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308 Articles

Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

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2014 National Geographic: Weird But True

National Geographic: Weird But True

National Geographic: “Weird But True” kids fun fact playing cards, 2014.

2005 Red Sea

Red Sea

Red Sea fish identification cards published in several languages by Horus of Egypt, 2005.

2016 Emoticon

Emoticon

Emoticon playing cards designed by Buy Design Studios, 2016.

1934 Folklore No.169

Folklore No.169

Austrian Folklore deck first published by Piatnik in 1934.

1960 Card Golf

Card Golf

Card Golf published by Pepys Games, c.1960.

1966 Baraja Turística de España

Baraja Turística de España

Baraja Turística de España by Heraclio Fournier, 1966.

2010 Discover Romania

Discover Romania

Discover Romania souvenir published by Editura Foton, 2010.

1990 Garuda Indonesia

Garuda Indonesia

Souvenir playing cards from Garuda Indonesia Airlines, the national airline of Indonesia.

1990 Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots and other Tudor period dignitaries, published by Piatnik, 1990.

1970 Salon-Karte No.66

Salon-Karte No.66

Salon-Karte No.66 designed by Walter Krauss, 1970

Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

Gold plated souvenir playing cards from the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel in Dubai.

2017 Lego Batman Movie

Lego Batman Movie

Lego Batman Movie playing cards, 2017

2007 Famous Pirates (2007)

Famous Pirates (2007)

Playing Cards of Famous Pirates published by PostCardusa, 2007.

Romania Unique Places

Romania Unique Places souvenir playing cards by Age Art.

2002 Die Another Day 007

Die Another Day 007

“007 Die Another Day” James Bond themed playing cards, 2002.

Spectrum Bridge by Cartamundi

Spectrum Bridge by Cartamundi

2000 Benadryl®

Benadryl®

Benadryl ® family fun playing cards, c.2000.

1987 Adelaide Casino

Adelaide Casino

Adelaide Casino by Spicers Paper Ltd, 1987.

1930 Market or Covent Garden

Market or Covent Garden

Market or Covent Garden game published by Kum-Bak, 1930s.

1960 Goal!

Goal!

Goal! (1st edition) published by Pepys games, 1960.

Schwarzer Peter

Schwarzer Peter No.831 by F.X. Schmid, c.1960s.

2015 Erlenmeyer City Sights

Erlenmeyer City Sights

Erlenmeyer City Sights hand-illustrated playing cards by Stephanie Gray, 2015.

1990 Desperanto

Desperanto

Desperanto language game by Qui Vive Ltd, c.1990.

2016 Hogwarts

Hogwarts

Harry Potter Hogwarts playing cards, c.2016.

1995 Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology playing cards published by Michalis Toubis S.A., 1995.

2011 Fashion Face Off

Fashion Face Off

“Fashion Face Off” card game illustrated by Erin Petson for Laurence King Publishing, c.2011.

1977 Queen’s Silver Jubilee 1977

Queen’s Silver Jubilee 1977

Queen’s Silver Jubilee playing cards designed by Susan Rae for John Wadddington Ltd, 1977.

2012 BMW Promo Top Trumps

BMW Promo Top Trumps

BMW Promo Top Trumps produced as a promotion for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

1987 Bourgeois Tarot by Piatnik 1987

Bourgeois Tarot by Piatnik 1987

Piatnik’s ‘Bourgeois Tarot’ in a version published in 1987 with nice quality images, especially the double-ended trump cards.

2002 Moviestars

Moviestars

Moviestars from the golden age of cinema by Offason AB of Sweden, c.2002.

1910 Counties of England 4th Series

Counties of England 4th Series

Jaques' Counties of England card game, 4th Series (Southern Counties), c.1910.

1929 Barribal patience

Barribal patience

Waddington’s Patience Cards from the Barribal Series, c.1929.

1965 Austrian Wine

Austrian Wine

Skat deck for Austria’s excellent wines, Österreichischer Weinwirtschaftsfonds, c.1965

1960 Penalty

Penalty

Penalty was invented by Ernesto Scola of Milan and published in the UK by Pepys in the 1960s

1980 Venezuela Baraja Turística

Venezuela Baraja Turística

Venezuela Souvenir deck by Heraclio Fournier, c.1980s.

1898 Pashas

Pashas

“Pasha” is one of Charles Goodall’s brands which first appeared in c.1898 and was retained until after the De la Rue takeover.

Waves From Around the World

Waves From Around the World playing cards with photography by Aaron Chang.

1793 Jeu des Quatre Saisons de l’An II

Jeu des Quatre Saisons de l’An II

“Jeu des Quatre Saisons de l’An II” facsimile of French Revolution deck originally published by J. B. Debeine (Reims) 1793.

1979 Provinces de France

Provinces de France

Jeu des Provinces de France published by Éditions Dusserre, 1979.

Nepal Souvenir

Souvenir from Nepal marketed by Himalayan Map House

2010 Sorrento Napoletane

Sorrento Napoletane

Souvenir of Sorrento by Carte Da Gioco Muoio, Naples, c.2010

Alitalia

Alitalia advertising deck produced by Premier Portfolio International Ltd.

2016 Storks Snap

Storks Snap

Snap game based on characters from the film “Storks” c.2016.

2006 Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg

Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg

“Die Kutschfahrt zur Teufelsburg” or “Coach Ride to Devil’s Castle” by Michael Palm and Lukas Zach, published by Adlung-Spiele in 2006.

Maldives Scenery

Maldives Scenery By Bamboo Souvenirs.

1817 Dames de France

Dames de France

“Dames de France” published by J-M Simon based on originals by Armand Gustave Houbigant, Paris, c.1817

1980 Menorca Souvenir by Savir S.A.

Menorca Souvenir by Savir S.A.

Menorca Souvenir by Savir S.A., Barcelona, c.1980.

Mickey for Kids

Mickey for Kids playing cards from Disney.

Churchill in WW2

Churchill ‘Walking with Destiny’ playing cards published by the Imperial War Museum.

1980 AGMüller English Pattern

AGMüller English Pattern

AGMüller standard English pattern for the Royal Jordanian Airline, 1980s

1970 Naipe Nacional

Naipe Nacional

Naipe Nacional designed by the architect, illustrator and artist Luis Alemany (1886-1943).