Q: My mother has a pack of cards named Belisha, which she bought in London in 1939.

All the cards depict a picture relating to traffic and have different road signs in the corner. These include 30 Limit, Go Slow, Stop, Traffic Lights, Railway Crossing and Belisha Crossing (hence the name). The object of the game is to acquire a set of the same four symbols of the same coloured numbers or consecutive numbers. The player with the most sets wins the game. I wondered if these Belisha cards could still be purchased anywhere. - Marjorie Evans, Crook.

A: As you rightly say, the card game is named after crossings with Belisha beacons - the flashing orange balls on the top of striped poles that were introduced in 1936. They are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha, the Minister of Transport who introduced them. The Belisha card game is a variation on Rummy but uses the traffic signal theme to encourage road safety awareness at a time when the volume of traffic on British roads was undergoing a dramatic increase.

The Belisha card illustrations typically feature colourful "Noddy-style" cartoons with undersized cars, fat policemen and other stereotypical characters. Other cards complement the cartoons with scenes from around Britain. Your particular set includes Bamburgh Castle.

Many of the illustrations are delightful and humorous. One card features a courting couple (or possibly an amorous driving instructor) kissing in the front seat of a car equipped with L-plates. They are about to be reprimanded by a smiling traffic warden. My favourites include an innocent-looking lady driver who seems to have just knocked over a policeman, an absent-minded newspaper-reading pedestrian causing a major traffic jam and a policeman spying on two children who have left their go-cart in a no-parking zone.

Specialist antique shops that deal in toys and games are the most likely place to find Belisha Cards. The cards can date from the 1930s to the 1950s and there are many different styles and illustrations. Some dealers can be found on the Internet where I have traced packs available for £15 to £30. The most valuable cards are likely to be those with rarer illustrations, that have a complete set of 52 cards that are in mint condition, complete with box and set of rules. I suspect that as with many antiques of the 20th Century, they will become more valuable and collectable as time passes.

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