Protea Playing Cards

Protea Playing Cards was founded in 1968 when Harry Roscoe, a young and inspired visionary decided to move away from commercial print and created a business to supply a niche market.

The following decades saw Protea Playing Cards become a household name and a globally recognized supplier of premium quality playing cards. Initially producing playing cards for the retail market, Protea expanded into the corporate advertising and casino market too.

In 1996, Harry’s son, Donavan joined the company and began learning every aspect of the business from the bottom up. By this time Protea had become a family enterprise with brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles all involved in various ways.

As with everything all good things must come to an end but in this case, it was also new beginnings. 2016 saw Harry, William and Adele Roscoe retiring from the company and leaving Donavan to steer the ship. It was during this time that House of Print purchased Protea and brought it under the Caxton’s group umbrella. The family ties were still firmly in place as Andre Bam, the House of Print Managing Director, is also Harry’s son-in-law.

Who would have thought that making playing cards is a game the whole family can play?

Moving on to 2025, Protea is still producing top quality playing cards with the same enthusiasm, dedication and attention to detail 56 years on and remains a proudly South African company.

Protea Playing Cards has been a hallmark of quality since 1968. For over five decades, we have been committed to producing top-quality playing cards using only the finest materials. Each deck is meticulously hand-checked to ensure the highest standards of excellence and guaranteed satisfaction.