Isle of Man playing cards made by Glénisson of Turnhout

The playing card factory of Glénisson & Son, Turnhout, Belgium existed from 1856 until 1899. It started after the partnership between Glénisson & Van Genechten was dissolved in 1855. It is one of the 19th century Turnhout factories from which little archive material has survived and therefore much less is known about the production from this factory than the other well-known Turnhout playing card producers. However, we can certain that these two packs were made by Glénisson & Son in about 1880 because there exists a proof sheet by Glénisson with the four aces in the Playing Card museum in Turnhout.

The two packs shown below have a similar set of scenic aces with views from the Isle of Man. However, the English pattern court cards are significantly different as is the size of the cards. The first pack is 91 x 64 mm and the son pack 108 x 66 mm. Both packs are stencil coloured.

Pack 1

Pack 2

References:
- Isle of Man Souvenir Playing Cards, Mike Goodall 2002. page 44-47
- Turnhoutse Speelkaarten, Van Autenboer/Cremers 1983, No.96, p.99-100 (proof sheet scenic aces)

All cards shown are from the collection of Paul Symons ©