top of page
Writer's picturePeter Berthoud

Sylabex (1st & 2nd Editions)

Updated: Dec 30, 2022

Sylabex, The Super Spelling Card Game, Pepys Series


1st Edition: circa 1948, Pepys Series Castell Brothers Ltd., London & Glasgow

2nd Edition: circa 1950, Pepys Series

Illustrator or Designer: Ern Shaw


Contents: 72 Cards + Rules Booklet


Sylabex 1st Edition Box Lid Front
Sylabex 1st Edition Box Lid Front

Sylabex 2nd Edition Box Lid Front
Sylabex 2nd Edition Box Lid Front

There are 72 cards, 68 bear a three letter syllable (some of which are duplicated) and there are 4 S cards:

​AGE

ANT

BAL

BAR

BAT

BIT

CAN

CAR

CAS

CON

COM

CUR

DAM

DEN

DER

DER

DOT

ERS

FAT

FEL

FIL

GER

HAL

HER

INE

ING

ING

KER

KET

LAD

LED

LER

LES

LET

LOO

LOW

MAN

MAR

MED

MIS

MIT

NED

NET

PAC

PAR

PEL

PER

POS

RED

ROT

SAL

SEN

SER

SES

SIL

SON

TAL

TED

TED

TEN

TEN

TER

TLE

TON

VER

VES

WAN

WAR

S

S

S

S


Sylabex 3rd Edition sample cards.
Sylabex 3rd Edition sample cards.


Sylabex 4th Edition sample cards.
Sylabex 4th Edition sample cards.

Sylabex: The Pepys device or logo on the boxes of the 1st Edition (left) and the 2nd Edition (Right).
Sylabex: The Pepys device or logo on the boxes of the 1st Edition (left) and the 2nd Edition (Right).

The 1st and 2nd Edition boxes are very similar, only the Pepys device or logo changes. In the 1st edition the first S of Series is joined to the E of Pepys above and the S of Pepys is not struck through in the lower half. The earlier logo is standard in the early Pepys games but gives way to the second design from the late 1940s and early 1950s. The device used in rule books, often in the same game, sometimes lags behind. There are many versions of the Pepys logo that changed as the "brand" developed. A future article on Collecting Pepys will look at all the logos and when they were in use in more detail.


The card fronts are obviously very different. The 1st Edition uses blocked capitals while the 2nd has stand alone letters. The card backs are identical though, as are the sides of the boxes.


In the earliest set I have Ern Shaw isn't credited in the rules but he was in later printings of the 1st Edition and in all the copies I have seen of the 2nd Edition, example of all these below. Ern Shaw's name is removed from the later editions.


In the 1st Edition the only company details are Castell Brothers Ltd., London & Glasgow. In the 2nd Edition there is the "Pepys Series" device on the box but there is no mention of Castell Brothers and no address given in the rules.



Game & Version Details



​


​Sylabex Box & Contents 1st Ed

​


​Sylabex Box & Contents 2nd Ed



Sylabex 1st Ed - Card Back



Sylabex 1st Edition - Rules Front 1



Sylabex 1st Edition - Rules Back 1



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Rules Front 2



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Rules Back 2



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Box Top Side



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Box Side Left



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Box Bottom Side



​Sylabex 1st Edition - Box Side Right

​

​



​​Sylabex 2nd Edition - Rules Front



​​​Sylabex 2nd Edition - Rules Back



Games Advertised:

Horse Racing Tonight

Home Cricket

Horsie-Horsie

Dingbat Dominoes

I Spy

Speed

Wu Pee

Peter and the Wolf


Comments


Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page