Jack of all Trades
Jack of all Trades card game.

Jack of all Trades card game, 1930s
Kum-Bak Sports, Toys & Games Mfg Co. Ltd.
56-58 Whitcomb Street, London W.C.2 and 154/164 Vauxhall Street, Kennington Oval, London S.E.11.
Kum-Bak Sports, Toys & Games Mfg Co. Ltd produced a range of indoor games, including card games, board games and pocket games, cribbage boards, counters, etc. during the 1930s. They also produced a Cabinet of Games containing nine games. Card game titles produced by Kum-Bak include: Kargo, Jack-of-all-Trades, Market and Run it Out or Card Cricket.
Right: the front of the telescopic box from Jack of all Trades card game, 1930s.
We can note that all the Craftsmen depicted in this card game are male. As in Kay Snap, there was not yet any expectation that women would be undertaking these traditional jobs or that they might be depicted in this card game. In a more culturally up-to-date version of the game we might expect to see female decorators, police officers, soldiers, and so on, but not in the 1930s!
Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than master of one is a seventeenth century phrase suggesting a person whose knowledge is superficial.




Above: cards from Jack of all Trades card game by Kum-Bak Sports, Toys and Games Mfg. Co. Ltd, 154/164 Vauxhall Street, Kennington Oval, London S.E.11, c.1935. The pack contains a total of 52 cards. Thirteen of the cards represent various Craftsmen, and the remainder represent the Tools and Implements used by these Craftsmen in following their employment. The back of the rules leaflet (shown right) lists all the craftsmen and their implements and tools. The Burglar is also listed as a craftsman, and presumably he provides employment for the Policeman.
The game can also be played as a form of Happy Families. If a player doesn't have a card of the set required when asked, he must reply, "On strike".
The original retail price of Jack of all Trades was 1/6d. In 1939 Kum-Bak sold their card games business to Castell Bros (Pepys Games).

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
I am the founder of The World of Playing Cards (est. 1996), a website dedicated to the history, artistry and cultural significance of playing cards and tarot. Over the years I have researched various areas of the subject, acquired and traded collections and contributed as a committee member of the IPCS and graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal. Having lived in Chile, England, Wales, and now Spain, these experiences have shaped my work and passion for playing cards. Amongst my achievements is producing a limited-edition replica of a 17th-century English pack using woodblocks and stencils—a labour of love. Today, the World of Playing Cards is a global collaborative project, with my son Adam serving as the technical driving force behind its development. His innovative efforts have helped shape the site into the thriving hub it is today. You are warmly invited to become a contributor and share your enthusiasm.
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