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Winston Churchill's personally-owned factory-sealed pair of playing card decks featuring his facsimile signature, labeled with the manufacturer's foil seal on the back of the box: "Congress Playing Cards, Cel-U-Tone Finish." In fine condition, with a small piece of tape affixed to the cellophane on the back.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance signed by Victoria Sheppard, in full: "I can confirm that Winston Churchill's 'Congress' playing cards were inherited from my grandparents Johanna and Ivan Sheppard, who were gifted them by Winston Churchilll. They had travelled around the world with him as nurses from 1956-1961. They resided at the Chartwell Estate and visited iconic locations with the Churchills, including La Mamounia, La Pausa, Christina yacht, and la Capponcina."
Churchill was a keen card player—with a particular passion for bezique and a two-deck version of solitaire—making these personally owned decks a fitting relic of his private life away from politics and public affairs. Preserved unopened and gifted to nurses who accompanied him at Chartwell and on his later travels, they offer an intimate glimpse into the domestic world of the celebrated statesman.
