European Playing Cards to 1901

French Suited German Engraved cards c1610 to 1650 with English Hand Tax Stamp

32 cards engraved cards by an unknown artist from a pack of 52 – initials IS or SI. Cards are hand coloured and reflect hunting and animal scenes from the serious to the comic – don’t you just love the 10 Spades with the cat fiddling as the mice dance aground at his feet !

Commenting on the cards in the United States Playing Card Companies collection Hargrave says

“Of cards with French suit signs in these German lands, there are many. The earliest one we have is a pack of 52 cards, from coper plates and coloured by hand, and most of them bear the monogram of an unknown artist. Besides the suit signs arranged in the usual manner they picture a day’s hunting across the field and through the forests of early seventeenth century Germany. The Kings and valets are debonair gentlemen and the Queens gracious little ladies. No other example of these cards are known to exist.” She then illustrates four of them and classifies them as “Hunting series, 1610”

Virginia Wayland states in the IPCS Journal Volume XIII, No 1 [ August 1979 ] that these cards must have been seen by John Lenthall as he followed the design in his Forest Cards [ Pack No: XXII ] often reversing the image.

Uniqueness is a word we don’t often use but in addition to this decks obvious rarity it also bears an English Hand Tax Stamp of c 1712 a Red Stock in Hand Stamp which would have been applied on importation.

Condition is varied and the high definition scans of the cards reveal all.

Insured Postage is free on this item.

REF: CNE4251

£4,000.00

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Dondorf Four Continents Varient 2 c 1870

Four Continents. „CARTES ILLUS- TRÉES. ENTIÈRES No. 207. TAROTÉ FORTUNE EN COULEURS“.

Design: Friedrich Karl Hausmann (1825-1886).

52, complete.

Color wood engraving, 93×63 mm, square corners, no index mark.

Backs: The goddess Flora standing on the globe, light-blue background. Maker’s name on all cards and backs (“B. DONDORF À FRANCFORT s/MEIN.“)

Circa 1870.

VARIENT 2 With No Titles

Played with condition

REF: R130

£550.00

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19th Century Hand Drawn and Coloured French Cards
of the c1800 Paris Pattern

Not much to add to the heading except they have
plain backs
are in very good condition
with an unknown replica Ace of Spades ace
and are complete pack of 52

REF: HDFC

£600.00

Joseph Glanz c1885 Stencil Coloured Playing Cards

Joseph Glanz, Vienna Pattern 1.

Designer Josef Berndl (“JB“ in the locket on the breast of King of Hearts).

52/52 Stencil-coloured. steel engraving,

Backs Crescents and Dots

Maker’s name on Ace of Hearts (stamp) and King of Spades.

Tax stamp 1882-1899, on Ace of Hearts. Circa 1885.

Very Fine Condition

REF: R119

£150.00

Lithografiska A.B. c1865 Playing Cards

Lithografiska AB, Norrköping.

52 cards.

Stencil-col. woodcut

90×61 mm,

Square corners, no index mark.

Maker’s stamp (Braun/Jerre- malm No. 2, circa 1865 – circa 1869) and tax stamp of the Kingdom of Sweden 1872-1960 on Ace of Hearts. Circa 1865

REF: R121

£250.00

Ferdinand Piatnik c 1865

This stamp was in use in Austria from 1858/59 to 1877.

Ferdinand Piatnik

Ferdinand Piatnik, Vienna. 52, complete. Stencil-col. steel engraving, 91×62 mm, square corners, no index mark. Backs: Overall dotted trellis with small crosses at the intersections, blue.

Maker’s name on King of Spades. Tax stamp of the Austro-Hungarian Em- pire No. 81 (without indication of value: 15 Kreuzer, 1858/59-1877) on Ace of Hearts. Circa 1870.

Almost mint.

REF: R127

£345.00

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C L Wust c1910 Patience Karten No: 240 Playing Cards

French suited Oval Playing Cards
Ace of hearts bears the tex stamp eagle and the *’FUNFZIG PF.’ value, from Frankfurt/Main (‘No. 15’).
The dates are 1889 to 1918.

The court cards are double ended stylised ladies and gentlemen.
The cards are index, The 10s with an “X”.

The box is very attractive and has a Perfumery sellers stamp at the base

Cards [ complete 52/52 ] and Box in very good condition

Catalogue of the playing cards from thr factory C.L.Wust Frankfurt a.M. [ 1811-1927 ]

Martin Shaw & Paul Symons

REF: PK240_15

£200.00

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C L Wust c1915 "Feldherren Karte Playing Cards

French suited Playing Cards
WWI pack with Kings & Jacks showing war leaders – the Queen representing the German Allies during the confrontation.
The Ace of Hearts carries the tax stamp of eagle and the ‘FUNFZIG PF.’ value, again from Frankfurt/Main (‘No. 15’).
The dates are 1889 to 1918.
Cards are in good played with condition.
Box is i very condition.

Catalogue of the playing cards from thr factory C.L.Wust Frankfurt a.M. [ 1811-1927 ]

Martin Shaw & Paul Symons

REF: FK_79

£400.00

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C L Wust c1900 White House Pattern Playing Cards
With Shipping Advertising

French suited Playing Cards with indices – 10 bearing “X”

Cards are complete [ 32/32 ] and are in good condition.

Complete with Slip In Box which bears advertising for Norddeutscher Lloyd – Bremen

The reverse being the Wust Logo

Catalogue of the playing cards from thr factory C.L.Wust Frankfurt a.M. [ 1811-1927 ]

Martin Shaw & Paul Symons

REF: PK240

£75.00

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C L Wust c1910 Mediaeval Playing Cards

French suited Oval Playing Cards
This was a popular design which was produced for many years.
The design of the King of Clubs is thought to be a Crusader whilst the Jacks resemble soldiers from the Middle Ages.
the pack number [ 3776 ] and the makers initials are on the Jack of Clubs.
Cards are in a played with condition. No bends or tears.
No box.

Catalogue of the playing cards from thr factory C.L.Wust Frankfurt a.M. [ 1811-1927 ]

Martin Shaw & Paul Symons

REF: WME

£150.00

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C L Wust c1900 Saxon Pattern

German suited playing cards.
Early Saxon Pattern.
Incomplete 30/32 [ lacks 7 & 8 of Acorns.

tax stamp on the Ace of Hearts,
Small tear on the nine of Acorns other good condition.
No Box

Catalogue of the playing cards from thr factory C.L.Wust Frankfurt a.M. [ 1811-1927 ]

Martin Shaw & Paul Symons

REF: WSP

£60.00

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Dondorf Comical Music Cards

Musikalisches Kartenspiel, Frankfurt am Main: Bernhard Dondorf, circa 1862,

A complete deck of 52 colour lithographed playing cards.

All card have two bars of music to the lower half, together with suit and value to the bottom right hand corner

Whilst the upper half of each court card has a comic character playing a musical instrument together with the suit sign and rank at the upper left.

The upper half of pip cards have a miniature playing card to left together a single colour.

The Ace of hearts with Italian tax stamp from 1862
*These are stamps in use from 1863 to 1874. The text is ‘REGNO D’ITALIA’ and ‘LEGGE 21 Sett 1862’, and the values are 30 resp. 50 Centesimi.

The cards are accompanied with front and back of the box, the front with a circular cut out to either show the tax card or retailers stamp below.

The vendor, in this case being “Cartoleria Prosino, 4 Via di Po, Torino” – their stamp appearing on the Ace of Diamonds.

The original instruction leaflet is included in French and German -the google translation of the French being
“”place any ace in the middle of the piano stand, then a figure at the left end, a seven at the right end, fill in the gaps with three dot cards two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine and ten, your choice, no matter the color or number of dots, and it will result in two dance pieces, which can be played without any difficulty””

There are two variants for this issue – this one bears the makers name on the Jack of Clubs – “B. DONDORF. Frankfurt a.M.”

There are no bends or tears BUT
The cards are dirty on the edges – it would seem to be dirt over the decades – you can judge from the pictures.

Details on all major countries tax stamps - dates and usage can be found on the excellent site - http://www.endebrock.de/pers-home.html

Peter Endebrock

REF: DMC

£550.00

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C L Wust Carte Royales Patience Playing Cards
Twin Decks in Staw Box c1860

Two packs of 52 Carte Royales Patience Packs by C L Wust c 1865.
Each housed in a book style container, with straw spine, which fit into it’s individual slot within a double straw box.

The cards measure 68mm by 48mm one pack having blue patterns and the other red and are in near mint condition.

The dark stained box is in very good condition. One insert complete the other with Spine and one edge.

Source Playing cards from the C.L.Wust Frankfurt A.M (1811 -1927 )
Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Nationaal Museum van de Speelkaart Turnhout, Belgium.
Compiled by Martin Shaw and paul Symons.

REF: CLW_1865_P

£400.00

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c1816 Jeu des Drapeaux Playing Cards

This is a piquet deck, 32/32, playing card set of non standard format.
The cards have been cut from sheets and mounted, then bound in Morocco leather.
The cards are from the magnificent collection of Rimington-Wilson which was auctioned in the 1970s, this pack being purchased by Sylvia Mann.

See IPCS article, by Mann, A CHOICE COLLECTION OF PLAYING-CARDS

The hand coloured cards depict four armies, Hearts depict the French; Spades, the English, Scottish and Irish troops; Diamonds the German troops and Clubs the Russian soldiers. The cards are depicted on the banners carried by the soldiers.
The court cards have Queens as female figures on the flags, the Kings shows Generals and their aids and the Jacks portray single solders from their respective countries.
The Ace cards depict soldiers with cannon(s) all other cards show rows of soldiers in various positions.

Good condition throughout – scans have slight blurring due to difficulty of scanning books.

Insured Postage is free on this item.

REF:CNE5387

£450.00

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c1644 Jeu de Geographie by Henry le Gras ( Geographic Playing Cards )

This is the earliest of the Geographic Playing Cards published by Henry le Gras.
They are unsuited but with indices 1 to 10. Court cards are not indexed.
All cards are hand coloured.

This pack consists of 51/52 and lacks Ace of African and title card, both present in black and white facsimile.
The cards have had borders trimmed and are mounted and bound in Red Morocco leather.
The cards are from the magnificent collection of Rimington-Wilson which was auctioned in the 1970s, this pack being purchased by Sylvia Mann.

There is very minor foxing here and there and two cards have minor surface damage, these have been scanned.
Book size
An extremely scarce 17th century example of early pictorial, non-standard playing cards.

Insured Postage is free on this item.