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Published January 02, 2018 Updated June 06, 2022

Coricidin Demilets

Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967.

1967 USA United States Playing Card Co. Advertising Humour Medical & Pharmaceutical Add to Collection

Coricidin © Demilets™ pharmaceutical playing cards, on the attack against the cold bug, published by Schering Corporation, 1967. The four aces depict cold sufferers, the patients to whom the physician “king” with stethoscope, the nurse “queen” and pharmacist “jack” with pestle and mortar are all dedicated... See the Leaflet

Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967 Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967 Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967 Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967

Above: Coricidin © Demilets™ pharmaceutical playing cards manufactured by the United States Playing Card Co. for Schering Corporation, 1967. 52 cards + 2 jokers + leaflet in special box . Bridge size: 89mm x 58mm. The reverse features rows of pills with the “Schering” name and logo on them. The joker (right) depicts the cold bug being chased out of the picture by the big ‘C’ symbol of Coricidin. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.

Coricidin Demilets pharmaceutical playing cards, 1967

Spanish pharmaceutical deck for Schering-Plough Laboratories, 1996

Above: Spanish pharmaceutical deck for Schering-Plough Laboratories, 1996. Courtesy Alberto Pérez González.

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.

His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.

Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.


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