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.
German hunting pack by Theodor Wegener
Hunters, animals and birds feature on all but the Kings in this pack by Theodor Wegener, c.1863-70.
Dronning Margrethe II
Elegant, elongated cards designed by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Jeu de Tarot Pocket Fantasy/Science-Fiction
Tarot game pack with fantasy sci-fi artwork on the trumps published by Pocket SF, France.
Hyperspace Royalty
Modern geometric designs by graphic artist Mathew den Boer, Canada, 2020.
Bush Cards – The Second Term
Playing cards slanted to the right, issued to mark George W. Bush’s second term of office.
Baralla amb Iconografia Medieval Valenciana
Issued to mark the opening of line 3 of the metro in Valencia, 1998.
Vesalius Anatomy Card Game
Celebrating the work of Andreas Vesalius in the quincentenary year of his birth.
Jeu de 54 cartes
Jeu de 54 cartes, completely anonymous, designed to resemble locally produced French packs.
O Baralho dos Provérbios!
Portuguese proverbs in combination with special courts and suit-signs published by Apenas Livros, Lisbon.
London Bridge NR.18
A brand name used in Norway over a number of years.
San Playing Cards
Rock paintings and engravings of the San people, better known as the “Bushmen”.
Romȃnia Playing Cards
Playing cards featuring traditional folk costumes from Romania.
Team GB
Great Britains’s Olympic gold medallists from 1964 to 2004 published by the British Olympic Association.
David Kindersley Centenary
Celebration of the work of David Kindersley, stone letter-carver and typeface designer. Published by the Cardozo Kindersley Workshop, Cambridge, UK, 2015.
Fundacja Polsat Dzieciom
Set of caricatures and cartoons in aid of a Polish children’s charity. c.2000.
Garuda Indonesia Airline
Souvenir pack from Garuda Indonesia, the national airline of Indonesia, c.1985.
Alphonse Arnoult Spanish-suited pack
Luxurious Spanish-suited pack made by Alphonse Arnoult, Paris, France, c.1850.
Alcatraz: Rules and Regulations Playing Cards
Rules and regulations that guided prison life in America’s most notorious prison.
Naipe de Bridge
Standard English pattern pack made in Ecuador, c.1970.
Official England Rugby Playing Cards
Pack celebrating the rugby world champions of 2003. Produced by MMcardz.
Martinique
Original designs from the French overseas department of Martinique by local artist Martine Porry.
Polish fortune-telling cards
Fortune-telling pack with divinatory rhymes in Polish, c.1985.
Bolzani e Spagnolo
Stylish monochrome designs by the Archinstudio of Guido Bolzani and Gian-Piero Spagnolo, printed by Masenghini, Bergamo, Italy, 1977.
Cartes Illustrées
Standard French designs adapted for children. Made by France Cartes for La Grande Récré, c.2016.
Paintings from Bulgaria
Fifty-five paintings of Bulgaria published as “Sense of Bulgaria” by Land of Roses Ltd, Bulgaria, c.2015.
Beaujolais je t’aime …
Pack promoting Beaujolais wine published by Editions du Nuton, France.
Happy Playing Cards
Cheerful, colourful designs on handmade paper from Nepal.
Rare Stamps of the World
Fifty-five rare stamps of the world in full colour, published jointly by David Feldman SA of Switzerland and Tower Philatelic, USA, 2001.
San Marino Souvenir
San Marino stamp designs combined with photographic views by La Fotometalgrafica Emiliana, c.1975.
Estonian Ethnographic Playing Cards
Estonian national costumes and everyday items feature on this pack made in Estonia.
Ergomia
Complete re-design of traditional pack into what the publishers considered to be ergonomically efficient.
Academia Catavencu
Caricatures of Romanian political figures by Academia Catavencu.
Wink Playing Cards
A pack of 53 temporary tattoo designs published by Wink, Riga, Latvia, c.2017.
Ganjifa™
A colourful pack of round cards with Ganjifa designs by Asha Industries, Mumbai, India, 2002.
Playing Cards from Mauritius
Pack designed for La Maison de L’Artisanat Ltée, Mauritius, by Hervé de Cotter.
Handmade playing cards
Non-standard designs on Nepalese handmade paper for Pilgrims Book House, Kathmandu, Nepal, c.2000.
Annapurna
Annapurna playing cards produced and published by Himalayan MapHouse, Kathmandu, Nepal.
El Al Airlines
Pack designed by Jean David (1908-93) for El Al Airlines. The courts are named after Biblical characters.
Clans & Tartans of Scotland
“Clans & Tartans of Scotland” deck of cards designed and illustrated by Romilly Squire, 1997.
Polit-Poker 1983
Black and white caricatures of famous world leaders by the German artist Bubec.
‘501’ playing cards by Alf Cooke
“Five 'o One” playing cards, a version of the Dondorf Rhineland pattern, manufactured by Universal Playing Card Co. Ltd for export to Scandinavia.
The Birth of Motorization 1885-1985
The Birth of Motorization playing cards designed by Radoslaw Radziejewski