Playing cards
Category
Sports equipment, games and pastimes
Date
c. 1862 - c. 1950
Materials
Card
Collection
Lacock, Wiltshire
NT 1517613.2
Summary
De la Rue &co playing card game in a white cardboard box. It originally counted 52 cards but the 3 of club & the club jack are missing. It has a De La Rue, London ace of spade with inscription: "when used in Great Britain and Ireland duty three pence. "
Full description
Playing cards were taxed in Britain from 1588 to 1960. The amount of duty paid was on the wrapping of the pack, but a hand stamp was also put on the ace of spades to show that duty had been paid even after the wrapper had been discarded. Initially, the card manufacturers were liable to pay the tax and every maker of playing cards had to have a mark of his own to indicate recognition of his name. The English Government dramatically raised taxes on playing cards in 1710. The tax was twelve times the price of the cheapest cards produced or one-and-a-half times that of the best. This led to forgeries to avoid paying the tax. Although it was a capital offence, some manufacturers forged their own ace of spades with the tax stamp.