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532 Articles

Roddy Somerville

  • France • Member since May 31, 2022

Roddy 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.

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1999 Railway Posters Playing Cards

Railway Posters Playing Cards

54 classic images from a bygone age of railway travel from the National Railway Museum, York.

1973 Promo-Québec

Promo-Québec

Fun designs by Normand Hudon promoting the Canadian province of Quebec.

1995 Les 7 Familles Pyrénées

Les 7 Familles Pyrénées

Mountains, flowers, animals, tourist sites of the Pyrenees, all drawn by the artist Pertuzé.

1996 Jeu des 7 Familles Spider-Man

Jeu des 7 Familles Spider-Man

Colourful card game featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and some of his fearsome adversaries.

1995 CNES playing cards

CNES playing cards

Fully pictorial pack featuring rockets, satellites, scientists and views from space.

1982 Cards on Cards (E.H. Locker)

Cards on Cards (E.H. Locker)

Artist Edward Locker’s view of London life in 1799, using every card in the pack as part of the picture.

1901 Pan-American Exposition Souvenir

Pan-American Exposition Souvenir

Pan-American Exposition Souvenir Playing Cards, Buffalo, NY, 1901.

1986 Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos

Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos

A Spanish-suited pack as conceived by 48 different artists from the region of Murcia.

1961 Neiman Marcus playing cards

Neiman Marcus playing cards

Cowboys and American Indians on a pack for Neiman Marcus, the Dallas department store.

1985 Wolfgang Dorn Werbe

Wolfgang Dorn Werbe

Designs by Jürgen Pankarz for the 20th anniversary of the Wolfgang Dorn advertising agency, Cologne.

2002 Le Jeu d’Issy

Le Jeu d’Issy

Bold designs by Jacques Auriac representing people and enterprises for which the town of Issy-les-Moulineaux is famous.

1970 Cartavi

Cartavi

Promotional pack for AVI paints, with 54 different colours on the backs.

1973 Alessandro Manzoni Centenary

Alessandro Manzoni Centenary

Issued to mark the centenary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, one of Italy’s greatest writers.

1991 Baraja Napoleónica

Baraja Napoleónica

Re-edition of a French-suited Spanish pack from the Napoleonic era, with designs by J. Carrafa.

1984 Bilder zum Tarot

Bilder zum Tarot

Detailed pen and ink drawings of the major arcana by the German artist Helmut Wonschick.

1975 English (or Rigel) Tarot Cards

English (or Rigel) Tarot Cards

‘Authentic English fortune telling’ Tarot cards said to be based on a 15th century original found in the British Museum.

1981 Golden Charades

Golden Charades

Drawn by Bernard Cookson, the clues, riddles and puzzles on these cards could have won the solver a bar of silver or gold.

1987 Das Tübinger Skatspiel

Das Tübinger Skatspiel

Pack devised by Volker Scheub depicting characters associated with the city of Tübingen.

1975 Baraja Nefertiti

Baraja Nefertiti

Mexican fortune-telling pack with black and white designs by Thania Nicolopulus.

2000 Le Jeu de la Chance

Le Jeu de la Chance

Original designs by French artist Jean Vérame, with clubs replaced by four-leaf clovers to bring good luck.

1924 Non-standard pack by J.J. Nunes

Non-standard pack by J.J. Nunes

Charming designs reminiscent of older, northern European models.

1985 Playing cards by António

Playing cards by António

Caricatures by António Moreira Antunes of Portuguese politicians from the 1980s, with non-standard suits corresponding to their respective parties.

1985 Conseil Général de la Somme

Conseil Général de la Somme

Famous people and places of the Somme department in northern France, with designs by James Hodges.

2000 Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques

Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques

Paintings, statues, monuments and maps associated with different routes to Compostela.

2018 Baraja del Camino de Santiago

Baraja del Camino de Santiago

Designs by Guitián, published by Ideas Peregrinas, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, c2018.

1996 Diabolik Poker

Diabolik Poker

Characters from the Italian comic series Diabolik, with designs by Paolo and Sergio Zaniboni.

1979 Lo Zodiaco

Lo Zodiaco

French-suited fortune-telling pack with distinctive designs by Italian artist Sergio Ruffolo.

2000 CCCP playing cards

CCCP playing cards

Soviet and other Communist celebrities depicted on every card, designed by Vladislav Pankevitch.

1971 Into space and back

Into space and back

A NASA experiment to test a new inflammable material for playing cards.

1979 Baraja Aragonesa

Baraja Aragonesa

Celebrating the costumes, architecture, coins and crafts of Aragon in Spain, with designs by Raúl Rodriguez Segurado.

1993 Multicard

Multicard

A Spanish-suited pack with multiple uses including roulette and dice.

2007 The Seven Ages of Man

The Seven Ages of Man

Original paintings by Jane Daniell depicting characters from Shakespeare’s plays.

1972 Alabama Crimson Tide 1972

Alabama Crimson Tide 1972

Photos of American football players representing the University of Alabama in 1972.

1970 La Rayonnante

La Rayonnante

Publicity pack for a French cleaning business, with suit-signs given smiling faces.

2005 Easter Playing Cards

Easter Playing Cards

Egg-shaped cards with rabbit designs in soft, pastel colours for Easter.

1977 The New Game of Tarot (or Tarock)

The New Game of Tarot (or Tarock)

Regional costumes and alpine flora on a French Tarot game pack marking 600 years of playing cards in Europe.

1997 Jeu des Chats

Jeu des Chats

Eighteen different cat breeds drawn by Marie-France Gary.

1984 Les Moyens de Locomotion Insolites

Les Moyens de Locomotion Insolites

Unlikely, ridiculous or just plain impossible means of transport, drawn by Hubert Rublon.

1993 Mexican Artdeck

Mexican Artdeck

Works by 14 different 20th century Mexican artists.

1950 Chandelier No. 55 (Nintendo)

Chandelier No. 55 (Nintendo)

Standard international pattern playing cards made in occupied Japan, c.1950.

1985 Pierre Etaix

Pierre Etaix

Colourful, stylised courts designed by the French clown, comedian and filmmaker, Pierre Etaix.

1960 Clavecin

Clavecin

Courts in 18th century costume, with designs by F.R. Gabiraud.

1988 Velux International

Velux International

Publicity pack for the Danish company, Velux, manufacturers of roof windows and skylights.

2005 Modet Sardegna

Modet Sardegna

Costumes, masks and symbols from the island of Sardinia, with designs by Luciano Dettori and Tonino Caputo.

1989 Le Jeu des 4 Opéras

Le Jeu des 4 Opéras

Characters from five famous operas brought alive in artist Silvia Maddonni’s inimitable style.

1989 Jeu de la Révolution

Jeu de la Révolution

Artist Silvia Maddonni’s take on various characters from the French Revolution, in honour of the bicentenary in 1989.

1988 ZPA Trutnov

ZPA Trutnov

Publicity pack for a Czech company making mains receivers and electrical control units.

1988 Jan Becher playing cards

Jan Becher playing cards

Publicity pack for Jan Becher, a Czech liqueur company, with modified international courts.

1991 Schwyzer Fasnachts-Jass

Schwyzer Fasnachts-Jass

Traditional carnival figures from the Swiss canton Schwyz, as interpreted by the artist Léon Schnyder.

1991 Joker Tell

Joker Tell

Comic celebration of 700 years of the Swiss Confederation, 1291-1991, with designs by Roland Gazzotti.

1994 Old Bachelor™

Old Bachelor™

The 90’s version of Old Maid with illustrations by Susan Wise.