Copies of Wüst House pattern playing cards

Published October 26, 2022 Updated October 26, 2022

both by Christian Heinrich Reuter of Nuremberg, Germany

1890 GermanyLuxembourgAcesReuterWüst

Various factories have printed copies, or near copies, of the first Wüst House pattern playing cards in the hope of increasing their own sales. This was almost certainly due to the quality of Wüst playing cards and the popularity of their design. Copying was common practice in the 19th century especially in Turnhout, Belgium and before European copyright was enforced.
You can see other versions by Goodall here and here.

Christian Heinrich Reuter was a playing card manufacturer in Nürnberg who started in the 1820's. I can find no record of when they stopped printing. They produced two packs which copy the Wüst House pattern, both of which I will fully illustrate below. Strangely, the jack of spades has a different face compared to those on the other jacks.

The first pack dates from about 1885 with a tax stamp from Nürnberg used between 1879 and 1889. The colours used are almost the same as those used by Wüst, but the makers name is now on the jack of spades instead of the jack of clubs. It is good quality pack of 52 cards with gold corners.



The second pack is later and dates from about 1912. It is of cheaper quality and has square corners with indices only on the pip cards. The aces are illustrated with monochrome views of places in Luxemburg and the ace of hearts has a Luxemburg tax stamp dating from after 1911.


Below: the back and a pip card from the second pack:

References: Catalogue of Playing Cards from the factory C.L.Wüst, set 80. Shaw/Symons 2005,

All cards shown are from the collection of Paul Symons ©

avatar
71 Articles

By Paul Symons

Netherlands • Member since February 01, 2016

I'm British but I have now lived in the Netherlands for more than 50 years and am still enjoying every minute of it. I started collecting playing cards in the early 1980’s after speaking with my neighbour who was at that time a croupier in a casino. I started with just collecting jokers, but that soon led me to complete packs of cards and eventually to specialising in old and antique playing cards, particularly those of C.L. Wüst of Frankfurt, Germany. I am presently the Dutch representative of the I.P.C.S. and the auctioneer at the IPCS conventions.

Activity for Copies of Wüst House pattern playing cards

Sign in to comment or save this article.


Related Articles

1835 Views of Baden-Baden

Views of Baden-Baden

Views of Baden-Baden: a Biedermeier souvenir deck by Johann Anton Steinberger.

2000 The Modern Württemberg Pattern

The Modern Württemberg Pattern

Early 2000s modernization based on designs from 1865 and 1926.

Battles in Mexico, 1847

Battles in Mexico, 1847

Uncut proof sheet with Mexican Battle scenes on the aces and portraits of American generals on the c...

1856 Crimean War Deck

Crimean War Deck

1854 saw the declaration of the Crimean War and this deck was published by Wüst around, or shortly a...

1860 South American Costumes

South American Costumes

Costumes of people of Brazil, Peru and Mexico, with views of Rio de Janeiro on the aces.

1890 Belgian Souvenir playing cards

Belgian Souvenir playing cards

made in Germany by C.L. Wüst

1900 Wüst Costumes Suisses No.93

Wüst Costumes Suisses No.93

Two version of a Swiss souvenir pack by C.L.Wúst

1880 Renaissance Playing cards made by C.L.Wüst

Renaissance Playing cards made by C.L.Wüst

Rococo style playing cards from Frankfurt.

1915 Unnamed Scenic aces of Rio de Janeiro

Unnamed Scenic aces of Rio de Janeiro

Cards made by C.L.Wüst of Germany for Brazil

1900 Decorated pip cards from C.L.Wüst

Decorated pip cards from C.L.Wüst

Several Wüst patience packs with special pip cards

1910 C.L.Wüst Poster Stamps

C.L.Wüst Poster Stamps

A set of advertising poster stamps for C.L.Wüst playing cards.

1890 Miniature Theatre playing cards

Miniature Theatre playing cards

Miniature playing cards, possibly for children, with a romantic theatrical theme. C.L. Wüst c.1890. ...

1860 Wüst Lenormand deck, c.1860

Wüst Lenormand deck, c.1860

Wüst Lenormand deck, c.1860

Nationaal Speelkaart Nº 165

Nationaal Speelkaart Nº 165

Wüst: Nationaal Speelkaart Nº 165 issued for the Dutch market

1890 Wüst “Encyclopedic Tarot”

Wüst “Encyclopedic Tarot”

“Encyclopedic Tarot” by C. L. Wüst with “bourgeois” views of life on the Trumps.

1875 Swiss Costumes

Swiss Costumes

Wüst's Swiss Cantons souvenir deck was published in Frankfurt in c.1875 for the emerging tourist mar...

1910 Wüst Oval Patience

Wüst Oval Patience

C. L. Wüst Oval Patience Karten No. 240, beautifully printed by chromolithography, c.1910.

1890 Brazil Scenic Aces

Brazil Scenic Aces

C. L. Wüst Scenic Aces for Brazil.

1834 Schiller deck

Schiller deck

Schiller deck made by Conrad Ludwig Wüst, Frankfurt/Main, ca. 1834.

1860 Narren-Karte, c.1860

Narren-Karte, c.1860

Narren-Karte by Christian Heinrich Reuter, Nürnberg, c.1860.


Sign in with Google