Rameses Fortune Telling

Published September 16, 2010 • Updated July 29, 2023

The Rameses Fortune Telling Cards were manufactured by Chas. Goodall & Son Ltd, London, c.1910, around the same time as Rameses The Egyptian Wonderworker, was performing.

Rameses Fortune Telling Cards, c.1910

Rameses Fortune Telling Cards were manufactured by Chas. Goodall & Son Ltd, Camden Works, London, c.1910, around the same time as Rameses The Egyptian Wonderworker, the successful magician illusionist (see image below), flourished. The cards have fortune-telling interpretations printed at the top and bottom of each card, and are presented in a mock snakeskin box which includes an instruction leaflet explaining how to shuffle and lay out the cards for readings, plus a rough outline of the meaning of each card. The back depicts a double-ended Egyptian scene.

Many fortune-telling packs share a repertoire of symbolic items such as clouds, a key, the sun, a coffin, and so on. Standard playing cards have been widely used for fortune-telling and over time the single cards in the pack have acquired certain fortune-telling meanings. In a number of cases these meanings are printed at the edges of the card, as in this example.

Rameses Fortune Telling Cards by Chas Goodall & Sons, c.1910

Above: The Rameses Fortune Telling Cards, manufactured by Chas. Goodall & Son Ltd, Camden Works, London, c.1910. 52 cards + extra 'Subject' card in box. The pack continued well into the 1920's after the tie-up with De La Rue.

Below: Rameses post-card, c.1910. It is not known whether the success and popularity of Rameses the Sensational Wonderworker had any influence on Goodall's pack of fortune-telling cards with the same name, but it is a curious coincidence. Rameses did in fact appear in Camden (possibly at the Bedford Theatre) in 1910. Image and information about Rameses the 'Sensational Wonder Worker' kindly supplied by Chris Woodward.

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By Simon Wintle

Spain • Member since February 01, 1996 • Contact

I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.

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Rameses Fortune Telling

Rameses Fortune Telling Cards, c.1910

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