Chapter I: Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes

Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. All other
spelling and punctuation remains unchanged.

Italics are represented thus _italic_.

THE

DEVIL’S PICTURE-BOOKS

A History of Playing-Cards

BY

MRS. JOHN KING VAN RENSSELAER
AUTHOR OF CROCHET LACE, ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

_Copyright, 1890_
BY DODD, MEAD, AND COMPANY

_All rights reserved_

University Press
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE

PREFACE.

The “Devil’s Books” was the name bestowed upon Playing-cards by the Puritans and other pious souls who were probably in hopes that this name would alarm timid persons and so prevent their use. Whether or not his Satanic Majesty originated Playing-cards, we have no means of discovering; but it is more probable that he only inspired their invention, and placed them in the hands of mankind, who have eagerly adopted this simple means of amusing themselves, and have used it according to the good or evil which predominated in their own breasts. Many learned men have written books or treatises on Playing-cards, and I am indebted for a large part of the information contained in this history to “Les Cartes à Jouer,” by M. Paul la Croix; “Facts and Speculations about Playing-cards,” by Mr. Chatto; “The History of Playing-cards,” by the Rev. Edward Taylor; and “The History of Playing-cards,” by Mr. Singer.

These books are now out of print, and somewhat difficult to obtain; and I hope, by bringing into a small compass the principal features set forth in them, I shall be able to place before a number of readers interesting facts that would be otherwise unobtainable.

Hearty thanks are due to the custodians of the National Museum in Washington, who have aided me in every way in their power, and also to the many kind friends who have sought far and wide for unique and uncommon packs of cards, and helped materially by gathering facts relating to them for me.

That many nations have cards peculiar to their own country and almost unknown beyond its boundaries may be a matter of surprise to some; that such ordinary and familiar objects as Playing-cards should have a history, will astonish others. My hope is that the subject will interest my readers as it has done me. Any facts concerning Playing-cards or any communications relating to rare or curious packs will be gladly received by the author, who would like to add to her collection.

M. K. VAN RENSSELAER.
NEW YORK, 1890.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

THE TAROTS, OR THE FIRST CARDS 11

CHESS 21

ENGRAVING 33

MATERIALS 41

NAME 49

CLASSIFICATION OF PACKS OF CARDS INTO SUITS 55

CARDS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, VIZ.:—

CHINA 65

EGYPT 69

INDIA 70

CASHMERE 74

PERSIA 77

ITALY 80

GERMANY 83

SPAIN 88

FRANCE 90

ENGLAND 102

AMERICA 112

JAPAN 131

THE KING 139

THE QUEEN 151

THE KNAVE 161

ACES AND OTHER CARDS 171

USE AND ABUSE 179

PIPS, SUITS, AND COLOURS 191

ODDS AND ENDS 201

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATE

PERSIAN 1

TAROT 2

TAROT 3

CHINESE 4

CASHMERE. Cards owned by Lockwood de Forest, Esq. 5, 6

ITALIAN CARDS SHOWING THE SUITS OF SWORDS, MACES,
MONEY, AND CUPS. Owned by Mrs. J. K. Van Rensselaer 7

GERMAN CARDS SHOWING THE ACES OF GRÜN, ROTH, SCHELLEN,
AND HERZEN. Owned by Mrs. J. K. Van Rensselaer 8

REMAINS OF THE PACK SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN USED BY
CHARLES VII. OF FRANCE, DATE 1425. In the Cabinet
des Estampes, Paris, France 9

ELIZABETH OF YORK 10

CARDS FOUND BY MR. CHATTO IN A BLACK-LETTER VOLUME
FORMERLY IN THE CATHEDRAL LIBRARY, AT PETERBOROUGH,
ENGLAND. Now in the Print Room of the
British Museum 11

FOUND IN AN OLD EDITION OF CLAUDIAN, EARLY ENGLISH 12

CARDS ON WHICH INVITATIONS WERE WRITTEN. Owned by
Mrs. Ten Eyck and Miss Crowninshield. Date 1763 13

GEOGRAPHICAL CARDS. Owned by Richard H. Derby, Esq.,
M.D. Date 1795 14

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN CARDS, APACHE TRIBE. Cut out
of Deerskin and painted by themselves. National Museum,
Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 15, 16, 17

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN GAMBLING-STICKS, HAIDA TRIBE,
QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. Carved on Cubes of Wood.
National Museum, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. 18, 19

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN GAMBLING-STICKS, ALASKA TRIBE.
Painted on Cubes of Wood. National Museum, Washington,
D.C., U.S.A. 20

JAPANESE CARDS, EACH ONE REPRESENTING A WEEK IN THE
YEAR. Owned by Mrs. J. K. Van Rensselaer 21, 22, 23, 24

THE DEVIL’S PICTURE-BOOKS

“_The Ladies arm-in-arm in clusters,
As great and gracious a’ as sisters;_

* * * * *

_On lee-lang nights, wi’ crabbit leuks,
Pore owre the devil’s pictured beuks._”
BURNS.

THE DEVIL’S PICTURE-BOOKS.

THE TAROTS.

A youth of frolic, an old age of cards.
HONE: _Every-Day Book_, ii. 98.

The origin of Playing-cards and their inventor is still a subject of speculation, and will probably remain forever undiscovered. Almost every country in Europe has through her scholars laid claim to having been the first to use cards; and many documentary and other proofs have been brought forward to substantiate their assertions, which are based upon ancient laws, common traditions, or contemporary illustrations.

That cards were brought from the East to Europe about the time of the Crusades, and probably by the home-returning warriors, who imported many of the newly acquired customs and habits of the Orient into their own countries, seems to be a well established fact; and it does not contradict the statement made by some writers, who declare that the gypsies—who about that time began to wander over Europe—brought with them and introduced cards, which they used, as they do at the present day, for divining the future. Cards may well have become known by both means, and they spread rapidly over all of what was then considered the only civilized part of the world; and the proofs that have been brought forward show that they were known nearly simultaneously in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and England, and point to a common origin not to be found in any one of these countries.

The first cards known in Europe, and which were named _Tarots_, _Tarocchi_, etc., seem to differ in almost every respect from those of the fifteenth century, although these probably inspired their invention. The latter resemble much more those of the present day than they do the original Tarots. The first packs consisted of seventy-eight cards,—that is, of four suits of numeral cards; and besides these there were twenty-two emblematical pictured cards, which were called _Atous_, or _Atouts_,—a word which M. Duchesne, a French writer, declares signifies “above all.” This word used in French has the same meaning as our word _Trump_. The marks which distinguish the Tarot suits are usually _Swords_, _Cups_, _Sticks_, and _Money_; and each one consists of fourteen cards, ten of which are “pips” and three or four “coat” cards,—namely, King, Queen, Knight, and Knave. The Queen was not always admitted. These suits seem to be the origin of the modern packs; and the emblems used on them have been adopted in many countries where the _Atout_ part was discarded while the rest of the pack with its original symbols was retained.

Mr. Singer gives a graphic description of these cards and the games to be played with them, and says that “among different nations the suits [as will be hereafter shown] are distinguished by marks peculiar to themselves, while only the general features of the numbered cards headed by figures or court cards have been retained.”

The second division of the Tarot pack, called _Atouts_, are numbered up to twenty-one, each of these having its proper value; and besides all these there is one, not numbered and not belonging to the division of the suit cards, which is called a _Fou_, and in playing the game is designated _Mat_, or _il Matto_. This “Joker,” as we should term it, has no value of its own, but augments that of any of the Atouts to which it may be joined, and is sometimes played instead of a Queen, being then called “her Excuse.”

These Atouts are each represented by a print which is supposed to resemble some character, and the name is generally placed on the card. Among them are an Emperor, a Cupid, a Chariot, a Hermit, a Gallows, Death, The Day of Judgment, a Pope, Fortune, Temperance, Justice, the Moon, the Sun, etc. The order in which they are placed is not always the same, and is seemingly unimportant. The game may be played by two or four persons. “The one who holds the ‘Fool’ regains his stake; ‘La Force’ (or Strength) takes twice as much from the pool, while ‘La Mort’ (or Death) most appropriately sweeps the board.”

It is said that the distribution of the suit cards has a peculiar signification. Each one is distinguished by an emblem which represents the four classes into which communities were once divided. First comes the Churchman, represented by the Chalice (or Copas); next in rank, the Warrior, whose emblem is the Sword; third, the Merchant, symbolized by a Coin; and fourth, the Workman with his Staff. It will be shown hereafter that almost all writers on the subject allow the possibility of the divisions of the suits being shown in the cards.

The earliest known specimens of these Tarot cards are now to be found in the Cabinet des Estampes in Paris, and are supposed to have formed part of the pack which was painted for King Charles the Seventh of France in 1393, to cheer and amuse him during an illness which had been caused by a _coup-de-soleil_ in 1392, and which made him a melancholy but not a dangerous lunatic. M. Paul la Croix describes these Tarots as having been most delicately painted and resembling in treatment the illuminations of manuscripts. They are on a golden background on which dots forming an ornamental pattern were impressed. A border of silver surrounded and as it were framed each picture, through which a dotted line twisted spirally like a ribbon. M. la Croix points out that this dotted line, in his language technically termed a _tare_ (which also means a “fault” or “defect”), was a sort of fluting produced by small holes pricked into the substance of which the cards were made, and fancies that to these Tares the Tarots owe their name. Other writers, however, dispute this derivation of the word, and discover new ones for themselves which are generally quite as fanciful and far-fetched.

These well preserved Tarots are eighteen centimetres by nine, and are painted in water colours on a thin card. The composition of the figures is ingenious and artistic. The drawing is correct and full of character, and the colours are still brilliant. A narrow border of black and white checks surrounds each one. This border is a piece of checkered paper pasted on the back of the card and neatly folded over its edge as if to protect it, showing on the face of the card and forming a frame for the pictures. This fashion of having a checkered or diapered back was closely followed in many of the countries where cards have been used; and these backs are still seen, although this old pattern (which, as will hereafter be seen, had probably a very interesting origin) has been generally discarded, and each card-maker adopts a different device with which to decorate the backs of his cards according to his own fancy. In France the backs are generally plain, and coloured red, pink, or blue. In Spain the pattern is dotted on the surface in lines and circles, while in other countries interlaced and meaningless designs are employed.

Packs of cards closely resembling the original Tarots are still to be found in some parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Alsace, where they are used by the peasantry in the districts which are not much frequented by travellers; but they are unknown to the rest of the world except as curiosities. They are, however, the sole representatives of the cards which the Crusaders or the gypsies brought into Europe, and which the latter use whenever possible to divine the future or recall the past. Some writers point to the eastern origin of these Tarots, because in them “Death” is numbered thirteen, and the idea of fatality or bad luck attached to that number is essentially Oriental; and they declare that the fact that the emblematical Atouts are numbered from low to high, just as certain Asiatic alphabets are written from left to right, may cover a similar interpretation.

CHESS.

Almost all writers on Cards have admitted the strong resemblance they bear to Chess; and M. Paul la Croix declares that in comparatively modern times the game of chess and games of cards showed strikingly similar features, which demonstrated their common origin,—the art of painting being resorted to to depict the one, and that of sculpture to represent the other.

A pretty history of the origin of Chess has been related. It states that the game was invented for the amusement of an Oriental potentate, and was played with living figures, who were required to move at the word of command from one square to another of a huge tiled court-yard which was surrounded by the balconies of the palace and its harem, from which all the movements of the pieces on the pavement below could be watched by the sovereign and his court. Living games of Chess have been played for amusement or “sweet charity’s sake” even in modern times; but such cumbersome pieces must have been difficult to manage, and it was only natural that the ingenious mind which contrived living chessmen should soon have superseded them with figures carved in a convenient material such as wood or ivory, and then placed the mimic armies on a miniature battle-field which could be easily commanded by two or more players.

The Eastern origin of Chess is undisputed, but when and by whom it was introduced into Europe is unknown. According to Herodius, the Lydians suffered from a long and severe famine in the reign of Atys, and in order to forget their misery, invented many games, particularly dice. Previous writers attribute the invention of games of chance to the Greeks during the siege of Troy, and Cicero mentions _games_ in the camp; but it does not follow that these games were either chess, cards, or dice. They may have been knuckle-bones or jack-stones, as that game was known in very early days, and pictures representing persons playing with them have been found among Egyptian antiquities.

It has been asserted positively by the oldest traditions that the cards of Indian origin are only chessmen transferred to paper on which the principal pieces of the game are reproduced, the game being improved by admitting more than two players.

In the game of Chess there are generally only two armies of pawns, each one being commanded by a King, a Vizir (which in the lapse of years has become a Queen), a Knight, an Elephant (which became a fool and after that a Bishop), and a Dromedary (afterward a Castle); and the game shows a striking similarity to the Indian games of cards, which have eight companies distinguished by their colours and emblems, and of which each one has their King, their Vizir, and their Elephant. The two games differ, of course; but sufficient resemblances between them remain to show their common origin, which recalls the terrible game of war, in which each adversary must assault, manœuvre, make combinations, and exert eternal vigilance.

We learn from a most reliable source (Abel de Rémusat, Journal asiatique, September, 1822) that playing-cards came to Europe from India and China, and that, like the game of Chess, they were known to the Arabians and the Saracens from the beginning of the twelfth century. At first these games found little popular favour, most probably because they were introduced at a period when civil and ecclesiastical authorities most positively forbade all games of chance.

From India Chess spread gradually to other countries. The Persians seem to have known it about the middle of the sixth century; and Singer, in his “History of Playing-cards,” states that it reached China at nearly the same period, and in the reign of the Emperor Wa-si.

There are such striking resemblances between the figures used in Chess and those on cards as to leave very little doubt where the inspiration for the latter originated.

Beautiful circular cards made of ivory have been found, on which the figures are painted as if the artist were unable to carve the forms that he desired to represent, and therefore was obliged to paint them on a flat surface. These cards are small disks, which might easily be placed on the squares of a board and moved from one to the other like chessmen. The advantage of commanding a concealed army instead of one spread out on an open field probably soon became apparent, and the result was that some slight changes in the shape of the pictured figure and the material used were soon made, which with various modifications have come down to us as the modern playing-card.

If a study is made of some of the different packs of Chinese cards, it will be seen that horses, deer, and other animals are represented on them, together with symbols which seem to mark the suits. In other packs, instead of the figure of the animal, Chinese characters are placed above the symbol marking the suit, which characters seem to have been put there instead of the picture, and which it is affirmed state, “This is the horse,” or “This one is the deer,” as the case may be,—as if on one of our court cards the legend “This is the Queen” should be written on its face, instead of placing there the quaintly garbed female form which usually represents that august person.

We find the principal figures from the chess-board reproduced in the Tarots, and also in some of the Spanish and German packs. There is the King, the Knight, or mounted horseman, and the Knave. The pawns or common soldiers are represented by numbers; but there is this difference between Cards and the game of Chess as it is generally played,—in the former there are four armies, or as we should call them “suits,” and each one is headed by the King instead of the two sides generally seen in Chess. Now, Mr. Chatto remarks that there is an Indian game of Chess which is called _Chaturanga_, or “The Four Kings,” in which two allied armies play against the same opponents. He also gives a few rules for this game. “Having marked eight squares on all sides,” says the Sage, “place the _red_ army to the east, the _green_ to the south, the _yellow_ to the west, and the _black_ to the north.” It is worthy of notice that these colours form the ground of four of the suits of one of the divisions of an eight-suit pack of Hindostanee cards; and this supports the theory that the painted ivory disks might have originally been used on the chess-board and then held in the hand. This strange Indian game of Chess would also point to the first division of the mimic warriors into four armies, each one distinguished by its uniform of different colours, which when placed in the cards became known as “suits.” This word was probably derived from the French _en suite_, which signifies “to follow.”

There is another game known in which two chess-boards are joined. “It is played by two persons on each side, each of whom is concerned to defend his own game at the same time that he co-operates with his ally to distress by every means in his power the two armies opposed to them.” “Four-handed Chess” is described in Hoyle’s Book of Games, which illustrates a board with one hundred and sixty squares. The game is played with four sets of chessmen, coloured, respectively, white, black, red, and green, like those of the Indian game.

The Queen, both in Chess and Cards, has a European if not an entirely French origin. She takes the place of the Eastern Vizir, or General; and it may be particularly remarked that in the game of Chess she is more of an Amazon or Joan of Arc than the consort of a reigning monarch. Her height also is excessive for a woman, in proportion to the other pieces, and her active duties of harassing the enemy and protecting her slow-moving husband while leading his army to battle show that although she is called a Queen she is usurping the position of a general, who could more appropriately fill this important, active, and warlike place than she can.

In the Card Kingdom the Queen is a much more lifelike and womanly person, as in it she aids and abets her sovereign lord and master, and is generally meekly subordinate to him.

While drawing attention to the resemblances between the games of Chess and of Cards, we must not forget to notice a slight but perhaps important fact; and that is that all the ancient packs had _checkered_ backs, as if the little army were loath to leave the old battle-field, but transferred it to their backs, and exposed that to the gaze of the opponent instead of standing in battle-array upon it. The oldest existing packs or Tarots retain these checkered backs; and some authors have decided that _Tarot_ means “checkered,” and that the name is derived from this circumstance.

The author of “Playing and Other Cards in the British Museum,” Mr. W. H. Wiltshire, derides the idea that cards derive their origin from the chessmen, and points out the fact that “in all such games there are certain approximations, although hardly enough to establish an identity of origin. Chess,” he says, “is a game of calculation and combinations; cards are purely chance.” This seems hardly a fair objection, as there are many games of cards that call for calculations and combinations, some of them requiring much thought and study, although on the other hand there are many that may be played mechanically and without bestowing much thought upon them. Mr. Wiltshire also declares “that in Chess the pieces are exposed and the positions equalized, while the cards are hidden, and the cleverest person may be beaten by a novice without having made one trick.” Some particular game of cards may have been in the author’s mind when he made this statement; but there are a great many card games about which it would not be true.

ENGRAVING.

The order obtained in 1441 by the master card-makers of Venice from their Senate which prohibited the introduction into that city of “large quantities of cards printed and painted outside of Venice,” should be particularly noticed, as printed cards are especially mentioned as well as painted ones; and this points to the fact that there was in use some process besides the original one of painting or stencilling when the cards of that period were being manufactured.

The fragments of the French packs which show by many marks but particularly by their costumes that they were executed about the time of Charles the Seventh, were possibly some of the first efforts of the wood-engraver. They were probably produced between the years 1420 and 1440,—that is, before the greater part of the xylographies now known.

The first pictures produced by printing with blocks of wood were probably used as playing-cards; and this is an invention which is very much older than that of printing with movable types.

By the middle of the fifteenth century cards had spread all over Europe, and necessity called for an economical process by which they might be rapidly as well as cheaply produced.

In 1392 three packs of Tarots were painted for the King of France by Jacquemin Gringonneur, for which he received fifty-six sols parisis,—that is to say, about one hundred and seventy francs, or thirty-four dollars.

A single pack of Tarots, which were charmingly painted about 1415 by Marziano, Secretary to the Duc de Milan, cost fifteen thousand écus d’or (about five hundred dollars); and in 1454 a pack of cards intended for a dauphin of France cost only fourteen or fifteen francs, or three dollars. In the thirty years which had elapsed it is evident that a cheap process of manufacturing cards had been discovered.

Cards had also become merchandise, and were sold at the same time as counters, or _épingles_; and from the latter is derived the French expression “tirer son épingle de jeu.”

It has generally been conceded that the Chinese understood the art of wood-engraving long before it was practised in Europe. Marco Polo, who visited China about the middle of the thirteenth century, describes, in his interesting book of travels, a mode of printing or stamping with coloured ink; and it is probable that printing from a block was also known to the Chinese at that time.

Authorities do not agree about which are the first specimens of wood-engraving, but it is more than probable that a rude picture of Saint Christopher carrying the infant Jesus, which is dated 1425, is one of the earliest specimens of the art. This curious and interesting print was discovered pasted in the cover of a manuscript in the library of the Chartreuse at Buxheim in Suabia. Mr. Singer gives a description of the infancy of the xylographic art, and says that the demand for playing-cards increased so rapidly after their introduction into the European countries that it became imperative to manufacture them at a moderate price; and thus wood-engraving became of consequence, and its productions soon became a most important article of commerce.

It is probable that at first the wood-engravers produced only small pictures of saints, influenced no doubt by their priestly surroundings, as nearly all of the early wood-cuts which have been found are of pious subjects; and they were probably executed by the inhabitants of the religious houses, who were at the time the educated men of the day. These early engravings are printed on paper of the shape, size, and style of the earliest known playing-cards. The saints’ pictures always bore a small streamer or ribbon, on which the name of the holy person represented was written. On the early specimens of playing-cards names are always placed beside the heads of the court cards; and this may have been necessary in order to distinguish the saint from the king, as it is possible that the engraver may have used the same figures to represent not only the holy personages, but also the members of the royal card family, and they could be distinguished only by the names written beside them.

An old chronicler of the city of Ulm, of about the year 1397, states that playing-cards have been sent in bundles to Italy, Sicily, and other southern countries in exchange for groceries and other merchandise; and it may have been this exportation of cards from Germany, which probably increased most rapidly, that called for the edict forbidding the importation of cards into Venice in 1441. It also points to their having been manufactured in quantities even before 1423, the date of the earliest known wood-cut.

Cards were not only produced by hand-painting, stencilling, or wood-engraving, but really artistic and beautifully executed cards were engraved on copper, in 1466, by an artist known as Le Maître (the Master), but by no other name.

Only a few specimens of these unique cards are now to be found in some museums, and the series is not complete. According to calculation, they should consist of seventy cards, containing five suits instead of four, with fourteen cards in each suit and four figures or court cards to each one. The face cards are the King, Queen, Knight, and Knave; and the marks show a bizarre collection of savages, wild beasts, birds of prey, and flowers. They are grouped and numbered and arranged in such a way as to be easily distinguished and sorted into the correct suits.

In 1463 the card-makers of England endeavoured to protect themselves from the foreign importation of cards, and they must have been a somewhat influential guild even at that early date to require and receive this protection from the Government; but no cards have been discovered that were undoubtedly of English manufacture of that period.

MATERIALS.

The process of manufacturing Playing-cards now deserves attention. It seems that the first packs of Tarots which have been preserved were made of two pieces of cardboard, and were afterward pasted together. The backs had a checkered pattern designed on them, and were placed so as to overlap the face; and the diapered edge was carefully pasted down and formed a protection and a frame to the pictured side.

It may be as well to quote here the graphic account given by Mr. Chatto in his “Facts and Speculations on Playing-cards.” He says:—

“The following account of the manner of making cards at the manufactory of Messrs. de la Rue & Co. of London is extracted from Bradshaw’s Journal, April 16, 1842:—

“‘The first object that engages our attention is the preparation of the paper intended to be formed into cards. It is found that ordinary paper when submitted to pressure acquires a certain degree of polish, but not sufficient for playing-cards of the finest quality. In order, therefore, that it may admit of the high finish which is afterwards imparted, the paper is prepared by a white enamel colour consisting of animal size and other compounds. This substance, which renders the paper impermeable to the atmosphere, is laid on with a large brush and left to dry.

“‘The paper being ready for use, we proceed to explain the printing of the fronts of the cards, which are technically distinguished as _pips_ and _têtes_.

“‘To commence with the simpler, the pip (that is, the Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs), sets of blocks are produced, each containing forty engravings of one card; and as the ordinary method of letterpress printing is employed, forty impressions of one card are obtained at the same moment. As the pips bear but one colour, black or red, they are worked together at the hand-press or steam-printing machine.

“‘For the têtes, however (or court cards), which with the outline contain five colours,—dark blue, light blue, black, red, and yellow,—a somewhat different contrivance is employed. The colours are printed separately, and are made to fit into each other with great nicety, in the same manner as in printing silks or paper-hangings. For this purpose a series of blocks are provided which if united would form the figure intended to be produced. By printing successively from these blocks, the different colours fall into their proper places until the whole process is completed. After the printing is done the sheets are carried into a drying-room heated to 80° Fahrenheit, and are allowed to remain there three or four days, in order to fix the colours.’”

In France the card generally consists of two pieces of paper, but in England a more substantial article is required. It is generally four sheets thick,—that is, the foreside and the back, and two inside layers of an inferior description. The pasting of these sheets together requires care and clever manipulation. After the sheets are pasted together, they are thoroughly dried, enamelled, and then cut into cards which are sorted by being laid out on a table about two hundred at a time, until all the cards that constitute a pack are spread out; so that by this operation two hundred packs are completed almost simultaneously. The best cards are called Moguls; the others, Harrys and Highlanders.

Paper was almost a necessity in card-making; and England could not have provided it when cards were first made there, as the art of paper-making was unknown before the reign of Henry the Seventh, who lived from 1485 to 1509. Even as late as the days of Queen Anne, paper was imported from Germany for the purpose.

Many other materials have been used in manufacturing cards besides paper. As has been mentioned, beautiful packs have been painted on ivory or mother of pearl. Parchment and leather have been often used; thin tablets of wood and large leaves have been pressed into service, as well as stout paper which was neither card nor pasteboard. The Chinese and Hindoos sometimes used a cotton paper so stout and smooth as to make it most suitable for the purpose; and the curious wooden sticks carved with distinguishing figures used by the Haida Indians show perhaps the most peculiar materials used in the manufacture of games.

Mr. Chatto mentions a pack of Hindostanee cards in the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society which are made of canvas, and are said to be a thousand years old. He says: “On first handling them they seem to be made of thin veneers of wood. These cards are circular; and the figures or marks appear to be executed by hand, not printed nor stencilled.”

The Malays use cards made of cocoanut or palm-tree leaves, which are first well dried, and the symbols or distinctive characters are then traced on the leaf with an iron style.

A story in the “History of the Conquest of Florida,” by Garcilasso de la Vega, relates that “the soldiers who were engaged in that expedition, having burnt all their cards after the battle of Manoila (about 1542), made themselves new ones of parchment, which they painted admirably as if they had followed the business all their lives; but as they either could not or would not make so many as were wanted, players had the cards in turn for a limited time.”

Such fragile and thin materials have sometimes been used in the production of cards that dealing was difficult and shuffling impossible. One very beautiful pack has been produced, and is preserved in the South Kensington Museum in London, which was embroidered on silk.

Such materials as gold, silver, and tortoise-shell, and even small tiles have been used in the manufacture of cards; but when made from these materials they have been difficult to handle, and have been regarded only as curiosities; and at the present day thick pasteboard, either highly enamelled or quite without glaze of any kind, is in general use all over the world.

NAME.

The first positive mention of Playing-cards is in a manuscript by Nicholas de Covellezzo, which is preserved among the Archives of Viterbo. “In 1379,” says the Chronicler, “playing-cards were introduced in Viterbo. These came from the country of the Saracens, and were called _Naïb_.” The Italians have for centuries called their cards _Naibi_, and in Spain they are still named _Naypes_.

M. la Croix remarks that in Arabic the word _Naïb_ signifies “captain,” and declares that this name proves the military origin of Cards, and points to their connection with Chess.

Mr. Taylor, in his work on Playing-cards, quotes from the above-mentioned manuscript by Nicholas de Covellezzo, which records the introduction of cards into Italy, and says: “The use of the term _Naïb_ in Italy for cards is one of the strongest proofs of their introduction into Europe by the gypsies. To this day they are called in Spain _Naypes_, which is clearly a corruption of the Arabic _Nabi_, ‘a prophet;’ and we have therefore the significant fact that cards have been and are still called in Spain by a title which fortune-tellers (gypsies, in fact) might easily be supposed to claim.”

Mr. Singer quotes from various authorities to show the derivation of the word _Naipes_, and says that “it may mean ‘flat’ or ‘even,’” which would describe a card; and also that the Hebrew word _Naibes_ denotes “sorcery, fortune-telling, prediction,” etc.

Mr. Chatto derives the same word from one found in Hindostanee, _Na-eeb_ or _Naib_, which signifies a viceroy, lieutenant, or deputy, and says: “As the game of Chess was known in Hindostan by the name of ‘The Four Kings,’ if cards were suggested by Chess and invented in the same country, the supposition that they might have been called _Chatier-Nawaub_, ‘The Four Viceroys,’ as the cognate game of Chess was called ‘The Four Kings,’ and that this name subsequently became changed into _Chartati-Naib_, is at least as probable as the derivation of _Naipes_ from _N. P._, the initials of Nicolas Pepin, their supposed inventor;” which derivation is gravely given by another author.

It is only in Italy that the old name of _Naipes_ or _Naibi_ is retained. In Portugal the word has become corrupted into _Naipe_; in Spain, _Naypes_ or _Naipes_. In France cards are called _Cartes à jouer_; and a pack is named a _Jeu_. In Germany they are termed _Briefe_ and _Karten_ and _Spielkarten_. In Holland the name is _Kaarten_ or _Speelkaarten_; in Denmark, _Kort_ or _Spelkort_; and in Russia, _Kartu_. The term _Alea_, which was frequently employed in ancient ordinances and laws, seems to cover all games of chance, and is not used to signify playing-cards alone. The derivation of the English word _card_ from the French _carte_ is too plain to require further comment.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF PACKS OF CARDS INTO SUITS.

Ever since the fifteenth century evidences of the existence and popularity of cards have been found in Italy, Spain, Germany, and France.

The names, colours, emblems, number, and form change with the countries or caprices of the card-makers; but what are termed _Cartes Tarots_ or _Cartes Françaises_ are always the original cards which came from the East, and which are in a greater or less degree faithful imitations of the still more ancient game of Chess.

It is related that on the 5th of March, 1423, Saint Bernardin, of Sienna, addressed a crowd which had assembled before a church in that place, and inveighed with such energy and eloquence against all games of chance that his hearers rushed to search for their dice, their chess, and their cards, and lighting a large bonfire, immolated them on the spot.

One man stood by who watched mournfully the movements of the frantic crowd, and then bursting into tears cried out to the preacher: “Father,” quoth he, “I make cards. I have no other work by which I can make a livelihood; by stopping my profession, you condemn me to starve.”

“If painting is the only thing you can do for a living,” replied the preacher, “take this picture [showing him the sacred monogram surrounded by brilliant rays] and copy it.”

The workman followed this advice, and became wealthy by reproducing it.

This tale shows how well established the use of cards was in the fifteenth century; and specimens of the cards of that period are still in existence, and at once strike the observing student with the fact that the four great divisions or suits exist (although with different symbols) in almost all the known packs.

It is probable that in France the Tarots were used for many years exactly as they were when first introduced into that country, until the rearrangement of the pack by the French courtiers for the convenience of their demented sovereign. When this ingenious condensation of the original pack took place, the symbols of the Orient were discarded, and the adapter chose two colours to represent the different suits, and placed _les Cœurs_ (Hearts), _les Carreaux_ (Diamonds), _les Piques_ (Spades), _les Trifles_ (Clubs), as the symbols that marked them instead of those on the Tarots, which were _Denari_ (Money), _Spade_ (Swords), _Coppe_ (Cups), and _Bastoni_ (Maces). These devices were not distinguished by particular colours; and it is only when the French cards have been copied and adapted that we find the distinctive colours _red_ and _black_ marking the divisions of the suits.

Playing-cards without doubt reached Germany through Italy, but during their journey toward the north they lost their Eastern character and their Saracenic name almost at once. They never seem to have been called _Naïb_, or by any name resembling that word. The first mention of cards in Germany calls them _Briefe_; that is to say, _letters_. The first card-makers were named _Brief-maler_.

The Germans composed symbols to mark the suits for themselves, and rejected the Eastern ones, and were probably unconscious that such devices as Hearts, Diamonds, etc., existed on the cards of the neighbouring country; for intercourse in those days was not rapid, and each kingdom was as independent of its fellow as if oceans divided them. M. la Croix says that the Germans “with their love of symbolism discovered a vegetable as well as a military signification in the original game of cards.” While making important changes, they retained a little of their warlike character in their symbols and figures, and placed among them some designs inspired by the vegetable world. The devices with them signified the triumphs and the honours of war, and they discarded the weapons of the East, the Swords and the Staves, and disdained the sordid money and the priestly chalice, and adopted sprays of oak and of ivy as if intended for victors’ wreaths, and chose tiny bells, or _grelots_, as distinctive marks, as these were among the most important signs of German nobility, and borne by them among the other heraldic marks, and considered most honourable emblems. These symbols gave a more peaceful aspect to the ancient warlike game.

The names of the German suits are _Schellen_ (Bells), _Hertzen_ (Hearts), _Grün_ (Green), and _Eicheln_ (Acorns). It is not now known at what period these symbols which have become a distinguishing character of the German cards were adopted, but during part of the fifteenth century other objects were also represented on their cards; and the different marks quarrelled with the others and strove to be generally adopted, but without success, as those named above have been the only ones in use for many generations, although they are now being gradually superseded by the French designs, which among English-speaking nations are known as Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades.

Some ancient German packs which have been preserved are not only very remarkable for the beautiful workmanship lavished on their production and as handsome specimens of the engraver’s art, but are also curious because they contain five suits instead of the ordinary four. These were divided into _Hares_, _Parrots_, _Pinks_, _Roses_, and _Columbines_, with the usual King, Queen, Knight, and Knave in each suit. These cards were executed in the fifteenth century in the city of Cologne. Other packs of engraved cards made about the latter end of the fifteenth century in Germany had their suits marked by animals, flowers, and birds, and were not coloured, the symbols marking the suits without other aid. The mark of the _Grün_, or Leaf, in the German card resembles in shape the Hearts and Spades of the French. The shape of all these pips is closely analogous; and the Heart provided with a short handle and called a Spade or given a long stem and named a Leaf must originally have had a common origin, all knowledge of which is lost in the mists of the Middle Ages.

The Pique may have received its name of Spade in its English home, not, as some authors fancy, because the word was a corruption of the Spanish _Espadas_, but because it resembled in shape the spade or shovel which was in use in England when cards first made their appearance there. M. la Croix fancies the shape of the _Heart_ resembles a shield, and points to this as supporting his claim that the designs on the cards had a military origin. Among the miners in some parts of England _Diamonds_ are frequently called _Picks_, owing to their resemblance to the head of that tool. M. la Croix also declares that _les Cœurs_ were the symbols placed on the cards by the French adapter, in order to do honour to his friend Jacques Cœur, a merchant of the day whose trade with the East might have been the means of introducing the cards into France, and fancies that _les Trifles_ denoted “the heraldic plant of Agnes Sorel,”—the King’s mistress, who had adopted the humble clover-leaf as her badge as a sort of pun upon her own name; the French word _sorel_ signifying the plant the leaves of which bear some resemblance to the _Trifle_ on the cards.

The _Grelots_ on the German cards may have been copied from the “Hawk-bell,”—a favourite mark of nobility, and one which it was considered an honour to be able to display among the symbols on the coat of arms. Bells were also an insignia of rank in India; and some writers have pointed out that the Germans might have copied the devices on their cards from Hindoo packs, as well as from the better known Tarots or Saracen cards. Bells have always been favourite decorations; and their use dates back to the hangings of the Temple, where the fringes which adorned the curtains and the garments of the high-priest were ornamented with bells.

In a beautiful pack of Hindoo cards mentioned by Mr. Singer seven suits were found, consisting of _Suns_ represented by golden disks, _Moons_ or silver circles, _Crowns_, _Cushions_, _Harps_, _Letters_, and _Swords_. These cards closely resemble the Tarots, and may have originated in a common source. In some of the Hindoo packs the suits are distinguished by a colour as well as by the form of the symbol.

Although parts of packs which from the devices they bear may have been imported from Germany or Spain, and which seem to have been well used, are preserved in the British Museum, having been found in England, only cards of French origin have been universally used there, and they have held undisputed sway from the middle of the fifteenth century, when the distinctive colours of red and black, and the emblems of Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs were generally adopted, and have remained nearly unchanged from that time to the present. There was no attempt to shade the pips or the figures and faces of the court cards at any time in England, and the outlines were simply coloured and laid on in solid blocks. The French have changed their figures, and shaded their faces, and made their pips slightly more symmetrical in shape; but they are very nearly the same as when originally designed by the clever-fingered French courtier.

CARDS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

CHINA.

As has been already mentioned, the invention of Playing-cards has been claimed at many places; each writer setting forth the pretensions of his own country to this honour to the best of his ability, and each one with seemingly good authority for his statements.

It is certain that the Chinese point in triumph to the longest pedigree for their game, and they quote extensively from their own authors as proof of this fact; and until some European well versed in their language can dispute this claim, it may be as well to allow it.

Mr. Chatto says that cards appear to have been known from an early period in China. There is a Chinese dictionary, entitled “Ching-tsze-tung,” compiled by Eul-Kowng, and first published A. D. 1678; which says that the cards now known in China as _Teen-tsze-pae_, or “dotted cards,” were invented in the reign of Leun-ho, 1120, and that they began to be common in the reign of Kaow-tsung, who ascended the throne in 1131. According to tradition, they were devised for the amusement of Leun-ho’s wives.

The general name for cards in China is _Che-pae_, or “paper-tickets.” At first they were called _Ya-pae_, or “bone-tickets,” from the material of which they were made. Several varieties of cards seem to be in use in China. One pack that is described by Mr. Chatto is said to be composed of thirty-two cards covered with small circular dots of red and black, with court cards of one man and one woman. The cards most commonly used are called _Tseen-wan-che-pae_ (a thousand times ten thousand cards). There are thirty in a pack, divided into three suits of nine cards each, and three single cards, which are superior to all others. The name of one of the suits is _Kew-ko-wan_; that is, “The nine ten thousands” (or “myriads of Kwan,” which are strings of beads, shells, or money). The name of the other suit is _Kew-ko-ping_ (nine units of cakes); and that of the third, _Kew-ko-so_ (nine units of chains). The names of the three single cards are _Tseen-wan_ (a thousand times ten thousand), _Heeng-hwa_ (the red flower), and _Pi-hwa_ (the white flower). One of their games of cards bears the same name as the Chinese game of Chess, _Kew-ma-paon_; and it contains pictures of chariots, horses, and guns.

The Chinese name for a card considered singly or as one of the parts of a pack is _Shen_, or “Fan,”—a most evident reference to the manner of holding cards spread open like a fan, which is common to all nations.

The shape and size of the Chinese card are peculiar. They are printed in black on a thin cardboard. The backs are sometimes bright crimson and sometimes black or yellow, and they are the shape and size of a finger. Some of them are little more than half an inch broad by three inches long, and others are an inch wide by three and a half long. The pips and court cards are always printed in black on a white background, and on the face of some of them are stamped Chinese characters printed in red. In some packs the cards have animals, such as horses and deer, represented upon them; while in others characters which may mean the names only of the animals are written above the pips. The cards are rounded at the top and bottom, and at the upper end a small portion is left blank, as if to hold them conveniently and allow of their being spread or “fanned” out, showing the whole of the pictured surface, the blank space being held under the thumb and fingers. Strangely enough, this blank space being at the top instead of at the bottom of the card, it would seem that they should be held by the top and spread out in exactly the reverse way customary among Europeans. The tiny cards are so narrow and so small that they might well be held concealed by the palm of the hand, which could effectually cover them and prevent the shape of the pips being seen through the thin cardboard or the number of the cards being counted by the opponent.

The Chinese have another name for their cards, and this is _Wat-pi_; but it seems to be the name given to different games, as they also call queer-looking tablets on which round dots are placed in regular order and which resemble our dominos, by the same name.

Mr. Singer gives an account of some Chinese cards an inch and a half long and a little more than two inches broad. Each suit consists of nine cards with black backs. They are printed with Chinese characters, and not with emblems like those in other packs.

Some authors state that cards are played by the lower orders only, and that people of distinction play at Chess; and that among the Chinese it is considered undignified to play cards, and many of them pretend they have no idea of their use or the meaning or value of the characters on them.

It is also asserted that a game analogous to the old one of Tarots has been found in China, which contains seventy-seven tablets.

There is a tradition that a Venetian carried cards from China to his native city, which was the first place in Europe where they were known. This traveller was probably Niccolo Polo, who with his brother Matteo returned from China about 1269; or it may have been the celebrated Marco Polo, son of the above Niccolo, who accompanied his father and uncle on their second voyage to that great empire.

EGYPT.

An attempt has been made to prove that a kind of card was in use among the Egyptians in the seventh century before our present era; but this has been hotly disputed if not disproved. That there were games which were known to the early Egyptians has been shown by the inscriptions on their monuments, and the representations of figures playing jack-stones or knuckle-bones and dice. Some kind of game resembling Chess may also have been played, but upon this subject authorities do not agree.

INDIA.

If India was not the birthplace of Cards, as it probably was of Chess, it is certain that they were known in that country at a very early date; and beautiful specimens of ancient as well as modern packs are prized in many European collections.

A pack of Hindoo cards is fully described in Mr. Singer’s book, and many of them are handsomely reproduced. They are painted on ivory, the backs are gilded, and they number the same as the Tarot cards. This pack contains seven suits, which are _Suns_, _Moons_, _Crowns_, _Cushions_, _Harps_, _Letters_, and _Swords_. Of each of these suits there are ten numeral and two court cards, which appear to represent a Sovereign and a General. Besides these there are twelve cards apparently of no suit, on which are groups of figures, some male and some female.