The World of Playing Cards Logo
Published July 30, 2014 Updated August 06, 2017

Anonymous Dutch deck, 1940s

Anonymous Dutch deck, 1940s

Netherlands Art & Design Add to Collection

Above: Anonymous Dutch deck with attractive double-ended courts and a mandolin-playing Joker, 1940s. Printed on a low quality matt finish card. The back design is known in black or red, and advertising editions are also known. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.

avatar
773 Articles

By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.

His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.

Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.


Related Articles

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

Woodblock and Stencil King of Diamonds

A limited edition art print of the King of Diamonds 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs

Woodblock and Stencil Queen of Clubs

A limited edition art print of the Queen of Clubs 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Joker

Woodblock and Stencil Joker

A limited edition art print of the 1984 woodblock joker.

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

Woodblock and Stencil Jack of Hearts

A limited edition art print of the Jack of Hearts 1984 woodblock joker.

1985 Paco Lobo

Paco Lobo

Highly original and striking designs by Paco Lobo for the fashion house of the same name.

1962 Jeu Boléro

Jeu Boléro

Sweeping, semi-abstract designs by J.L. Jolin in red and black only.

1968 Knoll International

Knoll International

Geometric designs by the French artist Jean Garçon for Knoll International, the furniture company.

1973 Marcello Morandini

Marcello Morandini

Modern designs by Italian artist Marcello Morandini using the simplest of forms and colours.

1997 Claude Weisbuch

Claude Weisbuch

Free reinterpretation of the traditional Paris pattern courts by the artist Claude Weisbuch.

2010 El Niño de las Pinturas

El Niño de las Pinturas

Forty-nine distinctive works by Spanish graffiti artist Raúl Ruiz.

2019 Pendleton playing cards

Pendleton playing cards

Pendleton playing cards inspired by indigenous American artwork, USA, 2019.

1985 Een Kaartspel

Een Kaartspel

Minimalist playing cards from The Netherlands

2010 Specsavers playing cards

Specsavers playing cards

to help you see better when playing cards

1995 De Tarot in de herstelde orde

De Tarot in de herstelde orde

“De Tarot in de herstelde orde” (The Tarot in the restored order) a re-ordered Rider-Waite tarot dec...

2021 Old School Playing cards from Moon

Old School Playing cards from Moon

Designed and published by Leo Scherfig

2007 Marcel Ruijters Tarots

Marcel Ruijters Tarots

Two very remarkable tarots by the award winning Dutch cartoonist Marcel Ruijters.

2005 Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights (1001 Nights Tarot)

Tarot of the Thousand and One Nights (1001 Nights Tarot)

This tarot deck captures the idealised Eastern world's magic from the eighteenth and nineteenth cent...

1945 ORIENT The Queen of Cards

ORIENT The Queen of Cards

A unique Art creation of Subho Tagore

2015 Newtropolis and the Fantastic Fur

Newtropolis and the Fantastic Fur

Newtropolis and the Fantastic Fur: Heroes vs. Villains playing cards illustrated by Peter Wood, 2015...

1986 Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos

Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos

A Spanish-suited pack as conceived by 48 different artists from the region of Murcia.

2002 Le Jeu d’Issy

Le Jeu d’Issy

Bold designs by Jacques Auriac representing people and enterprises for which the town of Issy-les-Mo...

1984 Bilder zum Tarot

Bilder zum Tarot

Detailed pen and ink drawings of the major arcana by the German artist Helmut Wonschick.

2000 Le Jeu de la Chance

Le Jeu de la Chance

Original designs by French artist Jean Vérame, with clubs replaced by four-leaf clovers to bring goo...

2005 Theatre of Pain / Teatr Boli

Theatre of Pain / Teatr Boli

Theatre of Pain / Teatr boli playing cards depicting politicians and leaders in the Caucasus territo...

1991 Secretos de Oriente

Secretos de Oriente

Secrets of the Far East playing cards featuring the designs of Violeta Monreal , Spain, c. 1991.

1990 Ases de la pintura / Masters of painting

Ases de la pintura / Masters of painting

Ases de la pintura / Masters of painting playing cards made by Naipes Comas, Spain, c.1990.

Rembrandt playing cards

Rembrandt playing cards

Rembrandt playing cards published by the Rembrandthuis (The Rembrandt House Museum) in Amsterdam. ...

1993 Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art playing cards designed by Takenobu Igarashi.

1988 Festa Major de Vilafranca 1988

Festa Major de Vilafranca 1988

Colourful figures associated with the annual festival held in Vilafranca, Catalonia.

1994 Crystal Time

Crystal Time

Colourful and attractive designs by Violeta Monreal, inspired by stained glass through the ages.

1942 Lidia Schöffer art-deco playing cards

Lidia Schöffer art-deco playing cards

A prize winning design from The Netherlands

Chinese Opera Masks Playing Cards   脸谱

Chinese Opera Masks Playing Cards 脸谱

Three different packs of cards featuring traditional Chinese face painting and Chinese opera masks.

1930 Oude Kunst (Old Art) playing cards with Wüst courts

Oude Kunst (Old Art) playing cards with Wüst courts

made for export to the Netherlands.

1909 Dietsche Playing Cards for the Dutch Shipping Company

Dietsche Playing Cards for the Dutch Shipping Company

A beautiful early pack from The Dutch Playing Card factory.

1945 Anonymous pack of Dutch playing cards

Anonymous pack of Dutch playing cards

produced just after the end of the Second World War.

1961 H.P. Doebele

H.P. Doebele

Artist-designed playing cards produced to demonstrate the quality of a printing technique.

1921 Art Nouveau Whist playing cards from a small Dutch factory

Art Nouveau Whist playing cards from a small Dutch factory

The factory probably only produced playing cards for a few years in the 1920's

2019 Foragers playing cards

Foragers playing cards

Playing cards to help to identify the edible and inedible gifts of nature.

1997 Lost Boys

Lost Boys

Designs created on the occasion of a chess tournament in Antwerp, 1997.

1950 Dutch Historical playing cards

Dutch Historical playing cards

Advertising for Mopenco, the Dutch Fountain Pen King

2004 Playing cards in Russian life

Playing cards in Russian life

Playing cards in Russian life - Karty v zhizni Rossii - published by Aleksandr Lutkovskii in 2004.

1880 Lattmann No.9 playing cards

Lattmann No.9 playing cards

with illustrated views of Dutch cities on the aces. This pack is for sale or exchange.