Luxus Skatkarte Nr.1134
Luxus Skatkarte Nr.1134 printed by Brepols for Germany, c.1940s.
This pack was printed by Brepols of Turnhout for Germany, during the occupation of Netherlands, early 1940s. The use of the Wüst star on the 7 hearts and box is probably because it was printed for VASS who had taken over Wüst in 1927. There are several slightly different editions of the deck, including one for Scandinavia with Scandinavian indices.
Above: Luxus Skatkarte Nr.1134 by Brepols, c.1940s. Thanks to Paul Symons for additional research.
Note from Roddy Somerville
As mentioned in this article, there is more than one version of these cards. I have two examples (one red, one blue) called Salon-Karte No. 134 with the A.S.S. logo on the box and on the 7 of Hearts. These have 32 cards for playing Skat. The corners are gilded.
Above: Salon-Karte No. 134 by A.S.S.
I also have an unboxed set with indices in French (R, D, V, 1), square corners, no logo on the 7 of Hearts (or anywhere else), frame lines in black (rather than dull gold) and an attractive back design of a bird and flowers in blue and gold. This pack has 52 cards, 1 Joker and 2 blank cards - R.S
Above: the joker is one used by Van Genechten. "Luxus Skatkarte No.1134" decks were printed by Van Genechten, Mesmaekers and Biermans in the 1940s during the German occupation of the Netherlands. Image courtesy Roddy Somerville.
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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