Playing Card

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Artist/Maker	Rowley and Co. (publishers)
Place of origin	England (made)

Playing card from a pack of 52, printed on one side only, the suit signs being Pikes (Spades, black), Trefoil (Clubs, green), Chalices (Hearts, red) and Diamonds (yellow). the court cards represent the reigning monarchs of France, Prussia, England and Spain.

Object details

Categories	Prints Games
Object type	Playing card
Materials and techniques	Engraving Engraving
Brief description	Playing card from a pack of 52, printed on one side only, the suit signs being Pikes (Spades), Trefoil (Clubs), Chalices (Hearts) and Diamonds. Published by Rowley & Co., England, 1774-76.
Physical description	Playing card from a pack of 52, printed on one side only, the suit signs being Pikes (Spades, black), Trefoil (Clubs, green), Chalices (Hearts, red) and Diamonds (yellow). the court cards represent the reigning monarchs of France, Prussia, England and Spain.
Dimensions	Height: 3.625in Width: 2.5in (Note: each card) Dimensions taken from PDP catalogue
Credit line	Given by Mrs E. M. Halsey
Bibliographic reference	The engraving of the ace of Spades, the duty card, makes it possible to date this pack between 1765 and 1776, and the fact that youthful portraits of the reigning French monarch and his queen are show indicates that Louis XVI was on the throne; the pack must therefore have been issued between 1774 and 1776. C.P. Hargrave illustrates this pack in A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming, Boston and New York, 1930.
Collection	Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number	E.2910:35-1948

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Record created	June 30, 2009
Record URL	https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O599023/playing-card-rowley-and-co/

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