Playing card
Charles Goodall & Son Ltd
Category
Sports equipment, games and pastimes
Date
circa 1898 - circa 1939
Materials
Card
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire
NT 82673
Summary
A pack of loose playing cards, by Goodall & Son Limited, London. 52 playing cards with Joker and a blank, 54 in total. Charles Goodall established his business in Soho in 1820, printing playing cards and message cards. Around 1830 he started experimenting with 'modernised' and other court card designs which gradually evolved into those we are familiar with today. Charles’ two sons soon joined the family firm and by the middle of the century, Goodall, and its younger competitor Thomas de la Rue, were between them producing two-thirds of all playing cards made in England. Fifty years later, Goodall and Son were leading the market with annual production of over 2 million packs. Goodall & Son became a limited company in 1898.
Provenance
Anonymous donation to the furnishing of Fen Cottage in the 2000's.
Makers and roles
Charles Goodall & Son Ltd, manufacturer