Liban Historique et Touristique
“Liban historique et touristique” souvenir of Lebanon playing cards manufactured by Heraclio Fournier.
This french-suited pack showing the buildings and sites of Lebanon from original sepia archival photographs is one of a series of packs made by Heraclio Fournier between 1952 and 1963. Other countries in the series included Egypt, Kenya and Libya.
Each card shows an ancient city, historical monument, building, beach or scene of natural beauty with descriptive title beneath. There are two different jokers (one depicting a “paysan libanais” and the second “une chèvre dans une montagne déboisée), and a title card depicting the abduction of Europa by Zeus in the form of a bull, with the words “Europe, soeur de Cadmus”. Cadmus was Europa’s brother and commonly stated to be a prince of Phoenicia (primarily located in modern Lebanon). A small booklet in French and English accompanies. See the box►
Above: “Liban historique et touristique” souvenir of Lebanon playing cards manufactured by Heraclio Fournier.
By Peter Burnett
United Kingdom • Member since July 27, 2022
I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.
Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.
Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.
Activity for Liban Historique et Touristique
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Go Go Gorillas!
Go Go Gorillas! charity playing cards sponsored by the Eastern Daily Press and the Norwich Evening N...
Monuments de Paris
‘Monuments de Paris’ souvenir playing cards produced by Heraclio Fournier, c.1964.
American President Lines
American President Lines shipping souvenir playing cards, early to mid-1950s.
Souvenir Playing Cards from Lebanon
Multicoloured Belgian/Genoese pattern cards, probably printed by Fournier for Lebanon.
Nation’s capital souvenir playing cards
Nation’s capital souvenir playing cards published by the United States Playing Card Company, USA, 19...
California souvenir playing cards
California souvenir playing cards, USA, 1898 and 1907.
El Desnudo en el Arte
The Nude in Art / El Desnudo en el Arte, Spain, 1977 (reprint 1990)
España Imperial
España imperial / Imperial Spain playing cards with artwork by Serny, published by Heraclio Fournier...
Gaudí playing cards
Gaudí playing cards with photography by Ramon Manent, Spain, 2002.
Oxford Pubs playing cards
Oxford pubs souvenir playing cards, United Kingdom, 2008
Icelandic picture playing cards / Islensku landslagsspilin
Icelandic picture playing cards with photography by Gudmundur Ingólfsson.
Oxford Gargoyles
Oxford Gargoyles souvenir playing cards published by Chris Donaghue Photography, Oxford, UK.
New Orleans and Gulf souvenir
New Orleans and Gulf souvenir playing cards from c1900 reprinted for the 52 Plus Joker Convention in...
Maldives pictorial playing cards
Maldives pictorial souvenir playing cards produced by Fantasy, of Malé, Maldives, 1993.
LBJ Texas playing cards
LBJ Texas playing cards, each card contains different historical facts about Texas, USA, 1966.
Saint Petersburg vintage playing cards
Saint Petersburg vintage photography playing cards.
Hawaiian Souvenir playing cards
Hawaiian Souvenir playing cards, 1901.
Bahamas in Colour playing cards
Bahamas in Colour playing cards produced by Executive Printers of the Bahamas Ltd., Nassau, 2010.
Treasures of the Russian Museum
Treasures of the Russian Museum / Russkii Muzei : suvenirnye igral’nye karty.
Canary Islands Souvenir
Canary Islands Souvenir by Heraclio Fournier, c.1970.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
