A Brief History Of The Playing Card
In the account books of Joanna, Duchess of Brabant there is an entry dated May 14, 1379 which reads, “Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forms, value eight and a half moutons, where with to buy a pack of cards”. Trying to familiarize a novice’s awkward fingers with what must be one of the most popular and widely known games, takes a while. Through film and fiction if not in real life it is one of the most popular modern online and high-tech casino games. In the giddy atmosphere of first live games one may never realize that the glossy polygons with the unruly freak-show of royal Siamese twins have not in fact always been as they seem to have been.
Central Asia is where the very first playing cards seem to have been originated. A 10th or 11th century record of paper dominoes, printed to represent all of the 21 combinations of a pair of dice, is the first known reference to cards. Artifacts from the 9th century China are the earliest found artifacts. The straight-sheet paper cards are associated by scholars to the first straight-sheet writing paper as opposed to paper rolls (being one of many ancient Chinese inventions so obvious now to any sane modern) and with the earliest book printing.
Playing cards in quite modern form were likely introduced into Europe by Egyptian Mamelukes in the late 14th century. The typical Mameluke deck had 52 cards, four suits (polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups), and three court cards which depicted abstracted design rather than persons. At the time, cards were hand-made and only wealthy Europeans could afford them. But the technique of applying woodcuts (used till then to decorate fabric) to paper was introduced around 1400 and mass production followed suit. In the period between 1418 and 1450 there are records of professional card makers. Nowadays, card production is one of the most flourishing world-wide industries.
In the 15th century the number and style of suits varied; some decks had five suits with hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns which were standard suits in Germany. These are still used today for a distinctive set of card games in Southern Germany. Besides the standard deck, I remember the German suits from my childhood. Because of their relative pictorial richness, I preferred these, particularly the golden nut and greenish cupules of the acorn suit. Perhaps a gift imported into Asia, Kazakhstan from German relatives.
In the early games if the “kings” were the highest card, by the 14th century the “ace” (from the Latin word meaning lowest unit of currency) began to acquire the ability to turn highest card, with the “two” being lowest. During the French Revolution this was a popular mode when the lower classes rising above royalty was vital. Likewise a revolutionary would prefer to play cards with the innovative design of Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities rather than ones with kings and queens. With Napoleon coming to power the classic design returned.
In the 19th century a reversible double image in court cards was introduced. The designs, in the earliest, were American. Though a French card maker of the late 18th century was attributed the invention but the French government prohibited the idea. The purpose was, during a session to prevent players from reversing their court cards and revealing their hands to the opponents.
The author is a successful limit cash game player. He plays poker online and receives Interpoker Rakeback and NoiQ Poker Rakeback.
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