Society of Apothecaries (medicinal plants)
Medicinal plants in stained glass from Apothecaries’ Hall, London.
The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards is not the only Livery Company in the City of London to produce special packs of cards. When the Society of Apothecaries commissioned stained-glass windows featuring medicinal plants from various artists in 2020, it was rightly thought that these designs could be turned into an attractive pack of cards. This is the result. There are 24 different designs, though not all the names of the plants are legible. The coat of arms of the Society of Apothecaries appears on the reverse and again on both sides of the box (which, otherwise, carries no further information). The pack was apparently only available to members of the Society.
Above: Society of Apothecaries (medicinal plants) playing cards produced by PrintfromyourSofa, Nayland, for the Society of Apothecaries, London, UK, c2021. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm.
The cards have an embossed finish (linen effect), giving them a smooth slip. However, the card edges are not super-smooth.
A second pack, with coats of arms from the windows of the Great Hall, is available via the Society’s website.
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By Roddy Somerville
France • Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
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