Treasures from the Bodleian Library
Rare books, manuscripts, music scores, portraits, maps, gospels, chronicles and other valuable artefacts from the Bodleian’s rich collections.
The Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford is one of the oldest libraries in Europe and, in England is second only in size to the British Library. It has a continuous history from 1602, but even then was a refoundation by Sir Thomas Bodley on the site of an earlier library dating back to 1488. During its long history the Library has been the recipient of many valuable collections and bequests, and it is for this reason that the Bodleian is often termed a “collection of collections”.
This double pack of 52 cards and 2 jokers displays photographs of rare books, manuscripts, music scores, portraits, maps, gospels, chronicles, and other valuable artefacts held within the Bodleian’s rich collections. Below each image is a brief description of the item and the class mark indicating its location. The reverse shows the Bodleian’s Tower of the Five Orders and the jokers show both sides of the Bodley medal • See the box
Above: Treasures from the Bodleian Library playing cards, c.1995. 2 x (52 cards + 2 jokers) in box.
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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.
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