Counties of England 4th Series

Jaques' Counties of England card game, 4th Series (Southern Counties), c.1910

Above: Jaques' Counties of England card game, 4th Series (Southern Counties), c.1910. The set also contains The Rules. The factual information printed on each card was updated to keep up with progress and new industrial developments. For example, the Isle of Wight card in earlier editions read: "ISLE OF WIGHT - Osborne - One of the residences of HM Queen - Exports of pipeclay & fine sand from this island - Population 66,165". This edition we can date with accuracy to between 1904 and 1920 based upon the information given for Osborne House being used as a Naval College - it was only used as such between these dates.

Above: Jaques' Counties of England card game, 4th Series (Southern Counties), c.1930, with rounded corners. The set also contains The Rules.

By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

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I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.