Such fun weirdness. And so British. Happy Families is a card game first published in in the 1851, just before the Great Exhibition, invented by John Jaques Jr (also credited with popularizing tiddlywinks, snakes and ladders and ludo), with illustrations attributed to Victorian illustrator Sir John Tenniel. This particular deck, complete with 48 cards, I believe dates to the late 19th/first decade 20th c. It features those original illustrations (plus 4 added post 1850s to make 48 cards rather than the original 44). Played like rummy, the goal is to form sets--families--comprised of mother, father, son and daughter, with the illustrations and last name of each family relating to a particular profession.
Cards measure 3 5/8" x 2 7/16". Complete deck of 48 cards (12 families), no box. These cards have seen many a game, with plenty of wear and corner folds on a couple, as pictured, but with lots of play left in them.
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