The World of Playing Cards Logo

C.L. Wüst English pattern comparison

Published August 22, 2022 Updated April 23, 2023

A review of the Ace of spades, court card, backs and joker of English pattern playing cards by Wüst from my collection.

1900 Germany A.S.S. Goodall Wüst Buffalo Bézique

I have in my collection several English pattern packs of cards made by C.L. Wüst of Frankfurt, Germany and thought it might be useful to create a comparison of these by showing the ace of spades, jack of clubs, reverse and a joker (or pip card) from each pack to indicate the many differences which can be found. This does not mean that this is a definitive list of all known variations and I am almost certain that there are more to be discovered. Wüst also produced a single ended version of the English pattern which you can view here (taken from a page in my 2005 Wüst expo catalogue). Please let me know if you have other variations not found in this comparison so that I can add them to the list. You can contact me here.

I have chosen the ace of spades because they are all decorated in the Wüst packs. The jack of clubs always has the Wüst logo of a 5 or 6 pointed star even though it may be difficult to see in the design of the card. If you can't see it look again!

The first three packs have an early Turnhout style ace of spades:
1. Bezique c,1880 Goodall G4 style courts (notice the early 5-pointed Wüst star) Single ended pip cards.

2. Bezique c.1890 Goodall G4 style courts. X instead of 10 on pip card.

3. Indicator No.214 DD4.1 courts, copy of Dougherty. (now with a 6-pointed star)

The next three packs have a Goodall style ace of spades:

4. Superfine Playing Cards c.1900 DD4.1 courts

5. Superfine Playing Cards c.1900 G4 style courts

6. Indicator First Quality c.1890 DD4.1 courts. Smaller indices than 4.

The next three packs have Germania aces, looking very similar to those sometimes used in the USA.
7. Indicator No. 217 c.1915 copy of US3 type courts

8. Indicator playing cards c.1915 US3 courts. Notice the ace now states 'Trade Mark' instead of 'Schutz Marke'

9. Pocker cards for the Hamburg-Amerika Linie c.1910 US3 courts. Includes a very rare joker.

The next three packs have the Buffalo trade mark on the ace of spades:
10. Buffalo No.217 c.1920 US4 courts

11. Buffalo No.217 c.1920 US4 courts

12. Poker No. 29 c.1930 similar to Wüst but now by VASS, Altenburg who continued the brand after 1927. 4 corner indices. No Wüst star on the jack of clubs.

To finish this comparison here is a scan of four different Wüst boxes belonging to packs number 6, 3, 7 and 10 in that order.

References:
The Standard English Pattern, Ken Lodge 2016

Catalogue of Playing Cards from the factory C.L.Wüst, Shaw/Symons 2005

All cards shown are from the collection of Paul Symons ©

avatar
71 Articles

By Paul Symons

Member since February 01, 2016

I'm British but I have now lived in the Netherlands for more than 50 years and am still enjoying every minute of it. I started collecting playing cards in the early 1980’s after speaking with my neighbour who was at that time a croupier in a casino. I started with just collecting jokers, but that soon led me to complete packs of cards and eventually to specialising in old and antique playing cards, particularly those of C.L. Wüst of Frankfurt, Germany. I am presently the Dutch representative of the I.P.C.S. and the auctioneer at the IPCS conventions.

Related Articles

1983 Politiker-Skat by Bubec

Politiker-Skat by Bubec

Caricatures of world leaders, including many German politicians, by the artist Bubec.

1983 Le Poker Politique

Le Poker Politique

French politicians and various world leaders caricatured by the German artist Bubec.

1978 Modern Jass (Fredy Sigg)

Modern Jass (Fredy Sigg)

Caricatural updating of traditional Swiss Jass cards by the artist Fredy Sigg.

1996 Unimog UX 100

Unimog UX 100

Cartoons promoting the Unimog UX 100, a small truck produced by Mercedes-Benz.

1989 Juristenskat

Juristenskat

Caricatures of lawyers and judges by Philipp Heinisch for HEEL Verlag.

Battles in Mexico, 1847

Battles in Mexico, 1847

Uncut proof sheet with Mexican Battle scenes on the aces and portraits of American generals on the c...

1880 Double-ended German-suited pack by Josef Glanz, Vienna.

Double-ended German-suited pack by Josef Glanz, Vienna.

From the British Museum collection.

1994 Medizin Skat

Medizin Skat

Promotional pack for a hospital group in the Saarland, with non-standard suits and courts designed b...

1984 Opernkarte I

Opernkarte I

Humorous designs by Peter Becker on the theme of the Opera.

1981 Haushaltgeräte

Haushaltgeräte

Publicity pack for VEB Kombinat Haushaltgeräte, makers of household goods, with designs by Volker Ha...

Animal Tarot by Johann Jobst Forster

Animal Tarot by Johann Jobst Forster

French-suited 78-card animal tarot deck of the Bavarian type.

Uncut Sheet by Johann Jobst Forster

Uncut Sheet by Johann Jobst Forster

A proof sheet containing twelve court cards of conventional French type.

1984 Mit Rhino auftrumpfen

Mit Rhino auftrumpfen

Black rhinos on a publicity pack for Armstrong, a flooring company, with comic designs by Pit Flick....

1904 So-Lah – A Game of Music

So-Lah – A Game of Music

An early 20th century domino-type musical card game by Goodall.

1997 Walt Disney Cards II

Walt Disney Cards II

Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and other familiar Disney characters.

1985 Hilti I

Hilti I

Promotional pack for Hilti power tools, with courts in medieval costume and non-standard pips.