This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
ANONYMOUS, 17TH CENTURY
Playing cards with scenes of the Rye House Plot
1683-84RCIN 813094
Pictorial playing cards became popular in the late seventeenth century, and plots against the monarchy – both historical and contemporary – often served as subject matter. This incomplete pack depicts events of the Rye House Plot of 1683, including a portrait of its ringleader Richard Rumbold. A pack of cards might typically cost less than a shilling, ensuring that topical subject matter was circulated to a wide audience.
Cat. 180
Cat. 180
