| Steppes Hill Farm Antiques Newsletter #58 - June 2016 |
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Three Victorian / Edwardian silver mounted glazed Playing Card Boxes, the glass panels covering colourful contemporary playing cards by Charles Goodall & Son.
These striking silver mounted Playing Cards Boxes appear to have only been produced for a short period of time around the turn of the 19th/20th century, probably inspired by Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The cards used to decorate them tend to come from two specific "luxury decks" produced by Charles Goodall & Son at their Camden Works in Great College Street, London N.W.
The cards used in two of the examples illustrated above come from the "Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee, 1897 Commemorative Pack".
 Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the beginning of a new century coincided with a spate of beautifully printed commemorative packs. By this time Goodall & Son was producing a substantial output of ornate and colourful cards and back designs, printed mainly by chromolithography using up to 12 separate colours. Equally colourful ranges of calendars and almanacs appeared, as well as Christmas and New Year greetings cards. Advertising packs were also becoming more popular.
The year 1897 was packed with public spectacle designed to stir the imagination and generate pride. There was dazzling pageantry. The reverse of the commemorative playing cards shows the portrait of Queen Victoria by Bassano along with the legends "Victoria" and "1837-1897".
Above: playing cards commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, manufactured by Chas Goodall & Son, 1897.
The other packs sometimes used in these glazed Card Boxes come from Goodall's "Historic Series".
Charles Goodall & Son's luxury "Historic" playing cards have decorated aces and double-ended court cards depicting the royal costumes of four periods in English history: clubs Plantagenet, hearts Stuart, spades Hanoverian & diamonds Tudor. Packs were produced with or without gilt edges, and over time several different back designs were published. There was also a miniature version.
The Plantagenet Period 1216-1399
The Tudor Period 1485-1603
The Stuart Period 1603-1714
The Hanoverian Period 1714-1901
Above: the pack was published for a number of years with slightly different indices and several alternative back designs. There was no joker, but instead an extra blank card was included.
Above: advert from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 1893.
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Royal Visit to St Michael's Mount, Cornwall, 1846.
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The Royal Yachts Lying off St Michael's Mount
As they appeared on September 5th 1846
On which occasion her most gracious majesty Queen Victoria,
HRH Prince Albert, The Prince of Wales;
& The Princess Royal
honoured Mount's Bay with their presence.
The extremely rare Victorian silver "Castle Top" Card Case illustrated above was almost certainly inspired by the contemporary engraving drawn, engraved, printed and published by W.Willis of Clarence Street, Penzance in 1846. As well as the numerous small boats in the foreground it depicts the four Royal Yachts; The Victoria & Albert, The Fairy, The Garland and The Black Eagle in the background. The original engraving now resides in the Royal Collection Trust.
Once again I am pleased to be able to update the site this month with some new items of stock and some highlights include; a rare Edwardian Novelty Silver Parrot Pin Cushion, a fine George IV Cast Silver Gilt Festooned Drapery Wine Label for 'Sherry', a good quality Victorian Novelty Cast Silver Pig Pepper, a Victorian silver gilt Posy Holder with turquoise bead highlights, a Blackbirds Egg ceramic Scent Bottle, a rare Victorian Novelty Silver Rifled Muzzle Loading Shell Propelling Pencil, three Georgian silver oversized Wine Labels and a small collection of silver Trumps Markers.
Please make sure and check out the latest articles in our Blog, for all the latest news in the silver world and some other interesting features
I do hope that you will find this Newsletter informative and helpful and will allow us send it to you on a regular basis. I would welcome any feedback you may have, both positive and negative.
David W.A. Buck.
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