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Playing Card

1774-76 (made)
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.2910:23-1948

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O599035/playing-card-rowley-and-co/
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