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Colour doodle deck

Published February 16, 2024 Updated February 17, 2024

“1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist, UK, 2011.

2011 United Kingdom Peter Wood Commemorative Transformation

From the wording on the tuck box this pack would appear to be a simple commemorative of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee, 1952-2002. But superimposed, as if hand-written, are the words “Colour doodle deck”. Inside are 55 essentially standard cards which look as though the author has simply created doodles or pattern displays on each. There is no indication of publisher or artist, other than an indistinguishable signature, though on the tuck box flap is the name “Mr Bridge” with a Guildford area code telephone number. The actual doodles are imaginative and colourful (almost a transformation pack). See the box

“1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist “1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist “1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist

Above: “1952-2002 commemorative deck” customised with doodles by an uncredited artist (identified as Peter Wood).

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By Peter Burnett

Member since July 27, 2022

I graduated in Russian and East European Studies from Birmingham University in 1969. It was as an undergraduate in Moscow in 1968 that I stumbled upon my first 3 packs of “unusual” playing cards which fired my curiosity and thence my life-long interest. I began researching and collecting cards in the early 1970s, since when I’ve acquired over 3,330 packs of non-standard cards, mainly from North America, UK and Western Europe, and of course from Russia and the former communist countries.

Russian Playing Cards

Following my retirement from the Bodleian Library in Dec. 2007 I took up a new role as Head of Library Development at the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) to support library development in low-income countries. This work necessitated regular training visits to many sub-Saharan African countries and also further afield, to Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh – all of which provided rich opportunities to further expand my playing card collection.

Since 2019 I’ve been working part-time in the Bodleian Library where I’ve been cataloguing the bequest of the late Donald Welsh, founder of the English Playing Card Society.

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