A few years ago I went to an auction and bid for a cardboard box of miscellaneous bits and bobs. Hidden among the items was a small box (not the reason for the bid) containing some children’s playing cards, dated about 1820.
They are designed to teach Regency children their ‘Times Tables’ and to add up pounds shillings and pence, helped along by matching the two halves of various birds and animals. They are charming, and have childish scribbles on them, some of which clearly date from that period. I like to think that these might have been the kind of toy which Frances Rickman and her brother and sister owned.
Find out more about Frances Rickman and her father John Rickman, if you enjoyed this post.
