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Welcome to Dondorf
a site for the playing card collector
and ephemera enthusiast
Welcome to Dondorf
a site for the playing card collector
and ephemera enthusiast
Welcome !
Dondorf
This site is for the playing card enthusiast and has been named after Bernard J. Dondorf who was born in 1809 and established a lithographic printing business in Frankfurt Germany 1833 which, amongst other items, printed playing cards. B Dondorf was arguably one of the finest printers of his era printing some amazing playing cards during the company's 100 year history. Ironically it was the quality and expensive production process that ultimately contributed to the the demise of the company in 1933.
Whilst Dondorf playing cards acted as the catalyst and inspiration for me to become a serious collector and remain my main passion, I have developed many new playing card related interests over the years and will share them with you on this website.
This site aims to showcase the very best in collectable playing cards and card games and to share information on the subject. There is also a blog reporting items of interest and details of any cards recently sold at auction, subscribe to receive regular updates sent by email.
Launched in June 2018, there's much to see here. So, take your time, look around, I hope you enjoy the site and take a moment to drop me a line.
What's new ....
James English Playing cards - see new page for English card makers
Art Deco Playing cards by Barbara Macdonald
Issued to celebrate the Royal Marriage
Royal Masonic Playing cards
Charles Hodges Astronomical Playing cards
Shakespearean playing cards (see new page in menu)
All enquiries welcome for both buying and selling.
What's in the news - Blog at the foot of this page - sign up for regular updates..
Mark Irwin
Dondorf Playing Card - Shakespeare No. 192
Issued to celebrate the royal marriage
The Royal Marriage
H.R.H The Duke of York
The Royal Marriage
Playing cards issued to celebrate a Royal marriage are fairly common. On July 6th 1893 H.R.H the Duke of York married H.S.H The Princess Victoria Mary of Teck. The Duke of York was later to become King George V following the death of his brother Edward VII in 1910. The set of playing cards above on the right are fairly common and have the monogram VM for Victoria Mary.
Newly Discovered
H.R.H The Duke of York
The Royal Marriage
The box above is a partner set to the more commonly found cards with the VM monogram. This set has the FG monogram for Frederick George (Duke of York).
Both sets of playing cards are the 'Patent Dexter Round Cornered Moguls' issued by De La Rue, 110 Bunhill Row London.
H.R.H The Duke of York
H.R.H The Duke of York
H.R.H The Duke of York
How rare are these? I have never seen a set before. Let me know if you have seen them before.
Royal masonic playing cards
Background
I am sure that many collectors share similar traits in that they purchase items during their lifetime to add to a collection which are then stored away and rarely seen or studied by others until they are sold or passed on at some future time. This is particularly common with items that cannot be displayed so easily, unlike pottery or works of art. This set of cards is rare being one of only a few known sets to exist. There is a set held in the British Museum and I know of only one or two others which are in private collections. This set of playing cards has been hidden away since the late 1880's and only now is getting a full airing.
George Clulow
These cards were originally in the collection of George Clulow and later acquired by other collectors before finally coming to auction this year when I acquired them. George Clulow born 1835 - 1919 was born in Weybridge Surrey and son of Edward Clulow Bookseller and news Agent. In the 1870's George was a manager in the firm Charles Goodall and Son manufactures of printed goods including playing cards. George was also a designer and designed the pack for the Company of Makers of Playing cards in 1883. He also contributed to the designs of cards printed for the Worshipful Company between 1885 - 1888. He became master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards (WMPC) in 1889. George was also a good friend of John Leighton who designed the Royal Masonic Playing cards which were printed by Goodalls in 1886 and published by John Hogg of Paternoster Row, London.
Royal Masonic Playing Cards
The ace of spades and the case have the crest of the United Grand Lodge of England, while the backs have a profile portrait of Edward, Prince of Wales surrounded by symbols of Freemasonry. The court cards are the same in each suit. The kings are Edward, Prince of Wales, and each has a sash with the letters 'SKI' for Solomon King of Israel. The queens are Alexandra, Princess of Wales and wears a sash with 'Sheba'. The knaves each have two different portraits, one is Alfred, Duke of Connaught, who bears the letters 'HAB' for Hiram A Bif, the other is Alfred Duke of Edinburgh, with the letters 'HKT' for Hiram King of Tyre.
The back design has the initials JL printed in the lower opposing corners and stands for John Leighton the designer. There are two coloured editions this one being blue on a pink background whereas the British Museum set is printed in green on a blue background.
John Hogg otherwise known as A lewis. Lewis Masonic is the oldest Masonic publisher in the world founded in 1801. It was originally called A Lewis, a pseudonym for John Hogg. John Hogg was a Scottish Freemason from Edinburgh who lived in London.
Masonic cards in the British Museum
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Charles hodges astronomical playing cards
Charles Hodges Astronomical Playing cards first published in 1827. Printer and engraver: Stopforth and Son London.
I first saw these playing cards depicted on a post card that had been printed from a set of cards in the private collection of Maurice Collett. Maurice had been a long standing friend of the family and as a young boy had I been introduced to him by my grandparents who lived in a nearby village in the Lake District. Who would have thaought that it would be nearly 50 years before I owned my own set of these playing cards. They have to be one of my favourites both in respect of the subject matter and quality of printing.
Constellations
The constellations are the fixed stars that lie contiguous to each other, parcelled out into sections of the starry firmament.
Court Cards
Characters represented by the court cards: Hearts Jupier, Juno, Mercury; Diamonds Mars, Minerva, Bacchus: Clubs Apollo, Diana, Vulcan: Spades Neptune, Venus, Saturn : ACES: Diamonds Summer, Clubs Autumn, Spades Winter, Hearts Spring
Box
52 hand-coloured engraved cards with duty card, each stencilled with suit excepting Hiems (ace of spades), the pip cards detailing constellations from terrestrial and celestial globes, the court cards with classical deities contained in a green Morocco leather case with gilt tooled title Astronomical, complete with instruction book.
H
H
The set of cards (53 in total) comes with the Hiems card which is not marked with a suit sign but believed to be in lieu of the Ace of Spades. There is a standard Ace of Spades with the duty marked on it issued by Stopforth and Sons as these cards would have still attracted the appropriate level of duty required at this time. (One Shilling)
Goodings Superior BULOS Playing Cards
Copechat Paramount Sorting System
Copeland-Chatterson was founded by R J Copeland and A E Chatterson in Brampton, Ontario, Canada in 1893. As business grew, operations were started in Europe. In around 1902, a manufacturing plant was set up at Dudbridge Lower Mills, Stroud to take advantage of its good communications with London and the main provincial cities. R J Copeland appointed James George Mann as 'European General Manager', J G Mann having already worked for the company in Canada for several years. In 1913, J G Mann arranged the purchase of the European arm of the business, encouraged by his son James Albert and with the support of William Stanley Brown. W S Brown had also joined the company as a young man. He spent some time in Stroud and then took on responsibility for sales in the company's offices in Canon Street, London. From there he built up a sales team with eight branches to give Copeland-Chatterson nationwide coverage.
The first products were accounting stationery, loose-leaf binders and sheets. These were designed to simplify accounting procedures and overcome the disadvantages of bound ledgers. After World War I, the company shifted its focus to keep pace with the development of mechanised accounts. Custom-made guide cards, metal trays and trolleys were developed at Stroud to accommodate a system of mechanised ledger cards and statements.
In the late 1920s, James Albert Mann gained a licence to manufacture and market an 'edge punched card needle sorting system'. It was given the brand name 'Paramount' and was one of the company's most important products. These playing cards issued as an advertising product may have been intended for use by people with sight impairments.?
More exciting discoveries
Michael Schmidt Neurmeberg
Michael Schmidt Neurmeberg
Michael Schmidt Neurmeberg
A set of 'Lotery' cards printed by Michael Schmidt (engraver & sculpteur) Neuremberg c. 1810 - 1820
Jl & J Turnbull
Michael Schmidt Neurmeberg
Michael Schmidt Neurmeberg
A little known English playing card maker Jl & JTurnbull c. 1833
Jl & J Turnbull
Very few examples of playing cards by this maker exist. They were originally established as a cardboard manufacturer in 1780 but are known to have registered an ace of spades in 1833.
New publication - HOAX
The Popish Plot
I have a set of The Popish Plot cards which I greatly value but appreciate them so much more now. After reading this fantastic new book I have a better understanding of the dark tale they portray, and the reason why they were produced.
AN Early Card Stamp
The Daily Courant, Monday 1 January 1705
Advertisement for a new set of playing cards advertised in the Daily Courant - "This present Monday being New Years Day, will be published a New Invented Pack of Cards, in which are described in pictures, done from Copper Plates, finely engraved, the various transactions of Her Majesty's most Glorious Reign to this present. Historically disposed according to the order of time in which they happened. Price 1s 6d per pack."
Knave of Clubs from The Queen Anne Cards 1705
Knave of Clubs from The Queen Anne Cards 1705
Knave of Clubs from The Queen Anne Cards 1705
A card from the 'Queen Anne Playing Cards' first issued in 1705 but with a red 'Stock In Hand' stamp indicating that the cards had been in stock and unsold by August 1711.
Stock In Hand Stamp
Knave of Clubs from The Queen Anne Cards 1705
Knave of Clubs from The Queen Anne Cards 1705
The amount of duty payable on a pack of cards since 1711 has fluctuated over time. When by an Act of Parliament duty was imposed as from 11 June 1711 the initial charge on every pack whether made in Great Britain or imported, was sixpence. This act also set out guidelines as to how the duty was to be exacted, and the starting date for these arrangements was stated to be 1 August 1711. A second Act, the following year, authorised a reduced duty of one halfpenny for 'Stock in Hand' (i.e. packs of cards completed, and uncut sheets finished ready to cut, before 12 June 1711 but as yet unsold, provided such stock was declared and marked before 1 August 1712. Ref: Taxation on Playing cards in England from 1711 - 1960 by John Berry.
The Kings Evil
What is the King's evil
The custom of healing by royal touch has a long history and was practised by monarchs of many European countries. The first recorded British monarch who's touch was claimed to show curative powers was King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066). He introduced a ritual for the 'King's Evil' a name for a condition of swollen and discharging tuberculous lymph glands of the neck, also called scrofula. After touching the diseased patient the King ordered that they be maintained at royal expense until they were cured. During the 13th Century the upkeep of patients' was replaced by the donation of a coin possibly a penny or small silver coin. During the reign of King Henry VII (1485 - 1509) the coin donated by the king in the healing ceremonies changed to a gold coin known as 'Gold Angel' The Angel's name is derived from its design depicting the archangel Michael defeating a dragon, a scene from the biblical book of Revelation. This image of purity of gold gives the coin a special resonance. After receiving the royal touch, the patient would be given an Angel, which had been pierced and threaded on a ribbon, hung round the neck by the monarch as a further means of warning off disease. The practice of 'touching' was seen as an example of divine right of kings, a manifestation of the authority believed to have been granted by God.
Which monarchs carried it out and who thought it a 'Silly Superstition'
This cure was seen as painless, instant and miraculous and thus became very popular. The practice was continued by each monarch up until the execution of King Charles I in 1649. After the demise of Charles I, the start of the Civil war and then the resulting creation of a Rump Parliament under Cromwell the practice stopped. After the Restoration of the monarch in 1660, Charles II quickly re-established curative touching and the practice continued after 1668 , during the reign of James II, until his death when it again lapsed. It was not undertaken during the reign of William and Mary who thought it a 'silly superstition'.
Queen Anne
Queen Anne reintroduced the practice during her reign (1702 -1714) and special gold touch pieces were also issued for use in her ceremonies. The death of Queen Anne in 1714 marked the end of this ceremony in England.
wanted single cards or incomplete sets
Single cards
Please get in touch (see bottom of page for contact details) if you have any pictorial or Illustrated cards that you may wish to sell. Will be happy to purchase single cards
Complete or Incomplete sets
Playing cards with 'Duty Aces' wanted. Will consider part sets if in good condition.
Victoria's playing cards
Victoria's playing cards
Victoria's playing cards
Playing cards published throughout the reign of Queen Victoria
It's a wrap!
Victoria's playing cards
Victoria's playing cards
Wrappers more than just paper and string
Dondorf featured decks
Victoria's playing cards
Dondorf featured decks
The beauty of Dondorf playing cards for all to see
Discover more...
Art Nouveaux
Interesting Games
Interesting Games
Delightful artwork in playing cards from the turn of the 20th Century
Wanted Old or Unusual playing Cards
Old English
Old English
Old English
Standard old English playing cards with Duty Aces
Illustrated
Old English
Old English
Early Illustrated playing cards individual cards or complete sets purchased
Dondorf
Old English
Dondorf
Playing cards by Dondorf.
Games
Dondorf
Old or unusual English card games
Royalty
Royalty
Pre 1900 commemorative English Playing cards for Royal events
a selection of informative books and catalogues
a selection of catalogues detailing Dondorf playing cards, English Royalty cards issued during Queen Victoria's reign and early English playing cards, when available in printed form will be advertised on EBAY or send request to this website.
Playing cards issued during the reign of Queen Victoria with a royalty theme
Is your collecting theme Royalty?
Collecting Early English Playing Cards
or early English playing cards?