Gibson, Hunt & Son

Gibson Hunt & Son, 1801-1803

29 Piccadilly, London

Gibson originally took over the business of Blanchard in 1769. Gibson & Hunt operated briefly (1801-1803) and were followed successively by Hunt & Son (1804-1821), Hunt & Sons (1821-1840), Hall (& Son), Hall & Bancks and finally Bancks Brothers (1841-1889). The standard English court card male figures have curly, one-sided moustaches and details in the clothing and design are typical from this period, i.e. c.1800-c.1810.

Left: 'Garter' Ace of Spades (click to zoom). There were several variations in the name on Aces of Spades around this time, and the son seems to have joined the firm in 1803/04. The backs of the cards are plain white.

Above: Images courtesy Charles Flisher.

Reference:  Lodge, Ken: The Standard English Pattern (second revised and enlarged edition), Bungay, Suffolk, 2010

By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

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Curator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.