“Progress” Card Game

The story of “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan (1678) illustrated in a card game published by Castell Brothers Ltd (Pepys Games) in 1938. See the Box►

“As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a Den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back...”

Above: “Progress” was first published in 1938 drawn by an unknown artist. It came in a padded box with high quality rules booklet, to sell at 2/6d, a pretty high price for the time. “Progress” was available with purple or plum backs in boxes printed in the same colour. Images courtesy Adam West-Watson.

Download “Pilgrim’s Progress ebook.

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.