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Published September 23, 2018 Updated July 19, 2022

Punch & Judy

Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956.

1956 United Kingdom Castell Bros Pepys Humour Card Games Add to Collection

Punch and Judy card game was drawn by Neville Main and published by Pepys as an economy 34-card game in 1956. The cards include the traditional puppet characters who fall victim to Punch’s club and we can almost hear the hysterical laughter. Two versions are known, one with white borders and the other without white borders. The boxes are identical. The object of the game is to dispose of one’s cards by laying down sets of three or four cards of the same character. See the Rules  See the Box

Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956

White Borders

Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956 Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956

No White Borders

Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956 Punch and Judy card game published by Pepys, 1956

Above: two editions of “Punch and Judy” card game published by Pepys with and without white borders, 1956. 34 cards + rules in box.

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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.


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