Wills 200th Anniversary
Double pack commemorating the 200th anniversary of W.D & H.O. Wills Ltd, 1786 - 1986.

Double pack commemorating the 200th anniversary of W.D & H.O. Wills Ltd, Bristol (1786 - 1986) and presented to all their employees and pensioners. The four aces are reproduced from an early set of ‘stiffeners’ (so called because they stiffened the paper cigarette packs), advertising the company’s leading brands. The rest of the pack features cigarette cards. See the Explanatory Card►




Above: double pack commemorating the 200th anniversary of W.D & H.O. Wills Ltd, 1786 - 1986. Each deck has 52 cards + 2 Jokers plus an insert card that describes the decks, inside a presentation case. One pack has silver borders and backs, the other has gold borders and backs.

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
View ArticlesCurator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.