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Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek

Published August 04, 2014 Updated December 06, 2022

Shipping line playing cards produced by Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek, c.1910 offering a virtual tour of destinations to the Far East

1910 Netherlands Nederlandsche Speelkaartenfabriek Shipping

“S. M. N.” Shipping Line

Dutch “Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland” (Netherlands Steamship Company 1870-1970) shipping line playing cards produced by Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek, c.1910.

The four scenic Aces (shown right) offer a virtual tour of the destinations en route to the Far East starting from Amsterdam and then visiting Southampton, Lisbon, Tangier, Genoa, Colombo, Singapore and Java.

The court cards are in fantasy 16th century style costumes. See also Dietsche Playing cards for the Dutch Shipping Company

Netherlands Steamship Company on Wikipedia

Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland shipping line playing cards produced by Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek, c.1910

Above: “Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland” shipping line playing cards produced by Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek, c.1910. The back design has the S.M.N. monogram. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.

See also Dietsche Playing cards for the Dutch Shipping Company

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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.

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