Willie Rodger was born in 1930 in Kirkintilloch and trained at Glasgow School of Art from 1948 to 1953. He was the Principal Teacher of Art at Clydebank High School from 1968 to 1987 and has exhibited his printmaking and paintings widely in Scotland since 1954.
He was one of Scotland's pre-eminent printmakers and a gifted draughtsman. He was the first person to be elected in the "Printmaker" category as an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.
This is a fine and highly collectable original issue of the double deck of cards published by Neal MacLeod of Scotland in 1976. The playing cards feature designs by Angus Ogilvy and Willie Rodger. This is not a later re-issue but the original set with printed leaflet insert as photographed. This is reflected in my asking price.
Larger-size screenprints of the Court Cards are available for sale at the RSA in Edinburgh.
In this pack, the Court Cards and Jokers depict famous persons from Scottish history (Macbeth is the King of Spades, economist Adam Smith is a Joker, Mary Queen of Scots is the Queen of Hearts, etc.).
Each deck has 52 cards, plus 2 Jokers, plus an extra card with contract bridge scoring. In addition, each deck has a paper insert that briefly describes the historical persons depicted.
The cards are bridge size, measuring 89mm x 59mm, and are in the original box.
The cards are now nearly 50 years old and are in excellent condition and come complete with the paper insert (with a key to the historical figures represented). The box is in excellent condition, except that the lid of the box has a little scuff to the top upper left-hand corner.
The cards will be carefully packed and sent to you with Royal Mail Recorded post - this will cost £4.95 and applied to your order at the checkout.