OHMSS - Piz Gloria, Alpine Room playing cards

Sometime ago I was watching OHMSS and in the scene where James Bond enters the Alpine Room at Piz Gloria and the 'Angels of Death' are congregated, I spotted a set of playing cards on a glass table the design looked unusual to most playing cards I had ever seen and that set me on a quest to try and identify them.

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Having obtained some hi-res screen grabs of the scene in question the search started and working on the knowledge that the Alpine Room scenes were filmed at Piz Gloria the cards had to be European, so with that in mind I researched European playing card manufacturers eg: Grimaud, Fournier, Müller and Piatnik.

Well after seven months, by sheer luck my quest finally came to an end with a positive identification, I came across an obscure book on Ebay titled ‘The Complete Patience Book’ by Basil Dalton (no relation, I assume!!) and on the cover were images of the playing cards, I contacted the seller who confirmed the cover images were credited inside the book and duly purchased the book.

DALTON-BOOK.jpg

The information inside credited the cards to the printer Thomas De la Rue and the designer Jean Picart le Doux.

With that information I have managed to find out the following:
Thomas De la Rue held the First International Playing Card Week in London to celebrate their 125th anniversary and artists from various countries were invited to submit designs for new court cards, those submitted by Jean Picart le Doux, a French tapestry designer were chosen, the cards finally went on sale for 25 shillings per double pack in October 1957.

So there we have it, as I suspected a European design but printed by a British playing card manufacturer, the cards really are unique in their design and came presented in a plastic box which in turn was housed in a nicely printed outer cardboard box, these cards were later sold as single sets in a generic Thomas De la Rue cardboard box.

Thank you for reading and Happy Christmas. -{ -{ -{

BOX-3.jpg

CARDS-1.jpg

SPADES.jpg

HEARTS.jpg

CLUBS.jpg

DIAMONDS.jpg
One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.

Comments

  • HalfMonk HalfHitmanHalfMonk HalfHitman USAPosts: 2,325MI6 Agent
    Fantastic detective work! These are out there, too. https://www.wopc.co.uk/delarue/picart/index
  • TennysonTennyson A View to a KillPosts: 606MI6 Agent
    I love a good bit of sleuthing... great stuff.
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    They look the same to me, you should snap them up, Acacia! :)
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,420Chief of Staff
    Fantastic research and dedication, AA -{
    YNWA 97
  • ACACIA_AVENUEACACIA_AVENUE UKPosts: 1,774MI6 Agent
    emtiem wrote:
    They look the same to me, you should snap them up, Acacia! :)

    The pictures in my post are from the set I bought -{ -{

    And ‘Thank You’ everyone glad you all like the post -{
    One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.
  • NigelPowersNigelPowers Posts: 13MI6 Agent
    Great research and many thanks for your work on identification
  • texas007texas007 Houston, Texas 77041Posts: 2,346MI6 Agent
    Love it - thank you for sharing
  • The Red KindThe Red Kind EnglandPosts: 3,119MI6 Agent
    Love those cards. Thanks for sharing and enjoy yours.
    "Any of the opposition around..?"
  • Alex1995Alex1995 France/GermanyPosts: 339MI6 Agent
    Great détective job ! Thanks for sharing!! -{

    - François
    1.GE 2.FRWL 3.CR 4.FYEO 5.LALD 6.TSWLM
    7.GF 8.TLD 9.TND 10.SF

    "Where’s Fekkesh?” “Pyramids.” *thwap* “AHHHHHHH!”
  • Smithers500Smithers500 Spectre IslandPosts: 1,341MI6 Agent
    Great detective work Robert. I must have seen that film at least 30 times and never noticed them. Seeing your photos, as with everything else in OHMSS, these cards are a stylish cut above.

    Peter Hunt strikes me as someone who liked the finer things in life, I wonder if his attention to detail went as far as picking out these cards, or whether that was something down to Peter Lamont?
    Japanese proverb say, "Bird never make nest in bare tree".
  • Charmed & DangerousCharmed & Dangerous Posts: 7,358MI6 Agent
    Wow, great research! They are a beautiful and unusual set indeed. Thank you for sharing this 'top tier paper tat' story with us! {[]
    "How was your lamb?" "Skewered. One sympathises."
  • thespyboys11thespyboys11 Lindenwold,NJPosts: 1,844MI6 Agent
    FANTASTIC work, Rob!!!! You've done a superlative job in identifying these cards. They make a great addition to anyone's OHMSS Collection. ---Ed
  • ggl007ggl007 SpainPosts: 388MI6 Agent
    Congratulations, great find!
  • KleynenKleynen BelgiumPosts: 396MI6 Agent
    Very nice!!
    Merry Christmas! :007)
  • DrNoPlaquesDrNoPlaques SwabyPosts: 239MI6 Agent
    Great job, I bet there are a few people looking for them now.
    Have a great Festive Season and take care.
  • DrNoPlaquesDrNoPlaques SwabyPosts: 239MI6 Agent
    https://rareplayingcards.jimdofree.com/gran-bretagna/

    Only ones I've managed to find, if anybody wanted a set................

    Hope you are all having as good a Xmas as you can and take care.

    There is another set but more expensive.............

    https://www.get-collectables.co.uk/rare-playing-cards-jean-picart-le-doux-1957-7716-p.asp
  • Gebruder GumboldGebruder Gumbold San FranciscoPosts: 541MI6 Agent
    Brilliant! Got lucky and scored a set.
    If anyone has any OHMSS props to sell, please PM me.
    Cheers, Tom
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Thanks go out to AA for forcing me to pay a boatload of €€ for an old and grubby cardset that I did not even know that it existed and certainly don‘t have any use of X-(
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • ACACIA_AVENUEACACIA_AVENUE UKPosts: 1,774MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Thanks go out to AA for forcing me to pay a boatload of €€ for an old and grubby cardset that I did not even know that it existed and certainly don‘t have any use of X-(

    Always a pleasure to help you part with your money for old paper tat :D


    Well done Tom {[] You won't be disappointed.
    One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.
  • texas007texas007 Houston, Texas 77041Posts: 2,346MI6 Agent
    Got my mint set too -thank you!
    IMG-5073.jpg
  • Gebruder GumboldGebruder Gumbold San FranciscoPosts: 541MI6 Agent
    What a great find! Congrats, and Go Fish!
  • HalfMonk HalfHitmanHalfMonk HalfHitman USAPosts: 2,325MI6 Agent
    My seemingly unused set arrived this week.


    Image-from-i-OS.jpg

    Image-from-i-OS-1.jpg

    Image-from-i-OS-3.jpg

    Image-from-i-OS-4.jpg

    Image-from-i-OS-5.jpg

    Image-from-i-OS-6.jpg

    Here's an enhanced look at the Royal Warrant of Appointment on the box.

    image-from-ios11.jpg

    And in case you're curious, the address now houses a Uniqlo :))


    Screenshot-2021-02-13-at-12-47-00-PM.png
  • emtiememtiem SurreyPosts: 5,686MI6 Agent
    So wonderfully 60s.
  • Smithers500Smithers500 Spectre IslandPosts: 1,341MI6 Agent
    If you don’t mind my asking, what’s the going rate you are paying for these please? I’ve seen a few sets available but the price is very variable, so I’d like an idea as to what I should pay, thanks in advance.
    Japanese proverb say, "Bird never make nest in bare tree".
  • texas007texas007 Houston, Texas 77041Posts: 2,346MI6 Agent
    Here is the alternate black lid case
    IMG-5139.jpg
  • HalfMonk HalfHitmanHalfMonk HalfHitman USAPosts: 2,325MI6 Agent
    Very interesting - mine is simply reversed - black bottom half, white top half.

    This company's history is really interesting reading - 1957 is the last year it had the name Thomas De La Rue and Company, but is still around and is, in fact, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. They sold the playing card division in 1969, and today they also print currency for over 60 countries. (They printed postage stamps for the Confederacy in the 1800s!)

    In the 90s they owned the company that manufactured the Smartmatic voting machines that featured prominently in the news this past US election.
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