'It's on the Cards'
Roger Whiting explores sets of playing cards at the time of the Spanish Armada and the Glorious Revolution.
Political cartoons have been a means of enlightenment, protest and propaganda for centuries and never more so than in the form of playing cards. From the Spanish Armada to the South Sea Bubble the possibilities offered by producing packs with fifty-two different cartoons in each were fully exploited. Packs deal with the Gunpowder, Popish, Meal Tub and Rye House plots, the Monmouth Rebellion, the reigns of James II and Anne, Marlborough's victories, Dr Sacheverell's exploits, and 'All the Bubble Companies'. No detail is too small for them to record and hence their value to the historian.
1988 was the obvious year to produce facsimiles of the Spanish Armada and the Glorious Revolution packs. What more genuine souvenirs could one have? Not only are they fascinating in themselves, but they provide a talking point for the gamester and a valuable aid for the teacher.
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