Rockwell Files: Bridge Night

Nearly half of all households in the 1940s contained at least one bridge player. So when Rockwell featured this game on the Post’s cover in 1948, lots of readers would have understood what was going on.

Rockwell had been kicking around ideas for a bridge-themed cover before he took this unique angle on the game, which enabled him to show all the players’ cards.

The woman scratching her head is “South,” and since she’s won the bid for this hand, her partner “North” has laid down his cards to become the dummy player. South played her jack of spades, West has followed suit with the four. Now comes South’s dilemma. If East has the king, she can force it out with her ace. But if it’s in West’s hand, she’ll probably lose a trick.

A group playing a game of bridge.
Playing the odds: For Rockwell’s May 15, 1948, cover, Post editors concluded that playing a low spade was safer than going with the ace. Normally, South would have just a 1-in-6 chance of drawing out East’s king. (Norman Rockwell / SEPS).

Meanwhile, her partner simply sits back and enjoys her quandary.

This article is featured in the September/October 2019 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features. Subscribers get access to digital archives of the magazine dating back to 1821. 

Featured image: Norman Rockwell / SEPS.

Cartoons: A Bridge Too Far

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Angry man pointing to a partner during a card game
“Who led that piece of salami?!!”
H. Middlecamp
September 11, 1948

 

People playing a game of bridge
“You wouldn’t have made it if you had played it right.”
GHG
June 5, 1948

 

Man building a house of cards on a table while he waits another player to take her turn during a game of bridge
“Please don’t’ feel it’s necessary to hurry on my account.”
Irwin Caplan
March 20, 1948

 

People playing cards
“Never mind, dear. Here’s one with fifty-two.”
Don Tobin
March 13, 1948

 

Man reading a newspaper speaks to a group of women playing a game of cards across the room.
“Yeh, I’ll be fourth; come on over.”
Drucker
February 19, 1949

 

People eating snakes and playing cards
“That last trick was yours – I think you’ll find it under the potato chips!”
Leriar
January 10, 1948

 

Group of kids playing cards at a diner
“Nothing thanks, but you can bring us a napkin to keep score on.”
Mort Walker
October 2, 1948

 

Men arguing during a game of cards
“O.K., Wise Guy! I’ll just redouble seven spaces…who plays it?”
Don Tobin
September 11, 1948