Funny Families
“Funny Families” card game manufactured by Woolley & Co, 1890s.
Funny Families card game manufactured by Woolley & Co in the late 19th century would bring a cheerful atmosphere to Victorian drawing rooms, especially on a wet day. The set contains 48 amusing caricatures of members of 12 families (Mr, Mrs, Master and Miss) whose surnames are puns on their professions, for example Mr Bobby the Policeman, Mr Chop the Butcher and Mr Jack Tar the Sailor, with the children mimicking their parents’ business.
Woolley & Co produced a substantial quantity of card games between around 1880-1905 until they closed down. Many of Woolley & Co's card games were taken over by Roberts Brothers Ltd (the Glevum series) in 1905 when Woolley ceased production. Roberts Brothers were in turn taken over by Chad Valley in 1954.
Above: “Funny Families” card game manufactured by Woolley & Co, 1890s. 48 cards in box. The families are headed by Mr. Rolls the Baker; Mr. Physic the Doctor; Mr. Bumble the Beadle; Mr. Water the Turncock; Mr. Chop the Butcher; Mr. Silence the Usher; Mr. Tommy Atkins the Soldier; Mr. Jack Tar the Sailor; Mr. Saw the Carpenter; Mr. Hose the Fireman; Mr. Bobby the Policeman and Mr. Churn the Milkman. The game was originally published with square corners and plain colour backs but later versions had rounded corners and a patterend back design.
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.
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