Clamcleats playing cards

This pack was printed by Tai Wah, Ltd. of New Zealand for Clamcleats, Ltd., a British company that designs and manufactures cleats for holding in place the ropes of sailboats, yachts and catamarans, etc. The court cards and aces are designed by Celia Allison (born 1958), a New Zealand illustrator and graphic designer. Since no publisher can be identified on the cards or the plastic container, and with the company's name prominently displayed on the aces of spades and diamonds, it isn’t clear whether this should be classified as a British or New Zealand pack. The pack is subtitled on an extra card, “Sailors playing cards,” and appear to be made of plastic for use in a wet environment. The Jokers and court cards have a sailing theme, displaying yachting, surfing and boating accessories, while the aces are designed to look like knotted rope. The card backs show a rope held in place by a cleat.

Above: Clamcleats playing cards for sailors designed by Celia Allison and printed by Tai Wah, Ltd, New Zealand, 1986.

Note from Roddy Somerville

Clamcleats Limited, based in Welwyn Garden City, is a family-run company now in its third generation. They published the pack thanks to Dale Emery, who (from memory) was a director of the company and one of the family. He himself was an enthusiastic playing-card collector who often attended meetings of the British Group of the International Playing-Card Society. It is interesting to note that the logo of the company has not changed in almost 40 years! - R.S