Patience & Miniature

Patience and miniature playing cards - sometimes these are just a small version of a normal deck, or else special ‘pocket-sized’ or ‘patience-sized’ packs; sometimes they are made as children’s toys or given away as free gifts with products.

Anonymous Novelty Cards

Miniature novelty playing cards from the late 1940s or early 1950s with a charm of their own. Probably published as small prizes at fairground or seaside amusement arcades.

Baraja Hoja de Afeitar

La Baraja 'Hoja de Afeitar'. Baraja de Hojas Maravilla descalificadas como de primerísima categoría.

Barajitas Futbolísticas Golazo, 1973

Figuritas Golazo collectible football cards from Argentina, 1973

Barribal patience

Waddington’s Patience Cards from the Barribal Series, c.1929.

Billiken Minicartas

Children’s toy cards published in Argentina by Editorial Atlántida in the magazine “Billiken”, 1964

Birkel Schwarzer Peter

The Birkel company has produced several promotional “Schwarzer Peter” packs over the years and this one is themed on the circus.

Bone Playing Cards

My late mother found these miniature cards in a skip around 50 years ago.

British American Tobacco patience

Patience deck for British American Tobacco printed by Speelkaartenfabriek Nederland c.1940

Carte per Signora

“Carte per Signora” patience pack was produced by Fratelli Armanino, Genova, in c.1897

Cartes Turques Patience

Derived from “Cartes Turques” first made by Glanz, then later by van Genechten, Brepols & Piatnik. 3 double-ended dragon Aces and one Adam/Eve Ace with a coiled serpent.

Children’s miniature football player cards, Montevideo, c.1928

Miniature children’s playing cards with photographs of football players on the reverse.

Cigarette Cards and other ephemera

Cigarette Cards, Trade Cards, Miniature Playing Cards and other ephemera.

Czech Patience Cards

Patience size playing cards published by Obchodni Tiskarny of Prague, under the brand “Casino”, with cartoon courts in the style of wood engravings.

Einar Nerman Patience

Einar Nerman (1888–1983) was a talented Swedish artist born in Norrköping who designed playing cards during the 1920s.

F. X. Schmid Mini-Patience

Miniature Patience playing cards in Rococo style published by F. X. Schmid, c.1960

Fabrica de Cigarrillos Roldan y Cia, Lima, Peru

The design of the figures is very agile with excellent colour harmony and execution.

Four Continents Patience

Dondorf's 'Four Continents' Patience, c.1910

Goodall & Son’s Patience & Miniature packs

Goodall & Son’s Patience & Miniature packs came in various styles of box and back design, c.1890-1930.

Hansa-Karte

Bechstein design reprinted by Vereinigte Stralsunder Spielkartenfabriken AG former Schneider & Co., c1925.

Kamarát Toy Cards

Kamarát miniature toy playing cards from Czechoslovakia

Kinder-Karte

First published in c.1870, children are presented in these miniature Patience cards disguised as Kings, Queens and Jacks. The Kings' crowns are slightly over-sized for their heads and the children are wearing false beards.

Lettische Patience

Karl enjoyed experimenting with design and production and this work was published in 1994 as a 32-card pack with one joker. The double-ended courts are, by Gerich's standards, plain with simple costume designs based on the designs of Arturs Duburs.

Merry Andrew

There are two Aces to each suit; one plain and the other with figures of a young woman and man, presumably Merry Andrew and his girl-friend.

Mini-Poker

Mini-Poker miniature playing cards made in China.

Miniature Disney deck

Mickey Mouse card game is part of a promotion for Rübezahl Schokoladen GmbH (Germany).

Miniature Playing Cards

Miniature Playing Cards from around the world

Miniature Playing Cards

Crudely printed miniature children's packs produced anonymously in c.1930.

Minnie Patience

Minnie Patience. The backs show images of Mickey & Minnie mouse dancing together.

Modiano Patience

Patience cards published by Modiano, c.1945

Naipe Infantil by Plasticos Pardo M.R.

Naipe Español Infantil miniature children's playing cards with suit signs of ice creams, baseball bats, swords and suns, manufactured in Chile by Plasticos Pardo M.R.

Naipes tamaño Mignon, La Cubana, S.A.

Naipes tamaño Mignon, La Cubana, S.A. (Fabrica de Naipes El Aguila), Mexico, c.1960

Patience Cards and their Boxes

Patience Cards and their Boxes by Tony Hall.

Patience Indien

Karl Gerich's “Patience Indien No.16”, published in 1991, is adapted from Grimaud's “Whist Indienne” (c.1900). The double-ended courts are dressed in Arab garb.

Patience No.21

‘Patience No.21’ is a 52-card miniature deck with double-ended courts and a Joker holding a fan of cards.

Permalon Ltd

Miniature playing cards advertising "Perma" smoking-related products featuring the "Perma Girl" on the backs and Joker.

Piccadilly Patience

Piccadilly Patience by Piatnik, c.1955

Pigmy Playing Cards

Pigmy Miniature Playing Cards

Pop Rocky

“Pop Rocky” miniature playing cards with double-ended caricatures of celebrities and pop stars, originally published inside a magazine, c.1970.

Popular heroes and celebrities

Miniature children's playing cards depicting popular heroes and celebrities on the backs, Montevideo, c.1928

Prince of Wales National Relief Fund 1914

A two-pack patience set produced by Thomas De la Rue on behalf of the Prince of Wales National Relief Fund in 1914.

Proverbs and Maxims

Naipe Infantil Gauchito children’s miniature playing cards with Proverbs and Maxims on the reverse,

Roldan Tobacco Cards, Peru

Tobacco cards with miniature playing cards inset into top corners, printed by Litografía y Tipografía Fabbri Hermanos, for Roldan y Cia Tobacco, Lima, c.1895.

Scooby-Doo! playing cards for Hellmann’s Magic

Miniature Spanish-suited playing cards featuring Scooby-Doo! made specially for Hellmann’s.

Self-Nurturing Solitaire

Self-Nurturing Solitaire by Idelle Jones,

Spider Solitaire

Spider Solitaire is a free web site offering new versions of the classic solitaire card game

Swiss Album patience

Swiss Album patience cards manufactured by C. L. Wüst (Frankfurt), c.1900, with a different landscape on the reverse of each card. The court cards depict costumed figures along with shields from the cantons.

Tesseract Mobile Solitaire Games

Tesseract Mobile’s new Solitaire card games for Android devices features dynamic playing cards that change style...

Walt Disney playing cards

‘Naipes Donald’, children's miniature Spanish-suited Walt Disney playing cards, Uruguay, c.1990.

Wills Scheme

The W.D & H.O. Wills Playing Card promotion of the early 1930s

Wüst Oval Patience

C. L. Wüst Oval Patience Karten No. 240, beautifully printed by chromolithography, c.1910