The Forces’ Favourites
The Forces’ Favourites playing cards with glamorous illustrations by David Wright, United Kingdom, 2006.
Produced in 2006 by British Heritage Ltd., this is a fully illustrated pack of playing cards featuring glamour pin-ups from the 1940s. The artist was David Wright (1912-1967), an outstanding erotic artist of the day, whose work first appeared in The Sketch magazine in January 1941, and continued regularly throughout the War and beyond to 1951 in a series of 169 illustrations. The illustrations established him as one of the most popular pin-up artists during World War II. In the 1950s he continued drawing in a similar style for Men Only. See the box►
The cards (which have 4-corner indices) present a series of "lovelies" that epitomised female glamour during World War II, and beneath them are the original captions. An additional card provides information about the artist and describes the pin-ups as “willowy, long-legged, pert-breasted women, often in stockings” more►
By Peter Burnett
Member since July 27, 2022
I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.
Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.
Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.
Leave a Reply
Your Name
Just nowRelated Articles
English Heritage
52 different colour photos of historic sites managed by English Heritage.
Clear Skies
‘Clear Skies’ playing cards paying tribute to the Ukrainian people in the face of war.
The Malt Whiskies of Scotland
Three packs featuring photographs by Duncan McEwan of malt whisky distilleries in Scotland.
Typographic Playing Cards
Typographic Playing Cards designed by Jim Sutherland, c.2010.
76: Transitions: Hunt & Sons
Styles change and technology develops. This means that it's possible to see transition periods in th...
Gibson’s History of England
History without tears for young and old, 1920s.
Simpson (Piccadilly) playing cards
Innovative advertising pack for Simpsons of Piccadilly designed by André François.
Scruffy Mutts
‘Scruffy Mutts’ dog-themed playing cards, United Kingdom, c.1998.
Hamlet Cigars
Advertising deck for “Hamlet mild cigars”, a Benson & Hedges product.
Heathen Divinities
Handmade playing cards from the British Museum depicting classical Greek and Roman gods and goddesse...
1968 Worshipful Company Pack
Commemorating the Games of the XIX Olympiad, Mexico, 1968 (Master: Michael J. Amberg).
Royal Britain
Pack devised by Pietro Alligo depicting English monarchs from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II.
Hand-drawn set of 52 playing cards
An imaginatively hand-drawn set of 52 playing cards by an amateur artist, 18th century.
Battles in Mexico, 1847
Uncut proof sheet with Mexican Battle scenes on the aces and portraits of American generals on the c...
Famous Faces playing cards
Images of the great and the good to be found in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Go Go Gorillas!
Go Go Gorillas! charity playing cards sponsored by the Eastern Daily Press and the Norwich Evening N...
Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here.