseph Fetscher

Historical playing cards by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, c.1820.

Illustrated piquet cards

Illustrated piquet cards

Bavarian piquet cards with oriental illustrations produced by Andreas Benedict Göbl, Munich, late 18...

1800 Costumes of Turkey Tarot

Costumes of Turkey Tarot

‘National Costumes of Turkey’ tarot by Industrie Comptoir, Leipzig, c.1800-1825.

1810 Natural History Tarot

Natural History Tarot

Natural History Tarot published by G M, Germany, early 19th C.

1800 Æsop’s Fables tarot

Æsop’s Fables tarot

French-suited Æsop’s fables tarot produced by Leipzig Industrie Comptoir, c.1800-1825.

1985 Das Nassauische Kartenspiel

Das Nassauische Kartenspiel

Pack conceived by Berthold Conradi, commemorating the 700th anniversary of the granting of town righ...

1930 Jägerkarte Nr.465

Jägerkarte Nr.465

Dondorf Jägerkarte Nr. 465 playing cards dedicated to the theme of hunting, c.1930.

1867 Englische Karten nr.190

Englische Karten nr.190

Dondorf Nr.190“Englische Karten”, 1867-1895.

1852 Pomeranian Tarot

Pomeranian Tarot

A Pomeranian Tarot deck with etchings by Georg Pommer published by Conrad Jegel, 1852.

1968 Möbel-Spiel

Möbel-Spiel

Publicity pack for the East German furniture industry, with designs by Werner-Hans Schlegel.

1690 Hand-painted and Silk-inlaid playing cards

Hand-painted and Silk-inlaid playing cards

Complete pack of 36 hand-painted and silk-inlaid playing cards with French suits made in Germany.

1994 Postillion Schafkopf

Postillion Schafkopf

Postillion Schafkopf dedicated to the history of the German postal service.

2002 Sa Majesté, le roi des jeux de cartes

Sa Majesté, le roi des jeux de cartes

A colourful pack aimed at children, with illustrations by Muriel Kerba.

2023 Moorish Deck

Moorish Deck

Review of “Trzes’ Moorish Deck” facsimile published by Ulrich Kaltenborn, Berlin, 2023.

1994 Schweden Spielkarten

Schweden Spielkarten

54 different souvenir views of famous people and places in Sweden.

1981 Burgdorf Abschreckhärtetechnik

Burgdorf Abschreckhärtetechnik

Promotional pack for a German steel hardening business, with designs by Costante Costantini.

1450 Early German playing cards

Early German playing cards

Some early examples of popular German playing cards from the XV and XVI centuries.

Hoyle v Foster: whose name should we remember?

Hoyle v Foster: whose name should we remember?

Hoyle’s name is associated with the rules by which many games are played, particularly card games B...

1742 Hoyle and his Legacy

Hoyle and his Legacy

Edmond Hoyle (1672-1769) was an English writer who made his name by writing on whist and a selection...