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Published July 15, 2020 Updated September 04, 2022

Mr Bok

The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, promoting Bok furniture polish, 1930s.

1930 South Africa Advertising Nature & Environment Card Games Happy Families Add to Collection

The Merry Game of Mr Bok & his Happy Families, promoting Bok furniture polish, produced in the 1930s. See the Box

There was also an improved version

Note: The Springbok is a type of antelope found in Southern Africa.

The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, 1930s The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, 1930s The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, 1930s The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, 1930s The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, 1930s

Above: The Merry Game of Mr Bok and his Happy Families, promoting Bok furniture polish, 1930s. 40 cards + 2 rules cards (English and Afrikaans) + extra advertising card in box.

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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.


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