The Fat Pack
A vastly expanded pack with 8 suits for playing traditional or new games, devised by Roger Howard Butler Clough.
This pack is exactly what it says on the box – fat! Many five- and six-suited packs have been produced over the years but an eight-suited one is more of a novelty. In addition to the standard suits, the four additional ones are Roses (red), Axes (black), Tridents (black), and Doves (red). To give the pack some cohesion, the three court cards have exactly the same heads in each suit, adapted from a standard King, Queen and Jack of Hearts. Furthermore, the clothing on the courts is decorated with the appropriate suit sign but always in the opposite colour to the suit itself, i.e., red decoration on the black suits and black decoration on the red suits. This gives them the appearance of wearing jockey colours. There are five Jokers. No rules are included. See the box►
Above: The Fat Pack devised by Roger Howard Butler Clough and published by The Fat Pack Playing Card Company, Eastbourne, UK, c1999. Printer unknown. 104 cards + 5 (identical) Jokers + 1 extra card in tuck box. Size: 57.5 x 88 mm. © Roger Howard Butler Clough / July 1999.
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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