Roberts Brothers Ltd, Gloucester
Roberts Brothers Ltd, Gloucester (Glevum Brand) ‘Old Maid’ card game, 1920s.
Roberts Brothers Ltd, Gloucester (Glevum Brand) ‘Old Maid’ card game, 1920s.
Roberts Brothers ‘Old Maid’ from around the 1920s at first glance looks as though it should be a Happy Families game. It consists of 8 sets of 6 cards with the family members engaged in various sports, plus of course the ‘Old Maid’ herself having a cup of tea, surrounded by cats. Some editions only contained six sets instead of eight. It is thought that the game may have been one of the few games that Woolley & Co produced in the late 1800s. Some of these games were taken over by Roberts Brothers (Glevum Brand) in around 1905. The Roberts factory was requisitioned during the 2nd World War and never really recovered. The post war production was of poorer quality with cheaper board and square corners. Eventually they were taken over by Chad Valley in 1954. Although Chad Valley did continue to produce some of the Roberts games they did not use this one.

Above: Roberts Brothers ‘Old Maid’ from around the 1920s.

Above: Roberts Brothers ‘Old Maid’ from around the 1920s, alternate back design and lettering on the ‘Old Maid’ card. Contains only six sets: Cricketing, Cycling, Fishing, Footballing, Golfing and Tennis.

By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
Member since January 30, 2009
Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.
His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.
Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.
Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.
His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.
Related Articles

Dancing
“Dancing” playing cards manufactured by Nintendo for Torii Dance School, Osaka.

Scientific Whist
“Scientific Whist” : standard cards with instructions for play on the faces by Chas Goodall & Son, 1...

Agent Provocateur
Branded lingerie collection in a pack of pin-up playing cards.

Nimbus playing cards
Mike Steer’s weather-themed pack with suits in four colours and backs for cardistry.

Agatha Christie and Playing Cards revisited
Agatha Christie uses card-play as a primary focus of a story, and as a way of creating plots and mot...

The Decadent Deck
Studies in the eroticism of the female body by Inge Clayton.

Historic Shakespeare
“Historic Shakespeare” playing cards featuring Shakespearean characters by Chas Goodall & Son.

Copechat Paramount Sorting System
Preserving the past: a specimen deck showcasing edge-notched cards and their ingenious sorting syste...

Heartsette by Herbert Fitch & Co, 1893
A glimpse into a busy print and design office in late Victorian London.

Rap Rummy
Rap Rummy made by Parker Brothers in 1926, only 4 years after the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s to...

Batman® playing cards
Batman playing cards published by InterCol of London 1989.

Can You Believe Your Eyes?
“Can You Believe Your Eyes?” playing cards featuring visual illusions & other oddities.

Pastime Playing Cards for the Blind
The “Pastime” Playing Cards for the Blind manufactured by Goodall & Son Limd., c.1910.

The European Interchanges Quartets
A card game based around motorway intersections from European countries.

Songs with Flute accompaniment
Eighteenth century English engraved cards with music for voice and flute.

Love Tests
Vintage novelty “Love Test” cards of a slightly saucy nature but all in good fun!
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 28 days