The Broons and Oor Wullie playing cards

Published September 27, 2023 Updated September 27, 2023

Characters from The Broons and Oor Wullie comic strips on their 75th anniversary.

2011 Scotland United Kingdom D.C. Thomson & Co. Dudley D. Watkins Comic Books Pop Culture

The Broons and Oor Wullie comic strips first appeared in The Sunday Post newspaper on 8th March 1936. Their popularity was instant. The language of the stories is a broad Scots dialect, unique to these strips, but not found on these cards. Instead, present on the cards are 14 (unnamed) characters from the strips. The designs are repeated on each suit and the Jokers are identical. In contrast to the black and white faces, there is a very colourful, horizontal back design depicting a beach scene with many of the characters in action. This pack was only available with the annual, which also included a page of stickers and various puzzles. See the annual

The Broons and Oor Wullie playing cards published by D.C. Thomson Annuals Ltd, Dundee, Scotland, UK, 2011 The Broons and Oor Wullie playing cards published by D.C. Thomson Annuals Ltd, Dundee, Scotland, UK, 2011

Above: The Broons and Oor Wullie playing cards published by D.C. Thomson Annuals Ltd, Dundee, Scotland, UK, 2011. Printed in China. 52 cards + 2 (identical) Jokers in tuck box, together with the 2011 The Broons and Oor Wullie Summer Annual. Size: 56.5 x 86 mm. © D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd., 2011.

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By Roddy Somerville

Member since May 31, 2022

Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.

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