The Maker
Charles Goodall was a playing card maker based first in Soho and later in Camden, where his firm contributed greatly to the development of the area. By 1850, Goodall accounted for approximately two-thirds of playing card produced in Britain and employed over one thousand workers. Among the firm's most lasting achievements was its pioneering of the double-headed court card design for which, among other innovations and achievements, it was awarded medals at ten different international exhibitions during the nineteenth century.
The Cards
Produced to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, this deck has the monarch's image on the back of every card. The portrait was officially commissioned for the celebration and photographed by London's leading photographer, Alexander Bassano. As on Goodall's other historic playing cards, the pip cards are simply represented by the appropriate number of suit symbols, and the Arabic numeral written on opposite corners. The court cards and Aces are dedicated, by suit, to "the Kings and Queens of the previous longest reigns in English History, attired in the costumes of the period."
Clubs -
Diamonds -
Hearts -
Spades -