I wanted to bring to the attention of the users of this website a design comparison which raises a couple of questions that, perhaps, someone may be able to answer. The back design in question is shown below in the first two photos.
The first design (1st photo), which must be the original, appears on the back of a "standard" Goodall deck dated circa 1855 commemorating the Crimean War which lasted from October 1853 to February 1856. It shows a French sailor on the left with his country's flag, arm in arm with a British sailor on the right, who holds his country's flag. The phrase in the ribbon at the base of the card reads "Union is Strength" and the whole image represents the cooperation between the two countries as they fought together and ultimately helped the alliance to win the war against the Russian Empire. There is an arrangement of leaves and acorns at the top of the card with a central crescent and there are ships in the background. The first question that comes to mind is who designed this card back for Goodall?
The second design (2nd photo), which appears to be a redesigned copy of the original, appears on the back of a standard Samuel Hart deck dated circa 1862 commemorating the Civil War which lasted from April 1861 to April 1865. Here, we see a Zouave on the left, arm in arm with a Union sailor on the right, each of whom is holding a Union flag. The phrase in the ribbon at the base of the card reads "Our Union Forever" with a central shield of stars and stripes. An arc of 13 stars replaces the design which appeared at the top on the Goodall deck. A different arrangement of ships appears in the background but both back designs maintain the cannon and cannonballs at the feet of the two figures. This same image also appears on advertising for Samuel Hart & Co.'s Union Playing Cards as well as on a wrapper from their "Club House" playing cards. The second question that comes to mind is how did Samuel Hart acquire the original design and who altered it so that it would be relevant for his patriotic purposes during the Civil War? What connection, if any, existed between Goodall and Hart?
The third photo shows a comparison of the two Aces of Spades. The Goodall ace on the left is the "Old Frizzle" ace which was used until 1862. The Hart ace on the right is referenced in the Dawson/Hochman encyclopedia as NY29 and Hart was only at the 560 Broadway address in New York City from 1860-1863. This particular back design is referenced under this listing but is not shown there.
The fourth photo shows a comparison of the two Kings of Hearts. Note that the tip of the sword is unusually visible to the right of the Hart KH next to the pip.
The Goodall deck is a bit larger, measuring 2 1/2" x 3 11/16" and is rather thick, standing at almost 1" in height.
The Hart deck measures 2 9/16" x 3 9/16" and stands at 13/16" in height.
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