Play it Safe

Published April 29, 2015 Updated July 09, 2022

“Play it Safe” health & safety playing cards.

United Kingdom Cooper Johnson Ltd John Mannion Health Safety

“Play it Safe”

A health and safety promotion deck designed by John Mannion, distributed by the oil company Esso and produced by Cooper Johnson Ltd in the UK. All the pip cards are plain, the aces and courts show the same image in each suit.

Above: Esso “Play it Safe” health & safety playing cards designed by John Mannion, produced by Cooper Johnson Ltd.


ICI Apprentice “Health & Safety”

These originate from the ICI Chemicals and Polymers division apprenticeship school at Billingham on Teeside. Each suit has the same images and message.

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By Matt Probert

Member since March 02, 2012

I have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.

Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.

Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.

I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.

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