Tony Hall
- United Kingdom • 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.
Question and Answer Games
A card game called “Impertinent Questions and Pertinent Answers” was launched in the early 1920s by H.P Gibson & Sons Ltd.
Agatha Christie and card games
Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and motives for characters.
Gibson’s History of England
History without tears for young and old, 1920s.
Word Making and Word Taking
How crossword and spelling games became popular.
Managing cards without corner indices
For many hundreds of years cards had no corner indices, were square cut and mostly made from card without the smooth, slippery surfaces we enjoy today.
Past Masters’ Association Presentation Pack
The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards Past Masters’ Association Presentation Pack, 2013.
The Search for New Games in the late 19th century
A few new games survived and are still around today; most came and went and are only witnessed in the literature by the equivalent of a vapour trail.
Miniature Card Dominoes
A miniature set of Goodall domino cards (5.9 x 3.5 cms) still in perfect condition.
T. Drayton & Son
Bezique and Whist boxed sets by T. Drayton & Son, London, c.1875.
The Origin of Patience Games in English
Jessel’s Bibliography of works in English on Playing Cards and Gaming describes “The first book on Patience published in English”, dated 1859.
The Evolution of Bezique boxed sets, 1869 to 1990
The first company to register Bezique materials with Stationers’ Hall was Josh Reynolds & Son in September 1869.
The making of a Bridge or Bézique marker
This post-mortem was carried out on a Bezique marker which was already falling apart.
Card Game Items and contemporary advertisements
It is often difficult to identify the origin, manufacturer and date of a card game boxed set and other card game artifacts.
De La Rue Pocket Guides
The 19th Century saw the production, by all of the major companies, of pocket guides or “mini-books” on every type of game.
Will’s Cigarettes and Auction Bridge
In 1926 Will’s issued a set of 25 cigarette cards on Auction Bridge, presenting a range of hands illustrating various circumstances in play.
The Club Series by G. Bell & Sons
George Bell & Sons produced ‘The Club Series’ of books each specialising in one or more of the popular games of the period.
Hoyle v Foster: whose name should we remember?
Hoyle’s name is associated with the rules by which many games are played, particularly card games But If anyone deserves to be regarded as the source of standard rules for most card games today it is not Hoyle but Robert Frederick Foster (1853-1945).
Cribbage Patience or Cribbage Squares
Cribbage Patience or Cribbage Squares, produced by Messrs Edward Mortimer, Halifax and London.
Hoyle and his Legacy
Edmond Hoyle (1672-1769) was an English writer who made his name by writing on whist and a selection of other games.
A New Look at the Evolution of Whist Markers and Gaming Counters
This article aims to illustrate the evolution of whist and gaming counters from the 18th century to the 20th.
Whist writers and pseudonyms
Why did so many early writers about whist and other card games feel the need to write under a pseudonym?
Whist marker boxes
The Camden Whist marker was being advertised by Goodall and son in 1872 as a new product.
Bridge Markers and bridge scoring methods
Bridge Markers and bridge scoring methods 1900-1930
Pinochle
I have always been intrigued by the game Pinochle.
Foster’s Self-Playing Whist Cards
In 1890 R. F. Foster published the first edition of “Foster’s Whist Manual” which was to become the bible for serious whist players for the next two decades.
Mystery Objects
I need help in identifying the purpose of this particular piece of card-playing kit.
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.
Kuhn Khan and Cooncan: an update
Kuhn Khan and Cooncan are pretty much exactly the same rummy-style game, but packaged and presented differently.
Kuhn Khan
There is little information available about the early twentieth century card game Kuhn Kahn. It first appears in 1912 – with a variety of sets produced by Goodall & Son.
Poker Patience
Poker Patience, according to an early 20th century author, was "introduced so recently as the autumn of 1908".
Piquet: the game and its artifacts
Piquet may be the oldest card game which is still played today with origins going back to early 16th Century.
The Personalities and Books which shaped the game of Whist, 1860-1900
All the books described here are from Tony Hall's own collection, put together over years because of his fascination with how Whist evolved into Contract Bridge.
Majority Calling and Value Bidding in Auction Bridge; a little bit of history
The centuries-old game of Whist mutated through various stages into Contract Bridge as we know it today in a little over thirty years. Here Tony Hall describes and contrasts one small, but significant, stage in the process as it evolved on the two sides of the Atlantic.
Goodall & Son Patience Boxed Sets
Goodall & Son produced a huge variety of Patience Boxed Sets at different times and for different consumers.
The Evolution of Whist and Bridge Boxed Sets, 1870s – 1930s
Boxed sets of cards, markers, scorers and rule booklets have been around for many decades. Some of the "shop perfect" items in my collection are well over 100 years old.
Bezique Markers, 1860-1960
Bezique is a two-player melding and trick-taking game. Dr. Pole introduced Bezique to England in 1861, but it wasn't popular until 1869.
Why do we Collect? My 20 Favourite Items
I suppose people collect for different reasons, rarity, quality, ingenuity of design, sentimental value... by Tony Hall.
Patience Cards and their Boxes
Patience Cards and their Boxes by Tony Hall.
Mary Whitmore Jones and her Chastleton Patience Board
Mary Whitmore Jones and her Chastleton Patience Board by Tony Hall.
Progressive Whist Cards
There are references to “progressive whist” or “whist drives” during the 19th and early years of the 20th century but this form of the game came into its own during the 1920s and 30s.
Progressive Whist Cards - page 3
There were various Sports and Sporting Whist themes... and tobacco advertising on score cards.
Progressive Whist Cards - page 2
Wireless Whist itself, in many forms...
Wills Scheme
The W.D & H.O. Wills Playing Card promotion of the early 1930s
Wills Scheme page 2
W.D & H.O.Wills Playing Card scheme page 2
Cribbage Board Collection
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall
Cribbage Board Collection part 6
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall, part 6
Cribbage Board Collection part 5
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall, part 5: Advertising
Cribbage Board Collection part 4
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall, part 4.
Cribbage Board Collection part 2
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall, part 2
Cribbage Board Collection part 3
A collection of antique and vintage Cribbage Boards by Tony Hall, part 3