Le Roi bridge

The four kings in this reprint of a Piatnik (Budapest) pack of 1927 are named Hungarian historical figures – Nagy Lajos (1326-1382) (KH), Árpád (c.845-c. 907) (KS), Szent István (c. 975-1038) (KC) and Hunyadi Mátyás (1440-1490) (KD). The queens, on the other hand, remain anonymous, as do the jacks. The double-ended aces have scenic views, each one named. The manufacturer’s name and logo appear on the 2 of Clubs. There is a colourful Art Nouveau/Jugendstil back design, as in the original. See the box

The format of the reprint (62.5 x 94 mm) is slightly different from the 1927 original (64 x 93 mm), which means that the side borders look less generous. The booklet in Hungarian provides biographical details about the historical figures as well as descriptions of the scenic views on the aces. The text of the booklet was prepared by the Hungarian playing-card collector and historian, Antal Jánoska.

Above: ‘Le Roi bridge’ deck made by Offset és Játékkártya Nyomda, Budapest, Hungary, 1991. 2 x 52 cards + 2 Jokers, + 1 extra card + 14-page booklet in Hungarian, in double drop-lid box. Size: 62.5 x 94 mm.

A further reprint was issued a few years later, this time on cream-coloured board and with a linen finish. All the colours look stronger. The wording on the extra card is set differently and this time the extra card is present in both packs in the double pack. The booklet is identical to the earlier one. The box, however, is now a double tuck box. The size of the cards remains the same. See the box

Above: ‘Le Roi bridge’ deck made by Offset és Játék-kártya Nyomda, Budapest, Hungary, second edition.

Reference

Jánoska, Antal, and Braun, Franz. BRAUN Schriftenreihe “Spielkarten”, Band 5: Die Spielkartenfabrik Piatnik in Budapest und ihre Nachfolger. Cologne, Germany: Franz Braun; 1992. OJ 1991/3.

Update from Lev Golinkin

Reissued in around 2005 with title: Hungarian Kings Rummy ~ Magyar Királyok Römi, two of the Kings have been flipped to look the other way, and a different back design and international indices J, Q, K were used.

Above: extra images courtesy Lev Golinkin.