Card Games

1950? Three decks of playing cards showing FG on the backs. Against a black background, a brown fox stands up towards some white and green grapes. A banner in white and green proclaims the title underneath the fox. In the sturdy original 3¾" x 7½" slipcase, stamped with "For Samba or Bolivia" on its felt bottom. Cel-U-Tone Finish. Congress Playing Cards. $4 from John Verderame, Morgantown, PA, through Ebay, Sept., '00. The set comes with a small brochure that helps to explain why three decks come together, for the brochure contains official rules for Canasta, "Incorporating the Latest Changes Made for 1950." The cards are in very good condition. See the adjoining item for a companion deck.

1940? Two matching decks of TH playing cards. The design shows white characters against a green and a black background, respectively. Self sorting club playing cards. "Deck Copr. 1932." In the sturdy original 3 7/8" x 5" box. NY: Bid-Rite Playing Card Corp. $12.99 from Louie and Annette Fotinatos, Norwalk, CA, through Ebay, March, '01. The card that comes along with the deck proclaims "Self-Sorting Cards—First Change in over Three hundred years." Wow! I received these cards with the original cellophane still around each deck. Each deck also still has its original inspection notice. In the design the tortoise on a scooter moves to the bottom left corner of the card, while a hare (in mid-air?) bounds after him.

1797?/1980 "Superfine Harry VIII Playing Cards Made by I. Kirk, London. X Pounds." 2½" x 3¾". Reproductions produced especially for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Two extras. The legend on the packet, which shows a crude image of Henry the VIII, reads "For Exportation. Fifty pounds penalty if relanded, and twenty pounds if sold or used in Great Britain." Thomas Kirk did the illustrations for the Croxall edition of 1797; might he be connected with this "I." Kirk? Each card has a title, a fable and moral in verse, a picture, and a playing card face. That is a great deal of information to put into a small space! The verses presume that the player knows the fable. My favorite illustrations in this fifty-two card set are WC on the Jack of Hearts and "The Goat in the Well" on the Eight of Hearts. Many (all?) are signed by Kirk.

Card games include not only standard playing cards of various sorts but also the traditional French game of "Families" (close to what we know as "Go Fish"), a special "Aesop Game," a La Fontaine game, and several other card games. Play away!