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.
Italia playing cards
Small, narrow cards designed by Osvaldo Menegazzi, bearing a strong resemblance to a Swedish pattern pack.
Napoleone playing cards
Long, narrow cards designed by Osvaldo Menegazzi, featuring Napoleon, Josephine and various soldiers.
Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico
Promotional pack for Chianti Classico wine, with designs by Costante Costantini.
Burgdorf Abschreckhärtetechnik
Promotional pack for a German steel hardening business, with designs by Costante Costantini.
Henley-on-Thames playing cards
Calendar events and visitor attractions to be found in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
Souvenir Playing Cards of Egypt
55 different photographic views of Egypt in full colour.
Novelty Playing Cards
Standard designs by M.F. Milward of Chicago, resembling those of Andrew Dougherty.
Jeu Tour de France 89 (Domex)
Cyclists from the Domex-Weinmann team who took part in the 1989 Tour de France.
Glorious Scotland
54 photographic views of Scotland by Duncan I. McEwan.
Budweiser Budvar beer
Colourful designs promoting Budweiser Budvar beer from Czechoslovakia.
Krónikás kártya
A German-suited pack from Hungary in honour of the millennium.
Carte Bolognesi
New designs reinforcing Bologna’s reputation as the gastronomic capital of Italy.
Le carte di Tex
Characters from the famous Italian comic book series, Tex, created by Gian Luigi Bonelli and Aurelio Galleppini.
Florentine pattern variant
Non-standard designs by Chiari of Florence with some of the features of a traditional Florentine pattern pack.
Carte da gioco anticomuniste del Comitato civico
Anti-Communist propaganda pack with satirical designs by Benito Jacovitti.
Budapest souvenir
Colour views of the Hungarian capital, Budapest, on all the courts and Aces.
Salmon Flies
Icelandic pack featuring a different salmon fly on every card.
Spielkarten für Sammler
Cards on cards in celebration of playing-card collector Franz Braun’s 75th birthday.
Vieux gréements
Illustrations by Yannick Pennanguer of old sailing ships for Brest 2004, a maritime festival.
Railway Posters Playing Cards
54 classic images from a bygone age of railway travel from the National Railway Museum, York.
Promo-Québec
Fun designs by Normand Hudon promoting the Canadian province of Quebec.
Les 7 Familles Pyrénées
Mountains, flowers, animals, tourist sites of the Pyrenees, all drawn by the artist Pertuzé.
Jeu des 7 Familles Spider-Man
Colourful card game featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and some of his fearsome adversaries.
CNES playing cards
Fully pictorial pack featuring rockets, satellites, scientists and views from space.
Cards on Cards (E.H. Locker)
Artist Edward Locker’s view of London life in 1799, using every card in the pack as part of the picture.
Pan-American Exposition Souvenir
Pan-American Exposition Souvenir Playing Cards, Buffalo, NY, 1901.
Baraja Española de Pintores Murcianos
A Spanish-suited pack as conceived by 48 different artists from the region of Murcia.
Neiman Marcus playing cards
Cowboys and American Indians on a pack for Neiman Marcus, the Dallas department store.
Wolfgang Dorn Werbe
Designs by Jürgen Pankarz for the 20th anniversary of the Wolfgang Dorn advertising agency, Cologne.
Le Jeu d’Issy
Bold designs by Jacques Auriac representing people and enterprises for which the town of Issy-les-Moulineaux is famous.
Cartavi
Promotional pack for AVI paints, with 54 different colours on the backs.
Alessandro Manzoni Centenary
Issued to mark the centenary of the death of Alessandro Manzoni, one of Italy’s greatest writers.
Baraja Napoleónica
Re-edition of a French-suited Spanish pack from the Napoleonic era, with designs by J. Carrafa.
Bilder zum Tarot
Detailed pen and ink drawings of the major arcana by the German artist Helmut Wonschick.
English (or Rigel) Tarot Cards
‘Authentic English fortune telling’ Tarot cards said to be based on a 15th century original found in the British Museum.
Golden Charades
Drawn by Bernard Cookson, the clues, riddles and puzzles on these cards could have won the solver a bar of silver or gold.
Das Tübinger Skatspiel
Pack devised by Volker Scheub depicting characters associated with the city of Tübingen.
Baraja Nefertiti
Mexican fortune-telling pack with black and white designs by Thania Nicolopulus.
Le Jeu de la Chance
Original designs by French artist Jean Vérame, with clubs replaced by four-leaf clovers to bring good luck.
Non-standard pack by J.J. Nunes
Charming designs reminiscent of older, northern European models.
Playing cards by António
Caricatures by António Moreira Antunes of Portuguese politicians from the 1980s, with non-standard suits corresponding to their respective parties.
Conseil Général de la Somme
Famous people and places of the Somme department in northern France, with designs by James Hodges.
Les Chemins de Saint-Jacques
Paintings, statues, monuments and maps associated with different routes to Compostela.
Baraja del Camino de Santiago
Designs by Guitián, published by Ideas Peregrinas, Santiago de Compostela, Spain, c2018.
Diabolik Poker
Characters from the Italian comic series Diabolik, with designs by Paolo and Sergio Zaniboni.
Lo Zodiaco
French-suited fortune-telling pack with distinctive designs by Italian artist Sergio Ruffolo.
CCCP playing cards
Soviet and other Communist celebrities depicted on every card, designed by Vladislav Pankevitch.
Into space and back
A NASA experiment to test a new inflammable material for playing cards.
Baraja Aragonesa
Celebrating the costumes, architecture, coins and crafts of Aragon in Spain, with designs by Raúl Rodriguez Segurado.
Multicard
A Spanish-suited pack with multiple uses including roulette and dice.
The Seven Ages of Man
Original paintings by Jane Daniell depicting characters from Shakespeare’s plays.