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►
Above: The Forces’ Favourites pin-up playing cards produced by British Heritage Ltd, United Kingdom, 2006.
By Peter Burnett
United Kingdom • 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.
Activity for The Forces’ Favourites
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Agent Provocateur
Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.
WW2 German Propaganda Playing Cards
showing satirical portraits of Allied leaders and politicians
Preposterous playing cards
Preposterous playing cards by Simon Drew published by British Heritage Ltd, Herts.
Wisdom of Wine
Wisdom of Wine playing cards by the English illustrator Simon Drew.
Spy
Spy card game published by Valentine’s Games, c.1915.
Sister Susie Snap
Sister Susie Snap published by Valentine & Sons Ltd, c.1915.
Who’s Who
Who’s Who or Food for Thought, a wartime card game, c.1939.
Tease Me
‘Tease Me’ 1960s glamour pack.
Prisoners of War
Hand-made playing cards by French prisoners of war in Porchester Castle, Hampshire, c.1796.
Victory Snap
Wartime Snap, a memoir of past times, c.1941.
Churchill in WW2
Churchill ‘Walking with Destiny’ playing cards published by the Imperial War Museum.
Mayall Press Art Studies
Photographic playing cards - each face having an "art study" of a female nude, Mayall Press, Stockwe...
What the Butler Saw
“What the Butler Saw” playing cards depicting tasteful photography of the female body.
Siegfried Line
“We’re Gonna Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line” wartime card game made by William Sessions ...
Temple Press War Planes
“War Planes” aircraft recognition playing cards published by Temple Press Limited, c.1940.
Wartime Snap
Wartime edition of Snap game by an anonymous publisher.
Ordnance Recognition
Ordnance Recognition Playing Cards cards designed to help people at risk from unexploded bombs
They’re Off
“They’re Off” horse racing card game by Pepys, c.1940.
Panda’s Party
Panda’s Party published by Pepys Games, 1940.
Mr Chad
Anonymous ‘Mr Chad’ card game, 1940s.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
