This post is not about the rules of card games, but rather about the cards themselves.

Question from a Reader: I read your Bell, Book, and Wardrobe novel, and I wondered about how one might have cards made up thusly. Do you know if customized playing cards were available during the Regency era? I know a person could purchase hand-painted ones, which were extremely expensive.

Response: Anything was available to be customized if one had money. The scene in Bell, Book, and Wardrobe takes place at a Christmas party in the house of a baron. Cards were not yet printed and sold by big companies so they were not all together standardized. Some gambling clubs could have had their own cards printed up in an effort to avoid card fuzzing. Hand painted ones would usually be customized. 

There are more than a couple of sites about the history of playing cards in the Regency era. Try these:

Jane Austen UK

Jude Knight, Storyteller: Card Games in the Regency

Playing Cards at Balls and Gaming Hells During the Regency: Regina Jeffers

Regency Wagering: Donna Hatch

Women and Cards: Regency Reader

Card printing began in Germany during the 15th century, so yes, they would have been available. 

Printed playing cards were available in America, so they were probably available in England. In America, the cards were printed without numbers because so few people could read. Only the arrangement of spades, diamonds, etc., were on the face of the cards.

Yes, Regency folks definitely could have packs of playing cards printed for them specifically, either to their own design or otherwise.  And as aristocrats ran through playing cards very fast (my research shows tonish gamblers did not play with used, dirty, or bent packs, so a single gambling session generally trashed many packs of cards), I think it is no surprise that there were were multiple playing-card printers in London at the time. Have a look at EKDuncan’s My Fanciful Muse: Regency Era Pictorial Playing Cards: Ackerman’s Respository for examples.

As to creative individual design, though, that would most often be limited to the court cards, as most English playing cards at the time had plain white backs. However, printed backs were preferred in parts of Europe at that time, so if you wanted your character to have cards with a specific design on the back (which I did in my story line), that could work, too, especially if you point out that printed backs were atypical. (I needed a specific playing card to be easily identifiable as coming from a pack that was commissioned by a specific person, and that was the easiest way to do it.)

Just as an interesting tidbit, the English preferred plain backs because they thought it made cheating via marked cards harder, while the Europeans preferred printed backs for the same reason!

In case it helps, here are a few links that might be useful in re playing cards and/or Regency card games:

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2012/05/1-playing-cards-their-history.html?q=england

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2013/06/30-not-so-minor-cardmakers-of-19th.html?q=english

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2013/09/31-not-so-minor-cardmakers-of-19th.html?q=english

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2012/10/19th-century-breaks-with-tradition.html?q=england

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2012/09/14-back-designs.html?q=england

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2013/01/27-cards-at-strangers-hall-norwich.html?q=english

http://kenlodge.blogspot.com/2012/11/20-english-card-makers-1761-1905-new.html?q=english

Enjoy this excerpt from Bell, Book, and Wardrobe.

Bell, Book, and Wardrobe: A Georgian Romance 

They may be able to disguise their appearance, but not the love in their hearts. 

Miss Galla Casson wished with all her being that her cousin Lady Helena Aldrete had consulted her before Helena ran off with a simple “Mr. Groton,” a country solicitor. However, Helena had not. Now, in desperation, Galla must pretend to be her cousin at a Christmas house party where Helena was to meet her intended, but only long enough for the Holy days to come to an end and for Galla to earn employment in London. 

Colonel Ian Coates did not relish pretending to be his brother, Evan, the Earl of Claiborne, but in order to reclaim several precious heirlooms stolen from Evan in a savage attack, Ian practices his deception. The only problem is the woman who is to marry Evan’s assumed attacker is a woman Ian has previously presented a small piece of his heart. 

Ian’s and Galla’s double deception threatens to overset their purpose in being at the same house party until a bell, a book, and a wardrobe lead them to a lifetime of singular devotion.

For Your Enjoyment: Excerpt from Chapter Six

“Perhaps the cards on the table are yours,” Wilton accused. 

“They were in a wooden box displayed on the table when we all sat down together,” Ian declared. “How could I have marked the cards when they belong to you? The box has the Wilton crest on the lid.” 

Lady Mathiesen grabbed another box of cards from a nearby table. “What of these, my lord?” her ladyship asked. She set the deck face down on the table. 

“The first is the nine of hearts,” Ian declared as he flipped the card over to expose it to all standing about the table. 

“Next, ace of spades.” Lady Mathiesen turned over the ace, and a collective gasp of truth filled the air. 

“Seven of clubs.” Her ladyship flipped the card over to expose the seven.

“Should I continue?” Ian asked. 

“You sat at that table two nights prior,” Wilton accused. 

Ian reached into his pocket. “This is the box you hid behind the books on religion in your library. Lady Wilton can testify she discovered me searching that particular shelf earlier today. Should we also have a look at those?” 

“I did find Lord Claiborne perusing that particular shelf, but I did not know of the cards,” her ladyship declared with a frown of displeasure. 

“I assumed you did not, my lady,” Ian assured in sympathy. Bringing Stephen Wilton into her husband’s house and expecting him to perform as had the late baron must be very daunting in this new reality. He then looked to Galla. “I believe Lady Helena found two other boxes, also holding playing cards and marked with the Wilton crest. Her maid spoke to my valet about them. I do not believe Lady Helena had set herself the task of exposing Lord Wilton, but she did not know what to do with the boxes when they fell out from behind the book she had removed from the shelf for her own reading pleasure. Nor did she wish a maid to be punished for sloppy work.” 

“Behind a copy of Clarissa,” the lady managed as she looked on in disbelief. “I could not fit them back behind the other books for the shelf was too high. I thought to use a chair, but Miss Ross and her cousin came in. I was a bit embarrassed. My maid asked Mr. Quinn if he would return them to the shelf later this evening when no one was around.”

“We were with Lady Helena in the library,” Miss Ross said. “We noted the Richardson book when we all looked for a copy of one of Miss Austen’s tales.” 

“This is ridiculous. I have known Wilton for years. Something is more than a bit rotten in Denmark. They cannot all be marked cards,” Lord Hendrics argued. 

“See for yourself,” Ian instructed. “If you wish, I will gladly explain how to read them without turning them over. It is quite simple once a person knows the pattern.” 

Several of those in the room grabbed a few boxes from the other tables and began to inspect them. 

“There is a small notch in the side,” Hendrics declared with a bit of triumph.

“I believe such is the maker’s mark. I, too, was initially distracted by the imperfection,” Ian explained. 

Hendrics appeared disappointed, but the man continued to look for the markings, even pulling out his eyeglass for a better look. 

“A dark dot on the back,” Lady Kingsolver remarked casually. “Small, but it breaks the pattern’s design. Extra ink?” she asked.

Everyone in the room began to study the back of the cards. “The dot is not in the same place on each,” Kingsolver said as he compared his cards to those his wife held. “A drop of ink makes sense.”

“One would think so, would one not? A small imperfection, until one is aware there is a pattern to the drops.” Ian provided a hint. “Think of the card as a square clock face, with an ace as twelve of the clock and the suits in alphabetical order on the left side.” 

“I be a son of a—” Kingsolver hissed, as he shared the markings with his wife. His lordship started naming the cards still resting face down in his deck with ease. “Seven of clubs. Nine of diamonds.” 

Lady Mathiesen studied the backs of the stack in her hands. “Queen of spades. Jack of hearts.”

Some of the others repeated the actions as they two were made aware of Wilton’s deception.

Smithers moved up where he was toe-to-toe with Wilton. “You have won several hundred pounds from me over the last six months. I often thought your luck exceptional, but never did I believe a ‘friend’ would consider me an easy mark.” 

Ian grabbed the opportunity to ask, “Were you with Wilton the night of my attack?”

“I left early, but I was there when a liquid was added to your drink.” Smithers looked about the room. “It was egregious of me to ignore what was going on, but I feared those with whom Wilton associates would look to me for redress.”

“These ‘associates’ of Lord Wilton?” Ian prompted. 

Smithers swallowed hard. “Those at the Red Rooster and some of Solomon King’s men.” 

Lady Wilton finally rallied from the shock of what was transpiring before her very eyes. “Lord Claiborne, with your permission, may I speak to you in Wilton’s study? I assume the rest of you will discover a means to entertain yourselves this evening. Mr. Brady is available to assist you if you require additional refreshments.” 

Note: This story was originally a novella written for a Christmas anthology from Dreamstone Publishing. I have since rewritten it and made it into a novel to be rereleased in 2025.