Playing cards, Geographical Playing Cards, London, circa 1838

Geographical Playing Cards. Court Game of Geography, London: William and Henry Rock, circa 1838 * Geographical Playing Cards. Court Game of Geography, London: William and Henry Rock, circa 1838, the complete deck of 52 engraved playing cards (non-standard suits), the suits represent different continents: blue pike-heads (America); yellow diamonds (Asia, the court suit signs being gold); green shamrocks (Africa); red hearts (Europe), each court card with single-figure illustration of a relevant royal leader, the pip cards with maps of named countries in that continent, the aces showing the entire named continent, the suit signs printed in black vertical stripes and then coloured by hand, few minor marks, one suit sign on 10D has lost its colouring, some cards close-trimmed with loss to single line border (8S lettering slightly cropped at right edge), square corners, versos plain white, each card 97 x 65 mm, contained in original maroon Morocco case with flap, front panel with gilt-lettered title, accompanied by near contemporary ink manuscript instruction booklet: 24 pages of neat ink manuscript (and some blanks), probably copied from an original instruction booklet, the pages sewn and bound in limp wrappers of patterned paper (77 x 56 mm) QTY: (1) NOTE: Berry, Playing-Cards of the World, [232] (p.IV 52).

This pack was originally published by Charles Hodges, but he ceased trading in around 1830 and his cards were subsequently re-issued by William and Henry Rock. Uncommon.