Carreras Fortune Telling Cards
Carreras Fortune Telling Cards.
Printed by B. Dondorf in Germany.
The Carreras Fortune Telling Cards were published in 1926 for W.D. & H.O. Wills, Bristol, and issued by Carreras Ltd in various sizes (wide and narrow size) and formats (playing-card inserts or figures). The cards were printed by chromo-lithography by B. Dondorf in Germany, based on the Dondorf Lenormand fortune-telling cards made in the 1880s. A single card was enclosed inside every packet of Black Cat cigarettes. Black Cat was launched in 1904 and became the first cigarette in the United Kingdom to contain coupons which were redeemable for gifts. These coupons evolved into the collectible cards which became a huge marketing success. See also: Wikipedia article • Cartes Lenormand by H.P. Gibson • Mlle Lenormand Fortune Telling cards by Vereinigte Stralsunder Spielkartenfabriken.
Carreras also issued Domino Cards, Alice in Wonderland cards and miniature playing cards. See also: Fortune Telling & Cartomancy :: Cartes Lenormand by H.P. Gibson.
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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