Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
Sweetule Natural History cards
Small cards featuring natural history subjects, given away with packets of sweet cigarettes.
Poker Lusso
Richly costumed courts on a luxury poker pack from Masenghini.
Music playing cards
Portraits of 13 classical music composers.
Classic Card Games for Kids
A boxed set of playing cards, Happy Families and an alphabet pack with rules for 22 games.
Les plaques émaillées d’Antoine Vollon
54 different enamel plaques depicting silk manufacture, by the Lyon artist Antoine Vollon.
Asha Industries’ Castilian pattern
Colourful Spanish (Castilian) pattern cards made by Asha Industries in India for Mexico.
Le Roi bridge
Reprint of a Piatnik (Budapest) pack of 1927 with Hungarian historical figures and scenic aces.
Club Soft Drinks
Promotional pack for Club soft drinks with amusing illustrations of different kinds of ‘club’.
Mit Rhino auftrumpfen
Black rhinos on a publicity pack for Armstrong, a flooring company, with comic designs by Pit Flick.
Valhalla spillekort
Characters from the Valhalla comics, designed by Peter Madsen, as commemorated on a Danish stamp.
So-Lah – A Game of Music
An early 20th century domino-type musical card game by Goodall.
Pinocchio playing cards
Comic book drawings inspired by Carlo Collodi’s children’s classic, Pinocchio.
Le Ore playing cards
Caricatures of famous personalities from the late 1970s for the Italian magazine Le Ore.
Walt Disney Cards II
Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and other familiar Disney characters.
Postabank 3
Caricatures of German personalities on a promotional pack for a Hungarian commercial bank.
Postabank 1
Caricatures of Hungarian politicians on a promotional pack for a commercial bank.
Le Jeu des Musiciens
Artist Silvia Maddonni’s gently humorous take on musicians and their instruments.
Les Saints Guérisseurs et Protecteurs
Healing and patron saints portrayed in paintings, manuscripts, altarpieces and statuary.
Scenic Views of Australia
54 different scenic views of Australia in full colour.
Kuzco, l’empereur mégalo
Notched cards featuring toys representing characters from the Disney film Kuzco, as offered by McDonald’s.
The Beatles playing cards
Two packs featuring photos of The Beatles issued by the same publisher in 2004 and 2005.
Costume Playing Cards
Four centuries of costumes from the Costume Court at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Hilti I
Promotional pack for Hilti power tools, with courts in medieval costume and non-standard pips.
Transair
Humorous designs promoting Transair, a German charter flight operator.
Merz Pharma Skat
Comic designs promoting Merz Pharma, a German drug company.
escART, ec-ART, SKAT
Fully illustrated pack printed from etchings by Johannes Vennekamp.
Not the Iraqi Most Wanted playing cards
Fifty-five Irish heroes and villains, some ancient but mostly modern.
Feh Schnapskarten
Colourful promotional pack for Feh household and toilet papers.
Hansaplast®
Advertising pack for Hansaplast, with comic courts sporting sticking plasters.
Lorilleux International
Promotional pack for Lorilleux International’s Lotus inks, with designs by James Hodges.
Les Tontons du Rock
Caricatures of rock and pop stars in black and white by Charles Da Costa.
B. Braun-Dexon®
Publicity pack promoting B. Braun-Dexon’s atraumatic needles, with non-standard courts and pips.
Bibaraja
Amusing designs of boys as circus performers by Alberto Muñiz Sánchez.
Peintres Latino Americains
Original artwork by 18 different Latin American artists.
54 Affiches Retro
54 different old French advertising posters, mainly for travel and health products.
Il Vostro Destino
Italian fortune-telling pack produced by Viassone and later by Masenghini.
Paco Lobo
Highly original and striking designs by Paco Lobo for the fashion house of the same name.
Loewe: Moda Europea Siglo XVII
Luxury pack for the Spanish fashion house Loewe, with 17th century costume designs by Margot Hamilton Hill.
Toros: De El Cordobés a Espartaco
Publicity pack for the Spanish newspaper Ya with caricatures of famous bullfighters by Fernando Vinyes.
Baraja de Alava
55 different paintings by Emilio Lope depicting the history and culture of Vitoria and the province of Álava.
Jeu du Bicentenaire de la Révolution Française
Pack created by Yannick Pennanguer commemorating the bicentenary of the French Revolution and the centenary of L’Est Républicain.
Sweden playing cards
Named characters from Swedish history.
Romania playing cards
Romanian voivodes and their wives from the 15th and 16th centuries.
Dutch Court playing cards
Games & Print Services’ version of the Dutch pattern.
Le jeu des 7 Familles ’Utuafare
Colourful Happy Families game from Tahiti depicting costumes from different archipelagoes.
Norfin® Trolls
Troll dolls with gaudy hairstyles in a multitude of different costumes.
Impressionist Art Cards
Details of 13 paintings by 8 different Impressionist artists on elongated cards.
ČZ playing cards
Advertising pack for the Czechoslovak motorcycle factory Česká Zbrojovka.
Bourbon Bridge
Attractive, woodcut-style courts adapted for modern play.
Bischofszell
Advertising pack for the food producer Bischofszell, designed by Heinz Looser-Brenner, with non-standard suits.
Scheffmacher
Advertising pack for Scheffmacher, master painters in Schaffhausen, with comic designs by Fritz Bünzli.