Dronning Margrethe II
Elegant, elongated cards designed by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who this year (2022) celebrates her Golden Jubilee, is an accomplished artist. Her illustrations have been used in a number of books, including a Danish edition of “The Lord of the Rings”. She originally designed these elegant, elongated cards for a television adaptation of Hans Andersen’s fairy tale “The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep” in which a pack of cards holds a pivotal role. In 1994, Queen Margrethe granted the Danish Refugee Council the right to sell the playing cards for the benefit of their international, humanitarian work. Indices K, D, B, A. “One-way” pip cards. The cards are housed in a double box and have an accompanying explanatory leaflet in four languages. See the box►
Above: cards designed by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, 1994. 2 x 52 cards + 3 Jokers + 1 blank card + leaflet in drop-lid box. Size: 58 x 111 mm. Maker unknown.
See the leaflet►
By Roddy Somerville
France • Member since May 31, 2022 • Contact
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
Related Articles
Jim Lyngvild playing cards
Photographs of Danish royalty as imagined by fashion designer Jim Lyngvild.
Victorian grocer’s scale plate
Large flat plate decorated with highly coloured English cards and royal arms.
Royal Britain
Pack devised by Pietro Alligo depicting English monarchs from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II.
Valhalla spillekort
Characters from the Valhalla comics, designed by Peter Madsen, as commemorated on a Danish stamp.
Dandy Rock’n Bubble
56 rock and pop stars of the 1980s, issued in Denmark with bubble gum.
Velux International
Publicity pack for the Danish company, Velux, manufacturers of roof windows and skylights.
Rois de France
Figures from French history restyled for a younger audience published by Quelle Histoire, 2015.
Kings and Queens of Portugal
Cameo portraits of Portuguese royalty from 1128 to 1910.
Flying Tiger playing cards
An “eco-conscious” product with fun, modern designs from Denmark.
Algarve playing cards
Kings and Queens of Portugal between 1185 - 1279. by V. de J.J. Nunes , Lisbon, Portugal, 1977.
The Game of Four Queens
In 1988 the Danish School of Design set the examination project to design a pack of playing cards. T...
Holmblad Animal Tarot
Instead of the old emblematic designs, the trump cards show illustrations of animals, which could po...
Christian IV Anniversary
King Christian IV anniversary pack, designed by Thora Fisker and printed by L. Jevison Junior, 1988....
L. P. Holmblad c.1840
L. P. Holmblad's house pattern used from c.1840. The K♠ carries a harp as in the traditional French-...
King Christian of Denmark
In 1935 a souvenir pack of playing cards to celebrate the King's 65th birthday was commissioned from...
L. P. Holmblad - Denmark
Cards from c.1850 by L. P. Holmblad showing fantasy historical Danish Kings and Queens.
Danish Tarok Cards - Holmblad, c.1850
The traditional animal images on tarok decks are here substituted by images of buildings from Copenh...
Danish Tarok Cards - Salomon & Co., c.1906
Danish Tarok cards published by S. Salomon & Co., Kjøbenhavn, c.1906.
Danish playing cards - Tarock trumps
Two versions of trump no.15 depicting the Thorvaldsen Museum.
History of Danish Playing Cards
The earliest mention of playing-cards in Denmark dates from 1487 when King Hans, who reigned from 14...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
