Hilti I
Promotional pack for Hilti power tools, with courts in medieval costume and non-standard pips.
Hilti AG is a Liechtenstein-based company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for the construction, building maintenance, energy and manufacturing industries. Incongruously, the double-ended courts in this pack are shown holding different modern power tools while at the same time wearing medieval costume. One wonders whether they really know how to hold them! Other pieces of equipment have been used in place of all the pips on the numeral cards, repeated the appropriate number of times to correspond with the value of each card. Two slightly different back colours were produced. See the boxes
Above: promotional pack made by Berliner Spielkarten GmbH, Darmstadt, Germany, for Hilti AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein, 1985. 52 cards + 2 (identical) Jokers + 1 bridge scoring card in tuck box. Size: 57 x 89 mm.
A 32-card version of this pack was also produced (with indices in German), and a similar, 36-card pack exists with German suits for playing Schafkopf (Hilti II).
References
Petri, Dr. Thomas. Braun Band 13: Die Berliner Spielkarten GmbH; 2002. p.53, BS 1985/1.
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.
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