The everyday blog of Richard Bartle.
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1:49pm on Friday, 24th November, 2023:
Anecdote
The final pack of playing cards I'm going to inflict upon you from that job lot I bought has photographs on it. I think they're probably for tourists, or at least would-be tourists. Here's a sample:
They seem to like hunting and fishing, but they also have an unusual interest in railway stations. They range across the Canada/USA border, mainly Quebec, Maine and some Vermont, but with a smattering of one-offs from elsewhere.
The joker identifies the pack as having been made by Goodall, which makes sense as it had a Canadian department. Most of the packs this department produced were photographic in nature, and a little research reveals that this particular deck is entitled "Atlantic Ocean to the Head of the Great Lakes" and dates from circa 1905.
Sadly, the container it came in is not original: it's a repurposed box from James Walker Ltd. of Tonbridge, "watchmakers to the Admiralty". It would have been nice if there'd been a watch in there too, but I guess the Admiralty wanted them all.
I'm pleasantly surprised by this pack. It's well over a century old, and displays some interesting glimpses into the past. I'm not usually a fan of tourist packs, but I think I'll put this one in my pile to revisit in future years when I get bored.
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Copyright © 2023 Richard Bartle (richard@mud.co.uk).