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552 Articles

Roddy Somerville

  • France • 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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1979 Gorleben soll leben!

Gorleben soll leben!

Skat deck produced by opponents of atomic energy and the dumping of radioactive waste.

1985 Parfums Van Cleef & Arpels

Parfums Van Cleef & Arpels

Advertising pack for the perfume division of Van Cleef & Arpels.

1980 Van Cleef & Arpels

Van Cleef & Arpels

Promotional pack created for Van Cleef & Arpels’ boutique in Geneva, Switzerland.

1982 Parfums Gianni Versace

Parfums Gianni Versace

Advertising pack for Gianni Versace perfumes.

1992 KOOKAÏ

KOOKAÏ

Playing cards promoting ready-to-wear outfits for women, produced by Compte-Fil, Nantes, France, 1992.

2012 Kings and Queens of Portugal

Kings and Queens of Portugal

Cameo portraits of Portuguese royalty from 1128 to 1910.

1965 East African Playing Cards no. 2

East African Playing Cards no. 2

Colour photographs of East African wildlife published by the East Africa Tourist Travel Association, 1965.

1989 Bicentenario della Rivoluzione Francese

Bicentenario della Rivoluzione Francese

Bicentenary of the French Revolution pack produced by Vannini, Florence, Italy, 1989.

1988 Maisons-Alfort à la “Belle Epoque”

Maisons-Alfort à la “Belle Epoque”

Celebrating 1,000 years of the town of Maisons-Alfort (988-1988) with designs by Henri Simoni.

1985 Marionnettes Wayang

Marionnettes Wayang

Striking Wayang puppet designs conceived by Youdi des Aubrys from Indonesia, 1985.

1990 Phone and smart cards

Phone and smart cards

Phonecards with playing card designs.

1981 Wayang Bridge Cards

Wayang Bridge Cards

Traditional Wayang puppet theatre characters from Indonesia.

1993 Topolino Fiat Cinquecento

Topolino Fiat Cinquecento

Fully illustrated Italian Disney pack advertising the Fiat Cinquecento, made by Modiano, Trieste, Italy, 1993.

2000 Disneyland Paris

Disneyland Paris

Disney characters deck from Euro Disney, Marne la Vallée, France, c.2000.

1987 Reagan’s Rogues Gallery

Reagan’s Rogues Gallery

A pack inspired by the Iran-Contra affair or Gipper-gate during the Reagan era, produced by R. Billingsley, USA, 1987.

1970 Grand Slam

Grand Slam

Limited edition gift set issued to mark the American Bicentennial, 1776-1976, produced by John Waddington Ltd and the Bristol Pottery for the British American Bicentenary Group, 1970.

2021 The Great Indoors

The Great Indoors

“The Great Indoors” playing cards published by DesignWorks Ink, Nashville, USA, 2021.

2010 Revolutionary playing cards

Revolutionary playing cards

Revolutionary playing cards with decapitated courts published by ATYPYK, Paris, 2010.

Flying Tiger playing cards

An “eco-conscious” product with fun, modern designs from Denmark.

Spanish pattern by Productos Leo, S.A.

Colourful Mexican version of standard Spanish designs, by Productos Leo, S.A., c.1980s.

2000 Airummy

Airummy

Souvenir pack made for the Malta Tourism Authority, Malta, c.2000.

Inka Naipe Souvenir

54 colour photographs of costumes and artefacts connected with the Inca civilisation, unknown publisher, Arequipa, Peru.

2006 Benfiquista!

Benfiquista!

Licensed and sponsored product for the Benfica Football Club, Lisbon, Portugal, 2006.

1975 Waddingtons Nursery Rhymes

Waddingtons Nursery Rhymes

Nursery rhyme playing cards by Waddingtons, Leeds, UK, 1975.

1979 Gas Shortages

Gas Shortages

Screenprint designs on an ever-topical subject, designed and made by Sallie Chinkes, 1979.

2001 South Park Playing Cards

South Park Playing Cards

South Park characters and famous one-liners, by Carta Mundi for Hasbro Int. Inc., 2001.

Fake ‘Four Seasons’ pattern

More than just a copy, this is a fake!

1960 English pattern from Portugal

English pattern from Portugal

English pattern by Litografia Maia, Porto, Portugal, c.1960.

1896 Cadiz-Catalan style pack

Cadiz-Catalan style pack

High-quality standard designs by Sebastián Comas y Ricart, Barcelona, Spain, 1896.

2019 Marie and Laurent’s Wedding

Marie and Laurent’s Wedding

Wedding invitation and thank you card in the form of playing cards. France, 2019.

1989 150 Years of Czechoslovakian Railways

150 Years of Czechoslovakian Railways

Czech trains and railwayana from 1839 to 1989, made by Obchodní Tiskárny, Prague, Czechoslovakia.

1995 Rzeszowskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne “Polfa”

Rzeszowskie Zakłady Farmaceutyczne “Polfa”

Photographs of pharmaceutical products, produced for RZF, Rzeszów, Poland, c.1995.

2000 Bohemian pattern by Bonaparte

Bohemian pattern by Bonaparte

Standard Bohemian pattern designs by Bonaparte, Plzeň, Czech Republic, c.2000.

2000 Bonaparte Bridge

Bonaparte Bridge

Colourful international designs produced by Bonaparte, Plzeň, Czech Republic, c.2000.

2014 The Simpsons™ (Czech version)

The Simpsons™ (Czech version)

Non-standard Bohemian cards featuring The Simpsons made for EFKO, Czech Republic, 2014.

2001 Dertor Bridge

Dertor Bridge

Cards intended for international use by Dertor Sp. z o.o., Warsaw, Poland, c.2001.

1980 Pentacards

Pentacards

A five-suited set of playing cards published by Fleet and Case Games Ltd., Rainham, Kent, UK, c.1980.

1960 Vivacidol

Vivacidol

Advertising pack for Vivacidol pharmaceutical product, France, c.1960s.

2004 Rapalje

Rapalje

Promotional pack for a Dutch Celtic folk band which performs Irish, Scottish and Dutch folk music, c.2004.

1960 Souvenir Views of Scotland Playing Cards

Souvenir Views of Scotland Playing Cards

52 selected views of Scotland by De La Rue (Waddingtons) for GlenAlan Ltd, Glasgow, Scotland, c.1960s.

1977 Algarve playing cards

Algarve playing cards

Kings and Queens of Portugal between 1185 - 1279. by V. de J.J. Nunes , Lisbon, Portugal, 1977.

1979 Tennis de Table 52<sup>e</sup> Championnats de France

Tennis de Table 52e Championnats de France

Table tennis players in action published by La Ducale, an imprint of Grimaud, France, 1979.

1982 Trajes Regionais Portugueses

Trajes Regionais Portugueses

Portuguese regional costumes published by the French division of Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor.

2000 I L♥ve Turkey

I L♥ve Turkey

Colour photographs of Turkey, published by Sel Reklam, Antalya, Turkey, c.2000.

1911 The Jovial Cards

The Jovial Cards

Publicity items for a group of entertainers, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK, 1911.

1967 My Fair Lady

My Fair Lady

Theatre programme in the form of a pack of cards. East Germany, c.1967.

1930 Waddington’s “Silkette” Playing Cards

Waddington’s “Silkette” Playing Cards

Cards made by John Waddington Ltd. for the Madras Club, Chennai (formerly Madras), India, c.1930.

1986 Helmsley Hotels

Helmsley Hotels

Publicity pack for the Harley and Helmsley Hotels, U.S.A., c.1986.

2002 Highland Hospice

Highland Hospice

54 different personalities from the city of Inverness published by the Highland Hospice.

2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme covers from 1956 to 2016 published by Winning Moves UK Ltd.

2010 Cape Wrath

Cape Wrath

Images from the Ministry of Defence Cape Wrath Training Centre, Sutherland, Scotland. Published 2010.