$3,000
Charles Hodges Geographical Playing Cards. London: Stopforth & Son, ca. 1827. 52 engraved cards with colored suits. Light age-consistent browning on the cards, somewhat more heavily on the Peru card. Charles Hodges, and English bookseller and stationer, had his Geographical cards published in 1827. The aces bear maps of four continents, the court cards depict historical figures representing the four continents, while the other pip cards show land masses or political divisions respective to suit. The Aces of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs represent the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, respectively. George Washington appears as the King of Spades and King George IV as the King of Hearts. A Chinese emperor appears as the King of Diamonds. There were six different versions of the deck printed until about 1830, all of them very scarce. The American Ace of Spades eventually was replaced by the Stopforth Ace due to taxes levied on packs of playing cards.
Auctioneer:
Potter & Potter
Date:
2016-05-21
