May 2007

 

There were no meetings or collector's fairs this month.  Just one big fleamarket in Utrecht, but that didn't bring any new decks either.. No wonder that our harvest was poor this month. Still there was one that made us very happy. We bought it from a fellow collector in Holland.

 

The deck was printed by Frommann & Morian from Darmstadt, Germany, and published for the Dutch market as "Fijne Speelkaarten" or "Whist No. 60" ca. 1900, maybe a bit earlier. The courts have a standard Frankfort pattern, with the company logo (an anchor) on the Jack of Clubs.

Just like the previous deck of the month, this deck has Dutch scenic Aces. For us the most interesting one is the Ace of Hearts, on which the "Paleis voor de Volksvlijt" is depicted. This palace was originally build as a place for expositions in 1864, but was changed into a music theatre in 1890. It was destroyed by fire in April 1929, but one of the shopping-galleries, that were build along the sides of the palace in 1883, was still intact and not torn down until 1961. We both have our own memories of walking under the remaining arcades as young children. 

The deck came in the original wrapper. Here below an enlarged picture of the ornate center piece.

 

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