HISTORY OF PLAYING CARDS
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laying cards have been with us since the 14th century, when they first became a part of popular culture, perhaps seen as a miniature model of the universe. Over the centuries packs of cards, in all shapes and sizes, have been used for games, gambling, education, conjuring, advertising, fortune telling, political messages or the portrayal of national or ethnic identity. Their popularity is undoubtedy due to the imaginative artwork and graphic design which is sometimes overlooked, and the “then & now” of how things have changed.
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Playing cards arrived in Europe the late 14th century and rapidly became a part of popular culture. Antique playing cards are like a visit to the local museum and
evoke images of past eras and ways of life and also demonstrate archaic technology or production methods. So what do the oldest surviving playing cards look like?
Five engraved cards from a pack with Spanish suit symbols made in South Germany around 1480. The inscription ‘Valenzia’ is visible on some cards and also the coat-of-arms of the kingdom of Aragon, for where the pack was presumably destined. The technique of engraving on copper plates, used here, permits great detail in the finished result.
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33 fragments of playing cards and 2 dice were unearthed in a 16th century rubbish tip adjacent to a Spanish house in the lower Rimac Valley in Peru, providing evidence of games played by early Spanish settlers. In amongst the rubbish associated with the cards there was also a paper document dated 1516. The cards are from more than one pack, and fall into two groups.
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The first group comprises cards of the archaic Spanish-suited “Dragon” type of pack, whilst the remaining cards are of a different early Spanish-suited pattern. Together these cards provide stunning evidence of early Spanish playing card production exported to Central and South American countries very soon after the ‘discovery’ of the New World.
Fragment of a sheet of archaic Spanish-suited ‘ Dragon’ playing cards found during restoration of a house in Antwerp built between 1559 and 1574, in a period in which the histories of Spain and the Netherlands were intricately connected. The initials ‘FC’ can be seen on the 9 of swords. The aces feature sea dragons holding the suit symbol; the courts are a
seated king, a horse-man and a female page. Cards of this type spread to many parts of the world: examples have been made in, or associated with Italy, Sicily, Portugal, Malta, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, Japan, India and Indonesia.
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othic Spanish-suited cards discovered in the cover of a book published in 1519; uncut sheet showing 15 cards. It cannot of course be later than the book, but some time may have elapsed between the rejection of the sheet by the playin card printer, its being made into board and the board finally being drawn from stock for use by the bookbinder. The style and costume of the figures places it between 1460 and 1470. All the ‘sotas’ are female, standing three-quarter profile, upholding their suit symbols. The clubs are hefty tree branches - not slender rods as in Italian cards.
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The numeral cards have been decorated by the addition of extra motifs which are not essential to the design, i.e. cavorting putti, and in this and other respects they are related in design to the pack by the Oberdeutscher Stecher, engraved in the 1490s, and also the uncut sheet by the Master of the Banderoles, engraved in the third quarter of the fifteenth century, and which also feature naked children deporting themselves. The coins all feature the shield of Aragon. These cards may be a typical example of early ‘standard’ Spanish-suited playing cards, maybe from before Columbus sailed for the ‘New World’ which were imitated by French card-makers and German engravers who wished to export their wares back to Spain.
uncut sheet showing fifteen playing cards, 15th century. Discovered in the book cover of a Catalan manuscript volume of 1519. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Barcelona).
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In 1832 Thomas de la Rue revolutionized the method of printing cards. Until then, and beyond, cards were made from the impress of wood-blocks (usually apple or pear wood) and then the colours were stencilled by hand. Packs were also assembled by hand. De la Rue used letterpress to produce his cards and slowly but surely during the first half of the 19th century the new method took over.
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Also, here’s a historical progression of the JS from c.1525-1880; the top row are French c.1525, English c.1670, English c.1770, English c.1810
By this time the backs of playing cards were beginning to be decorated with marvellous designs, such as those of Owen Jones. By the 20th century most of the features of
our present-day cards are recognizable, though before World War I the standard size was still wide (as in American poker cards) and the figures took up quite a large area of the card.
A Friend in Need (1903) – poker, cheating By Cassius Marcellus Coolidge
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anish playing cards
This Animal Tarok pack with French suit marks was made by the printer Jean Friedrich Mayer of Copenhagen, who had been granted a royal privilege to print playing-cards in Denmark from 1752-1783. It is one of the earliest surviving packs known to have been made in Denmark.
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Mayer’s animal tarok images came from the same tradition as several other animal tarock decks which were circulating in Germany and Belgium around the mid-18th century. As Mayer is assumed to be an immigrant card maker, he may have brought the woodblocks with him from abroad.
cards from facsimile edition of pack preserved in the Nationalmuseum in Copenhagen.
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hristian IV Anniversary
The anniversary of Christian IV in 1988 was a great event in Denmark with exhibitions in museums for which this special pack of playing cards was published. Christian IV himself is the K♠ and his wife Anne Katherine of Brandenburg is the Q♠. The other suits feature contemporary royalty from
other countries whilst the Jokers are Corfitz Ulfeld and Leonora Christine, two figures from Danish history. The portraits were adapted mainly from paintings in Danish museums, except King James VI of Scotland (1566-1625) and Queen Anna of Denmark which were from paintings in the British embassy of Denmark. The designer was Thora Fisker.
King Christian IV anniversary pack, designed by Thora Fisker and printed by L. Jevison Junior and sold in a double plastic box with matching red or yellow back colour. The back pattern is a latticework from 1617 which can be seen in the church in the castle of Frederiksborg.
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anish artist and designer Bjorn Wiinblad (1918-2006), who is probably best known for his ceramic work for Rosenthal and Nymolle porcelain company, designed these colourful playing cards which were produced by Piatnik in the late 1970s. The playing cards inside the box, except the three
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Jokers, are double ended designs. Also, the colour schemes are subtly different for each suit. Amongst various exhibitions and awards, Bjørn Wiinblad was named Man of The Year in New York in 1985 and was awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation Cultural Prize in 1995
Bjørn Wiinblad playing cards published by Piatnik. late 1970s.
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olitical playing cards
Political playing cards were introduced in the 17th century providing entertainment by satirising or deriding current events and leaders. Propaganda cards, Imperial decks, war cards and even educational card games all carry a message which relates to the politics of memory, the means by which events are remembered and recorded, the way history is written and passed on. Historical memory can be used to arouse emotional reactions.
Anti fascist playing cards
Towards the end of 1941 Stalin gave orders that playing card production was to be resumed in Leningrad and a pack of ‘anti-fascist’ playing cards was designed by Vasiliy Andrianovich Vlasov mocking the rulers of Germany and the Axis powers. Working under difficult conditions and with no electricity, the pack was finally ready for distribution in 1943 in an edition of about 700 copies.
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op culture playing cards
Popular culture, cinema, tv and global brands today are a product of the economically more developed countries and arise from a combination of advances in industrial technology and increased leisure time. It aims to be sold to large numbers of people as a commodity. Certain currents of pop culture may originate from or diverge into a subculture.
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Breaking bad Breaking Bad is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. It tells the story of Walter White who turns to a life of crime. His family members and associates are depicted on the customised court cards, jokers and ace of spades in this ‘Blue Ice’ edition of the licensed deck designed by Albino Dragon. The chemical structure in the background refers to Walter’s illicit methamphetamine production, and “Blue” is a street name for the higher quality product in the TV show.
“Breaking Bad” Blue Ice edition fan deck designed by Albino Dragon and manufactured by the USPCC in 2014.
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Waddingtons ‘DC Comics Originals’, 2014 Waddingtons ‘DC Comics Originals’ deck was published by Winning Moves in 2014. Each suit is assigned to a different fantasy superhero comic: Spades are ‘Batman’; Hearts are ‘Wonder Woman’; Clubs are ‘Justice League’ and Diamonds ‘Superman’. The pip cards have assorted single images (repeated in each suit); each ace and court card is presented with a different character pertinent to the relevant comic. The jokers are aptly the ‘Joker’ from the Batman comic, each of two jokers showing the same character in a different pose. All the images are set against an energy burst background as seen in the original comics, adding a sense of dynamism and ambience.
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Waddingtons ‘DC Comics Originals’ deck published by Winning Moves, London, ™ & © DC Comics. 2014. Manufactured in Poland.
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