Waddingtons Nursery Rhymes
Nursery rhyme playing cards by Waddingtons, Leeds, UK, 1975.
waddingtons Nursery Rhyme cards were no doubt intended for children to play a Happy Families or quartet type of game; however, they also include the traditional markings of a suited pack. Each nursery rhyme consists of four cards, say the 4 Kings, three being pictorial and one having the text of the rhyme. Thus, there are 13 rhymes in all. The designer/artist is not credited. One curious feature is that the typeface used for the “A” on the Ace of Spades is different from the other three Aces. The pack appears to have been issued in two versions, one in a large pink drop-lid box with rules printed on the bottom of the box, and the other in a clear plastic box with a paper leaflet containing the rules. Neither version has any Jokers or extra cards.
Above: Nursery Rhyme playing cards by Waddingtons Playing Card Co. Ltd, Leeds, UK, 1975. 52 cards (see text for details of boxes, leaflet, etc.). Size: 58 x 88 mm. Right: the back.
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.
Related Articles
OXO Faces of the Millennium Dinner
Twentieth-century personalities promoting a millennium dinner at the Oxo Tower in London.
Kids Fun Box playing cards
Colourful cards for children with four non-standard suits connected with the natural world.
Tangle Foot Ale
Badger Brewery Tangle Foot strong ale advertising pack.
Scientific Whist
“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...
Agent Provocateur
Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.
Nimbus playing cards
Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.
Danao Tiāngōng Puke
Children’s playing cards based on the 1961 Chinese animated feature film 大闹天宫 (Havoc in Heaven).
Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited
Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...
The Decadent Deck
Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.
Historic Shakespeare
“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.
Copechat Paramount Sorting System
Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...
Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893
A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.
Rap Rummy
Rap Rummy made by Parker Brothers in 1926, only 4 years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s to...
Batman® playing cards
Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.
Can You Believe Your Eyes?
“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.
Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind
The “Pastime” Playing Cards for the Blind manufactured by Goodall & Son Limd., c.1910.
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
