A complete set of 52 original playing cards in Near Fine condition, published by Hall and Son circa 1820. The original wrapper discarded on opening the pack. The deck has delightful single figure unturned court cards and plain white backs and is printed on a thick card stock and cut with square corners. All cards, except from the Ace of Spades were printed from woodblocks, the ace being printed from Intaglio plates in sheets of 20, with the ace havingl the die number 103. The ace shows “G.111 Rex” and a duty levy of one shilling and six pence. The ace is known as a garter ace after the pattern of the central image, the design first employed in 1765, and is catalogued as the HB2 design. In around 1823 Hall and Sons became Hall and Bancks [Hall went into business with his brother in law] and later Bancks Brothers in 1841. There was apparently some crossover during the business amalgamation, and some old stock Hall and Son cards were sold in Hall and Bancks wrappers for a few years. Hall and Bancks were trading at No.15 Picadilly, London in 1823.
