The World of Playing Cards Logo

Crikey!

Published January 22, 2021 Updated September 27, 2023

Crikey! Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013.

2013 United Kingdom Bird Playing Cards D.C. Thomson & Co. Piatnik Dudley D. Watkins Comic Books Humour Literature Pop Culture
Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013

Crikey! Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013.

In yesterday’s world of comics, everyone was fair game. DC Thompson, founded in 1905 by a family with local shipping interests, had shrewdly spotted a gap in the market for boys’ papers... more

Enjoy this nostalgic review of the best of British comics, including The Beano, The Dandy, Bunty and Jackie and the unforgettable characters contained within.

Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013

Above: Crikey! Classic British Comics playing cards published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013.
All featured material © DC Thomson & Co Ltd 2013 www.dcthomson.co.uk
Designed By Haime & Butler www.haime-butler.com
Printed in the EU by Piatnik, Vienna www.piatnik.com
Published by Bird Playing Cards, 2013 www.birdplayingcards.com
With special thanks to Martin Lindsay and & Rory Duncan of DCT.

avatar
775 Articles

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.

Related Articles

2018 Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

Cathedrals, Abbeys & Minsters playing cards

54 pictures of different famous cathedrals, abbeys and minsters in England and Wales.

2018 Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols

Christmas Carols playing cards illustrated by Stuart Dilks

1798 Pam is the Knave of Clubs

Pam is the Knave of Clubs

Playing cards as metaphors in 18th century art - from fate, chance and social hierarchy t...

1920 Question and Answer Games

Question and Answer Games

A card game called “Impertinent Questions and Pertinent Answers” was launched in the early 1920s by ...

1711 Dr Sacheverell

Dr Sacheverell

Dr. Henry Sacheverell's impeachment in 1710 sparked widespread public unrest and political upheaval,...

1978 Modern Jass (Fredy Sigg)

Modern Jass (Fredy Sigg)

Caricatural updating of traditional Swiss Jass cards by the artist Fredy Sigg.

1990 Play Architecture

Play Architecture

Twentieth century architects and their creations on a well-designed pack from Finland.

1990 Leadmill playing cards

Leadmill playing cards

Promotional pack for an arts centre in Sheffield with designs by Martin F. Bedford.

1988 SCOR playing cards

SCOR playing cards

Bizarre and fantastical images by the artist Roland Topor for the SCOR reinsurance company.

2024 Agatha Christie and card games

Agatha Christie and card games

Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...

1985 Blake et Mortimer – La Marque Jaune

Blake et Mortimer – La Marque Jaune

Blake and Mortimer comic strip characters created by Edgar P. Jacobs.

2024 English Heritage

English Heritage

52 different colour photos of historic sites managed by English Heritage.

2022 The Malt Whiskies of Scotland

The Malt Whiskies of Scotland

Three packs featuring photographs by Duncan McEwan of malt whisky distilleries in Scotland.

Art pack I

Art pack I

Art pack featuring Old Masters, including Bruegel, Vermeer, Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Canaletto, ...

2010 Typographic Playing Cards

Typographic Playing Cards

Typographic Playing Cards designed by Jim Sutherland, c.2010.

1812 76: Transitions: Hunt & Sons

76: Transitions: Hunt & Sons

Styles change and technology develops. This means that it's possible to see transition periods in th...