Playing cards made in Edinburgh

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This pack of 53 playing cards was engraved in 1691 by Walter Scott, an Edinburgh goldsmith. The cards show the royal arms and arms of the Scottish nobility who sat in Parliament.

The King of Hearts, to the left of the pack of cards, shows the arms of Scotland. The three other Kings in the pack show the arms of France, Ireland and England.

Cards depicting coats-of-arms were popular from the seventeenth century onwards when there was a preoccupation with heraldry. Heraldic cards were produced in Scotland, England, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-002-983-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.NS 211
• Date: 1691
  
• Material: Card, playing / photograph
  
• Dimensions: 80 mm H x 60 mm W
  
• What: Card, playing / photograph
  
• Subject:
• Who: Lyon Office
  Walter Scott, Edinburgh (Maker)
  
• Where: Scotland, Midlothian, Edinburgh
  
• Event:
• Description: Pack of playing-cards with the arms of the Scottish nobility, by Walter Scott, Edinburgh, 1691, comprising 53 cards in all together with a photograph of the missing seven of hearts
  
• References:
  • Mann, Sylvia. Collecting Paying Cards.  USA: Bell Publishing Company Inc. 1967, p 10.
• Translations:
• Related Records: