Jeu de 54 cartes

Published June 16, 2022 Updated June 17, 2022

Jeu de 54 cartes, completely anonymous, designed to resemble locally produced French packs.

France anonymous Standard Pattern

Sometimes cheap and cheerful packs can throw up a surprise. This one did. The pack has no proper name and no sign of a manufacturer; however, a sticker on the outer cellophane wrapper indicates that it was being sold off by a jobber specialising in unwanted stock. It could well have been made in China. Presumably intended for the French market – the indices are R, D, V, and A (rather than 1) – it has court cards based on the English pattern. The tuck box has clearly been designed to resemble locally produced French ones. Obviously not a success! See the box

Jeu de 54 cartes, anonymous Jeu de 54 cartes, anonymous

Above: Jeu de 54 cartes, completely anonymous, no legends on any ace or anywhere else. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card with text in a mixture of languages, in a tuck box. Size: 57 x 87 mm. Purchased near Toulouse.


NOTE: Ken Lodge has shown these designs to be a re-drawn version of ARRCO’s courts manufactured in China since c.2010. Obviously this is for the French-speaking market with French indices.

avatar
619 Articles

By Roddy Somerville

Member since May 31, 2022

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

1979 Saarberg 79

Saarberg 79

Saarberg mining pack for 1979, with designs by Fritz Ludwig Schmidt.

1980 Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications

Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications

Famous figures connected with the French postal service, with designs by Henri Simoni.

1988 Jeu Buffon

Jeu Buffon

Illustrations of different birds from works by Buffon to celebrate the bicentenary of his death.

1970 Pathé Marconi

Pathé Marconi

Special promotion pack for French record company Pathé Marconi.

Archaic Spanish-suited pattern from Bayonne

Archaic Spanish-suited pattern from Bayonne

Archaic Franco-Spanish pattern from Bayonne by a manufacturer with the initals M.V.

1881 Luditz Pattern by Georg Geiselreiter

Luditz Pattern by Georg Geiselreiter

The discovery of 2024 changes the current state of knowledge of the history of this pattern.

1972 Caisse Mutuelle d'Assurance et de Prevoyance

Caisse Mutuelle d'Assurance et de Prevoyance

Insurance propaganda pack for Caisse Mutuelle d'Assurance et de Prevoyance with humorous artwork by ...

1914 Czech National Patterns by S.D. Modiano

Czech National Patterns by S.D. Modiano

Modiano produced cards with the Prague and Trappola patterns in the early 20th century.

1794 Jeu Révolutionnaire

Jeu Révolutionnaire

Court cards and aces from a French Revolutionary pack by Pinaut, Paris, c.1794.

1940 Doppel-Deutsche Karten by Bratří Willnerové, Teplice

Doppel-Deutsche Karten by Bratří Willnerové, Teplice

This deck from local manufacturer Bratří Willnerová offers a standard version of the popular Central...

1794 French Revolutionary cards by Pinaut

French Revolutionary cards by Pinaut

Seven cards from a French Revolutionary pack by Pinaut featuring characters from classical antiquity...

1920 Prager Pattern by Bratří Willnerové, Teplice

Prager Pattern by Bratří Willnerové, Teplice

Traditional single-ended Prager pattern by Willner Brothers from northern Bohemia.

2015 Never Mind the Belote

Never Mind the Belote

Limited edition Belote pack with designs by a collective of 24 street artists.

2000 Sannois dans les étoiles

Sannois dans les étoiles

Celebrities and buildings associated with Sannois, a commune in the suburbs of Paris.

1992 Le Globe Céleste

Le Globe Céleste

Views and plans of five international exhibitions held in Paris between 1855 and 1900.

1999 Le Journal de Mickey

Le Journal de Mickey

Perforated sheet of cards with Disney characters issued with the magazine Le Journal de Mickey.