Prototypes for transformation cards

The Maker

John Nixon was a caricaturist and amateur actor who worked with several of London’s publishers to produce stage prints and proofs. Nixon is known to have served as a special juryman at the Guildhall court, and as a captain in the Guildhall Volunteers, where he no doubt picked up inspiration for his satirical caricatures.

The Cards

In 1803, Nixon was among the early card-makers to experiment with “transformation playing cards”. The suit marks were not always easy to incoporate into designs and sometimes produced interesting results, as can be seen here.

On the first two cards, both Three of Diamonds, Nixon has attempted to form the gentlemen’s heads in the shape of the suit mark. The second example is more sophisticatedly executed, but it was the first which was adopted into a later deck published by Fores five years later. The second was never included in any complete deck.

Nixon again attempts to transform the diamond symbol into faces on the Five of Diamonds, another example of a design that was made into a card, but never published as part of a deck. However, once he had modified it by changing the diamonds to hearts, his Five of Hearts founds its place in his ‘Metastasis’ deck of 1811 (see item 28).

These early sketches and experiments provide valuable insight into the development of English playing cards during the early nineteenth century.

MÜLLER, Heinrich Friedrich [Colloquial character playing cards].

Publication [Vienna, H. F. Müller, c1809].

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand-colour, pink marbled paper versos.

Dimensions 91 by 66mm (3.5 by 2.5 inches).

References Hargrave p.156; van den Bergh pp.168-169.

The Maker

The name of Heinrich Friedrich Müller (1779-1848) is shown on the King of Clubs and King of Diamonds, while the Five of Diamonds bears his initials. Müller was a Viennese innovator in printing technology and publisher who produced the first German picture-books.

He also printed musical scores, tickets and games, as well as cards, publishing tarot, transformation, trappola and standard decks. Müller was the co-founder of the Vienna Art Association and head of the board of Viennese art dealers.

The Cards

Similar to Cotta, Müller used several popular themes for his cards, including military, religious and domestic scenes. Noticeable is the almost rustic way in which the court cards are portrayed with little of the formal imagery common at this time. Instead, the single figures are dressed in quaint theatrical costumes, more akin to those shown on the cards of the previous century.

The Ace and pip cards are fine examples of the transformation style that was emerging at the time of publication. The suit marks take on key roles in the images, with spade symbols serving as hats, clubs as chandeliers and hearts as faces.

Very few examples of the present deck are known.

[ANONYMOUS]

[Greek Myth and Legend playing cards].

Publication

Tübingen, J. G. Cotta, 1810.

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand colour, bound in booklet, text on facing pages.

Dimensions 118 by 86mm (4.75 by 3.5 inches).

References

Hargrave pp.145-146; van den Bergh pp.144-145.