1900-1919

Masters Installation Cards from 1900 to 1919

1900 Master: George S Lancaster JP

A soldier of the CIV., The City's Old and New Supporters, with St. Paul 's Cathedral in the background.
Design by Mr. Cosmo Crump.
A Cream background B Pink background

The City of London Imperial Volunteers were raised by the Lord Mayor and transported to Cape Town to help fight the Boers.
Formed in January 1900, they were disbanded at the end of October 1900
having served with distinction throughout their time in South Africa.
Single pack in dated blue slide case. Double pack in dated blue leather tuck case.

1901 Master: Dr. Theophilus Hoskin JP

Justice seated holding scales and a wheel of fortune.
Ace of Spades with portrait of the Master. Ace of Hearts with portrait of the Master’s wife and monogram M.H.
Undated.
(A) White border. (B) Coffee border.

1902 Master: V I R Longman CC

On June 24, His Majesty had an emergency operation for appendicitis. After a brief tour on the Royal Yacht to recuperate, the Coronation eventually took place on 9 August.

Special Pack: Designed for the intended Coronation of H. M. King Edward VII on 26 June. Two amorini supporting a crown with the initials ER. VII, 1902, Motto of the Garter, and Arms of the Company (specially designed by J. Seymour Lucas, R.A.).
Ace of Spades with the inscription Coronation 1902 set in a circle surmounted by the Royal Crown, the name of the Company, and the names of the Masters and Wardens.

Red border. 1000 packs issued. Single pack in a red cloth slide case suitably inscribed in gold. Double red leather tuck case also suitably inscribed in gold.
Cases were presented to H.M. King Edward VII and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales. A case was also presented to the German Emperor. The cards were sent to Germany but the Berlin Postal Authorities returned them to London as they stated no instructions had been received for their disposal. Eventually the Company submitted the cards to the German Emperor via the German Embassy in London.

Peace. An emblematic figure standing and holding a wreath and a stalk of bulrushes.
(The conclusion of the South African War took place on 31 May with the signing of the Peace of Pretoria.)
(A) White border. (B) Light blue border

1903 Master: Robert Johnstone

Imperial Federation: A figure of Britannia with female figures representing the Colonies.
(A) Pink background. (B) Chartreuse background.
A double pack was sent to the Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M.P.

1904 Master: Maj. Conway Bishop

A standing female figure emblematic of the City of London, before a drapery pulled aside to show a banqueting hall.
(A) Pink background. (B) Chartreuse background.

In April 1906 it was resolved to sell 400 packs of the 1904 installation issue without the Master’s portrait on the Ace of Spades to Goodall & Son at one shilling per pack in Goodall’s cardboard slide cases.
Ace of Spades bears four suitmarks superposed and Goodall & Son Ltd. Surrounded by the words
“Specially manufactured for the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards”.

Special Pack: Showing a Cavalier and a Beefeater supporting the Arms of the Company in front of the Guildhall in the City of London.
Ace of Spades standing enwreathed as a tree and outlined with a ribbon inscribed with the name of the Company and on a small label below A.D. 1904.
Single pack in a green or red cloth slide case suitably inscribed in gold. Double packs in a square leather maroon upright double tuck case also inscribed in gold. Made by De La Rue & Co.
(A) Blue background. (B) Cream background.

This was the winning design for the “H.D. Phillips Prize” in 1897. by Alfred Carpenter. 1000 packs were ordered from De La Rue & Co. at 2s. ld. per pack, to include single cases, with a view to sale. However, subsequently it was decided that all previous authorisation be rescinded and only orders for sales which could not be withdrawn would be completed. In future the Court would not entertain or authorise any proposal by which the Company became manufacturers to the general public. It was resolved that the year of issue should always appear on the cards produced and the Master’s portrait should be placed on all presentation cards as a distinctive mark.

On 17 May 1905 the Honorary Freedom of the Company was presented to Andrew Carnegie Esq. at a dinner at Skinners Hall with a Certificate in an oak casket which also contained a pack of all the cards manufactured for the Company during the last 22 years. The casket is now on view at the Carnegie Birthplace Museum in Scotland.

 

1905 Master: Sir Thos. Brooke-Hitching

Nelson Centenary: Portrait of Lord Nelson with The Victory in the background and inscription Battle of Trafalgar, Oct : 21 : 1805.
(A) White border. (B) Light blue border.

 

1906 Master: Baldwin Latham

The Prince and Princess of Wales’s visit to India 1905-6 and the Reception at Guildhall, 17 May 1906.
(A) White border. (B) Red border.

Packs were sent to H.M. The King, H.M. The Queen and The Prince and Princess of Wales.
On 5 April 1907 Past Master Henry Phillips presented to the Company his collection of the playing cards to be housed in the Guildhall in The City of London.

1907 Master: Sir William Dupree

Imperial Unity: Emblematic animals representing the British Empire, with flags and the motto Ad Unum Omnes.
(A) Pink background. (B) Blue background.

1908 Master: James Edgell JP

L’ Entente Cordiale: Between Great Britain and France, Unitate Fortior, enhanced by the Franco-British Exhibition held in London.
(A) White border. (B) Olive green border.

1909 Master: Henry Northcroft

England’s Naval Supremacy: Britannia Rules the Waves. Emblematic figures representing the Navy with the inscription Defence – Not Defiance.
Vignette of H.M.S. Dreadnought surmounted by the inscription “One Heart One Way”.
(A) White border. (B) Dark blue border.

The design celebrated the Fleet’s visit to London in July. The warships gathered together on the Thames in a pageant extending some 45 miles to the Houses of Parliament.

1910 Master: Arthur T Walmisley MP

Locomotion: Past, Present and Future.
The Development of Transport showing a stage coach crossing a bridge over a railway train above which flies an aeroplane.
Design undated but initialed C.R.G.
(A) Red border. (B) Purple border.

1911 Master: Harry S Foster JP DL

Special Packs: in commemoration of the Coronation of H.M. King George V, 22 June 1911. The design, which is by Mr. Seymour Lucas, R.A., is of fifteenth-century style, because it was in the reign of King Henry VII that cards became fashionable at Court.
The three galleons are symbolic of the King’s association with the Navy and support a crown with the initials G.R. The Ace of Spades has the inscription Coronation 1911 set in a circle surmounted by the Royal Crown, the name of the Company, and the names of the Master and Wardens. Double pack in a red leather tuck case inscribed in gold. Single pack in a red cloth slide case also suitably inscribed in gold. 700 packs ordered.
(A) Blue border. (B) Bright red border.

Packs of cards were presented to the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on 19 June by the Master of the Company. The design of the pack presented to the King was on a red ground and that given to the Queen was on a blue ground. Each pack was in a case of rich morocco, corresponding in colour to the cards, and stamped with the Royal cipher, the Arms of the Company, and a border of rose, shamrock and thistle; the whole fitted with a clasp.

Special Packs: This pack was not designed especially for the Worshipful Company but was given by the Master to the Members of the Livery at a Court dinner in October.
The single packs were presented in slide cloth cases and the only additions to those on sale to the general public were the special gold inscriptions on the outside of each case. The Ace of Spades has the portrait and the name of the Master instead of the Goodall Ace bearing four suitmarks superposed. The cases were inscribed With compliments from the Master and Mrs. Walmisley October 4th 1911. Hotel Russell, London.
(A) Portrait of King George V on a red background with an ermine border in red cloth case.
(B) Portrait of Queen Mary on a blue backgroundwith an ermine border in a blue cloth case.

Delphi Durbar: 12 December 1911. The visit to India by King George V and Queen Mary commemorated by a design showing the Taj Mahal surrounded by a Tiger, an Elephant, and Indian Lady and a Soldier, and surmounted by the Royal Crown.
(A) Light blue border. (B) Dark blue border.
Packs in cases with emblematic borders appropriate to India were presented to the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace.

1912 Master: William B M Bird JP

Captain Amundsen: Discoverer of the South Pole.
(A) Blue border. (B) Red border.

1913 Master: Ernest E Bird

Hospitality: With the inscription - Through this wide gate none can come too early, none can go too late. My friends a hearty welcome to you.
(A) White border. (B) Red border.

In 1914, due to the outbreak of war, the design that had been prepared by George Morrow at a fee of fifteen guineas was deferred until 1915 and he was commissioned for a further fifteen guinea fee to design a suitable picture depicting the outbreak of war.

 

1914 Master: William Hayes JP

War: Britannia leading the Allies into battle. Design by George Morrow, Ace of Spades with the inscription Outbreak of War 4th of August 1914.
(A) Beige border. (B) Red border.

1915 Master: William Hayes JP

King Charles I presenting the Charter to the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards, 1628. Design by George Morrow.
(A) White border. (B) Light blue border.

Special Packs: dated Xmas, 1915. Arms of the Company supported by men in armour. Inscribed For the use of the Defenders of the Empire. With the Best Wishes of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards of the City of London. Ace of Spades with portrait of the Master. Design in black on a gold background. 15,350 packs were ordered from Goodall & Son for the wounded at home and abroad and were issued through the War Office and the Red Cross Society. Packs may be found undated without the wording XMAS 1915.

 

1916 Master: William Hayes JP

War: Britain’s Effort. Britannia stands before members of the Armed Forces and Nursing Staff. Design initialed.
(A) Grey border. (B) Khaki border.

1917 Master: William Hayes JP

The Advent of America into the War: Columbia holding the American Stars and Stripes as she looks at the war going on across the sea. Design by Wall Cousins.
(A) White border. (B) Beige border.

Double packs were sent to the President for the United States, the Secretary of War of the U.S.A., and the American Ambassador in London.

1918 Master: William Hayes JP

Arms of the Company supported by men in armour, surmounted by the Royal Crown and bordered by names of famous battles of the First World War, decorated with leaves. 750 packs issued.
(A) Brown leaves and details with a white border. (B) Light blue leaves and details with a white border.

1919 Master: John Farrer

The Angel of Peace: Design by Bernard Partridge, a leading cartoonist in the magazine Punch, to the commission of Goodall & Son, for a fee of 50 guineas. 1000 packs issued.
(A) White border. (B) Violet border.