What can we learn from mini-booklet advertisements?
Over the years I have collected a large number of mini-booklets and pocket guides offering rules and play guidance on a wide variety of games.
By Tony Hall
Member since January 30, 2015
I started my interest in card games about 70 years ago, playing cribbage with my grandfather. Collecting card game materials started 50 years or so later, when time permitted. One cribbage board was a memory; two became the start of a collection currently exceeding 150!
Once interest in the social history of card games was sparked, I bought a wooden whist marker from the 1880s which was ingenious in design and unbelievably tactile. One lead to two and there was no stopping.
What happened thereafter is reflected in my articles and downloads on this site, for which I will be eternally grateful.
Related Articles
IG Chemie Papier Keramik
Promotional pack designed by Karl-Heinz Schroers for a German trade union with comical bears on the ...
More Menthol Filter Cigarettes
Elongated cards with designs by Wong Yui Man advertising More cigarettes.
Jockey Club de Buenos Aires
Spanish-suited pack by Chas Goodall & Son Ltd for the Jockey Club, Buenos Aires.
New interest in old games
Games once fashionable are now eclipsed by quicker gratifications.
Leadmill playing cards
Promotional pack for an arts centre in Sheffield with designs by Martin F. Bedford.
Simpson (Piccadilly) playing cards
Innovative advertising pack for Simpsons of Piccadilly designed by André François.
Hamlet Cigars
Advertising deck for “Hamlet mild cigars”, a Benson & Hedges product.
Smith-Corona Marchant
Simplified yet colourful court card designs by Avoine for Smith-Corona Marchant.
Austria Ski Team playing cards
Photos of members of the Austrian skiing team replace the normal courts on two different packs.
Unimog UX 100
Cartoons promoting the Unimog UX 100, a small truck produced by Mercedes-Benz.
Star Trek® – The Original Series
Promotional pack for CIC Video with characters and starships from the original series of Star Trek. ...
Moguls, Highlanders and Merry Andrews
Discover the historic origins and evolution of card naming and quality designations like ‘Moguls’ an...
Hand-drawn transformation cards, c1875
A complete set of hand-drawn transformation cards from c1875, using a standard De La Rue pack.
Medizin Skat
Promotional pack for a hospital group in the Saarland, with non-standard suits and courts designed b...
Naipes Kukuxumusu
A 52-card Spanish-suited advertising pack for a clothing company in Pamplona.
Why our playing-cards look the way they do
Analysis of early playing card designs: origins, suit differences, standardization, technological ad...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days
