Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek
Shipping line playing cards produced by Nederlandse Speelkaarten Fabriek, c.1910 offering a virtual tour of destinations to the Far East
“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►
See also Dietsche Playing cards for the Dutch Shipping Company►
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
Het Olympisch kaart- en kwartetspel
Dual-purpose set featuring photos of sporting figures from the Netherlands on every card.
Kojak bubble gum cards
Bubble gum cards featuring stills – mainly of Telly Savalas – from the cult TV series Kojak.
Sally Ferries playing cards
Sally Ferries Euro playing cards and phrase pack, United Kingdom, c.1990s.
Compagnie Maritime des Chargeurs Réunis
French navigators and explorers on a promotional pack for the C.M.C.R shipping company.
Een Kaartspel
Minimalist playing cards from The Netherlands
Specsavers playing cards
to help you see better when playing cards
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...
Marcel Ruijters Tarots
Two very remarkable tarots by the award winning Dutch cartoonist Marcel Ruijters.
American President Lines
American President Lines shipping souvenir playing cards, early to mid-1950s.
De La Rue 1932-1933 Sample Book of Advertising cards
Complete contents of a sample book of advertising cards by De La Rue
Non-Standard playing cards from The Netherlands
by an unknown maker
Theatre of Pain / Teatr Boli
Theatre of Pain / Teatr boli playing cards depicting politicians and leaders in the Caucasus territo...
Rembrandt playing cards
Rembrandt playing cards published by the Rembrandthuis (The Rembrandt House Museum) in Amsterdam. ...
Lidia Schöffer art-deco playing cards
A prize winning design from The Netherlands
Oude Kunst (Old Art) playing cards with Wüst courts
made for export to the Netherlands.
Dietsche Playing Cards for the Dutch Shipping Company
A beautiful early pack from The Dutch Playing Card factory.