“Deck with French suits”
A facsimile of an early 19th century French-suited deck from the collection of F.X. Schmid.
A facsimile of an early 19th century woodblock and stencil French-suited deck from the collection of F.X. Schmid. The extra card mentions that the original pack is from the historic collection of F.X. Schmid and was originally published in France prior to 1850. See the Box►


Above: facsimile of an early 19th century French-suited deck from the collection of F.X. Schmid, published in Germany. 52 cards in box.

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.
Related Articles

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

Pathé Marconi
Special promotion pack for French record company Pathé Marconi.

Archaic Spanish-suited pattern from Bayonne
Archaic Franco-Spanish pattern from Bayonne by a manufacturer with the initals M.V.

Luditz Pattern by Georg Geiselreiter
The discovery of 2024 changes the current state of knowledge of the history of this pattern.

Caisse Mutuelle d'Assurance et de Prevoyance
Insurance propaganda pack for Caisse Mutuelle d'Assurance et de Prevoyance with humorous artwork by ...

CARD-AB Miltenberg
Illustrations by Rita Stern depicting notable landmarks and scenes from the town of Miltenberg in Ge...

New Altenburg Skat cards – German DDR Pattern
Authentic Altenburger Skat cards with German suits (Acorns, Hearts, Leaves, Bells).

Jeu Révolutionnaire
Court cards and aces from a French Revolutionary pack by Pinaut, Paris, c.1794.

German Travel Cards
A travel-themed educational deck helping American tourists visiting Germany.

French Revolutionary cards by Pinaut
Seven cards from a French Revolutionary pack by Pinaut featuring characters from classical antiquity...

Briefmarken-Quartett
Quartet game featuring postage stamps from the Zones of Occupation in post-WWII Germany.

Never Mind the Belote
Limited edition Belote pack with designs by a collective of 24 street artists.

Sannois dans les étoiles
Celebrities and buildings associated with Sannois, a commune in the suburbs of Paris.

Le Globe Céleste
Views and plans of five international exhibitions held in Paris between 1855 and 1900.

IG Chemie Papier Keramik
Promotional pack designed by Karl-Heinz Schroers for a German trade union with comical bears on the ...

Le Journal de Mickey
Perforated sheet of cards with Disney characters issued with the magazine Le Journal de Mickey.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days