Blinker, Beet and Tauchen
Three humorous advertising packs by Willy Jacobs promoting angling and diving magazines.
Blinker is a German sport fishing magazine founded in Hamburg in 1969. It is published monthly. In 1982, Willy Jacobs created this promotional pack with humorous illustrations of fishermen and mermaids. At first glance, the double-ended courts might seem to be mirror images, whereas in fact each end of the court cards is different. Fish and mermaids adorn the aces. The indices are in German. On the reverse are the logo and name of the magazine in white on a red background.
Blinker
Above: promotional deck for ‘Blinker’ magazine, with humorous illustrations by Willy Jacobs, produced by F.X. Schmid, Munich, Germany, 1982/3. 32 cards in a clear plastic box. On the reverse are the logo and name of the magazine in white on a red background. The manufacturer’s logo appears on the 10 of Spades. The size of the cards is: 59 x 92 mm.
Blinker is named after a fishing lure - specifically, a metal spoon lure that flashes and glimmers in the water to attract predatory fish.
Beet started in 1973 and is the Dutch-language version of Blinker. It uses the same logo as Blinker. The same Blinker courts and aces have been used for this pack. The indices are in Dutch for the queens and jacks, though the kings are marked ‘K’ rather than the usual ‘H’. ‘beet’ replaces ‘Blinker’ on the reverse. This was a numbered edition, with the number appearing on one of the Jokers.
Beet
Above: promotional deck for ‘Beet’ magazine, with humorous illustrations by Willy Jacobs, produced by F.X. Schmid, Munich, Germany, 1982. 52 cards + 2 jokers in a clear plastic box. On the reverse are the logo and name of the magazine in white on a red background. The size of the cards is: 59 x 92 mm.
Beet means ‘bite’ in Dutch.
Tauchen is a German-language magazine about diving, founded in 1978. All of the aces and three of the queens have exactly the same designs as in the Blinker and Beet packs; however, on the Queen of Diamonds, the fisherman has been replaced by a diver with a snorkel. Completely new designs have been created for the kings and jacks. The indices are in German. The double-ended reverse features a shark and ‘tauchen’ in white on a blue background. This was a numbered edition, with the number appearing on the Joker which was added to the box as an extra card and not included in the cello-wrapped pack. This pack dates from 1983. 32 cards in a clear plastic box.
Tauchen
Above: promotional deck for ‘Tauchen’ magazine illustrated by Willy Jacobs, produced by F.X. Schmid, Munich, Germany, 1983, 32 cards in a clear plastic box.
Tauchen means ‘to dive’ in German.
In all three packs, the manufacturer’s logo appears on the 10 of Spades. The size of the cards is the same in all three packs: 59 x 92 mm.
By Roddy Somerville
France • Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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