Tony Hall
Member since January 30, 2015I started my interest in card games about 70 years ago, playing cribbage with my grandfather. Collecting card game materials started 50 years or so later, when time permitted. One cribbage board was a memory; two became the start of a collection currently exceeding 150!
Once interest in the social history of card games was sparked, I bought a wooden whist marker from the 1880s which was ingenious in design and unbelievably tactile. One lead to two and there was no stopping.
What happened thereafter is reflected in my articles and downloads on this site, for which I will be eternally grateful.
Also by Tony Hall
Download as Adobe Acrobat files:
"Evolution of Whist and Bridge Boxed Sets, 1870s–1930s"
"Majority Calling and Value Bidding in Auction Bridge; a little bit of history"
"The Personalities and Books which shaped the game of Whist, 1860-1900"
The latest articles from Tony Hall
Why do we Collect? My 20 Favourite Items
I suppose people collect for different reasons, rarity, quality, ingenuity of design, sentimental value... by Tony Hall.
Patience Cards and their Boxes
Patience Cards and their Boxes by Tony Hall.
Mary Whitmore Jones and her Chastleton Patience Board
Mary Whitmore Jones and her Chastleton Patience Board by Tony Hall.
Progressive Whist Cards
There are references to “progressive whist” or “whist drives” during the 19th and early years of the 20th century but this form of the game came into its own during the 1920s and 30s.
Whist and Gaming Counters and Markers
History.of Whist and Gaming Counters and Markers from the 18th Century to modern times.
Wills Scheme
The W.D & H.O. Wills Playing Card promotion of the early 1930s
Cribbage Board Collection
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall