Mother-of-Pearl and Silver Whist Game Box English, circa 1890

A late 19th-century English mother-of-pearl gaming box, most likely designed for travel or use as a ladies’ parlor game set. The veneered surface is composed of alternating iridescent squares arranged in a diagonal checker pattern. The box is mounted with silver appliqués in the form of the four card suits—heart, spade, diamond, and club—on each corner, with a vacant cartouche framed by an ornate wreath at the center of the lid. The silver mounts are hallmarked for Cornelius Desormeaux Saunders and James Francis Hollings Shepherd, London, 1890–1892. A silver push-button opens the lid to a fitted interior lined with dark burgundy velvet and compartments for miniature playing cards and whist markers. The set includes a complete miniature whist deck, two polychrome pencils, and a pair of “Tom Thumb” whist markers—one in maple and one in coromandel—each marked “Goodall & Son, London.” These Victorian-era gaming counters feature sliding pegs and decorative gilt-stamped labels. The box’s inner lid includes a strap to secure the tally markers. The underside retains the original patterned paper lining. English, circa 1890.

height: 2.5 in. (6.5 cm)
width: 4 in. (10 cm)
depth: 3 in. (7.5 cm)

Charles Goodall & Son was established in London in 1820 by Charles Goodall (1785-1851), who had previously apprenticed with Hunt & Sons playing card manufacturers. The firm grew to become one of Britain’s leading playing card makers, and along with their competitor De La Rue, accounted for approximately two-thirds of domestic playing card production by 1850. From around 1860, Goodall expanded their product line to include a range of accessories for card players including whist markers, Bézique sets, cribbage boards, and score cards. The company’s Camden Works facility in London employed over 1,000 people at its peak.
The “Tom Thumb” whist markers included in this set were a compact version designed for travel or inclusion in smaller gaming sets such as this one. These miniature whist markers, made in contrasting woods with gold-on-black labels reading “The Camden Tom Thumb,” were manufactured circa 1890, contemporaneous with this box.

Goodall’s playing cards and gaming accessories achieved international recognition for their quality and design innovations, including the introduction of double-ended court cards that became the standard design still used today. In 1922, after over a century of independent operation, Charles Goodall & Son merged with their longtime competitor De La Rue, though the Goodall brand continued to be used for several decades afterward.