Wren 300 playing cards

Published January 18, 2024 Updated January 18, 2024

Papercuts by Chloe Campbell of the 52 Wren churches in the City of London.

2023 United Kingdom Chloe Campbell Architecture Commemorative

Chloe Campbell is a young British artist who specialises in papercuts, drawings and prints of architecture. For Wren 300 – the celebration of the tercentenary of Sir Christopher Wren’s death – she created papercuts of all 52 of the Wren churches in the City of London, including those that no longer exist and one which was taken down and rebuilt in Fulton, Missouri. These designs were used for the present pack, the order of the cards being decided by the date of the Feast Day of the Saint of each church. The black suits are printed in black and the red suits in red. Temple Bar and The Monument are featured on the two Jokers as they were also designed by Wren but are not churches. St Paul’s Cathedral has been used for the back design. See the box

The first, numbered edition of 100 packs sold out at the private view of Chloe Campbell and James Newton’s exhibition Wren on Paper in September 2023. The cards have been so popular that, at the time of writing (January 2024), they are already into their fourth edition.

Wren 300 playing cards designed and published by Chloe Campbell Art Ltd, Withyham, UK, 2023 Wren 300 playing cards designed and published by Chloe Campbell Art Ltd, Withyham, UK, 2023 Wren 300 playing cards designed and published by Chloe Campbell Art Ltd, Withyham, UK, 2023

Above: Wren 300 playing cards designed and published by Chloe Campbell Art Ltd, Withyham, UK, 2023. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm. Printer unknown. © Chloe Campbell Art Ltd 2023.

Packs (fourth edition) can be ordered here - www.chloecampbellart.com

avatar
614 Articles

By Roddy Somerville

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.

Related Articles

1996 Boddingtons Bitter playing cards

Boddingtons Bitter playing cards

Cool-looking courts advertising Boddingtons Bitter, originally brewed in Manchester.

1988 Jeu Buffon

Jeu Buffon

Illustrations of different birds from works by Buffon to celebrate the bicentenary of his death.

1999 OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner

OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner

Twentieth-century personalities promoting a millennium dinner at the Oxo Tower in London.

1991 Kids Fun Box playing cards

Kids Fun Box playing cards

Colourful cards for children with four non-standard suits connected with the natural world.

1980 Tangle Foot Ale

Tangle Foot Ale

Badger Brewery Tangle Foot strong ale advertising pack.

1891 Scientific Whist

Scientific Whist

“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...

1985 Agent Provocateur

Agent Provocateur

Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.

2012 Shin-Tōmei Expressway Opening Commemoration

Shin-Tōmei Expressway Opening Commemoration

Promotional playing cards for the Shin-Tōmei Expressway, a major Japanese expressway that opened in ...

2021 Nimbus playing cards

Nimbus playing cards

Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.

2025 Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited

Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...

2006 The Decadent Deck

The Decadent Deck

Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.

1893 Historic Shakespeare

Historic Shakespeare

“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.

1925 Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Copechat Paramount Sorting System

Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...

1893 Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893

A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

1989 Batman® playing cards

Batman® playing cards

Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.

1984 Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Can You Believe Your Eyes?

“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.