International Playing Cards

Designed by Reuben Townroe (1835‑1911), who also designed the ornamented terra cotta work on the exterior of the Royal Albert Hall in London, the court cards have fine attention to detail and are portrayed as follows:

The backs show the Royal Arms of England, with those of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha on a shield of pretence. Below is the double-headed eagle of Prussia, with George and Dragon on a shield of pretence. The whole is surrounded with an ornamental design composed of oak leaves, acorns, thistles, shamrocks and roses.

Above: “International Playing Cards” for the marriage of Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Alexandra of Russia on 23 January 1874, printed by De la Rue & Co., London. The court cards are double-ended with no indices, the Aces are single-ended with small corner suit symbols. From the collection of Barney Townshend.

REFERENCES

EPCS Newsletter October 2000 p76. Reprinted from an article in The Times of Thursday 3rd December 1874.

Note from Roddy Somerville

For this pack, back colours other than the one shown were also produced, notably green and blue (click to zoom). I have these green- and blue-backed cards in a Bezique set (box top marked "The Royal Game of Bezique"). The game of Bezique had only been introduced into the UK from France about ten years before the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Alexandra of Russia in 1874. It is said that the Duke of Edinburgh was among those responsible for the spread and popularity of Bezique in the UK as he apparently became addicted to the game while on his travels. Another nice tie-in is that this set was sold by a company in Princes Street, Edinburgh, by the name of James Soutter & Son (see scan of label in box lid). So, cards for Bezique, a game made popular by the Duke of Edinburgh, were being sold in Edinburgh, commemorating the Duke of Edinburgh's marriage.