Playing Cards from Denmark
Animal Tarok by Jean Friedrich Mayer (1752-1783)
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by Simon Wintle
Animal Tarok by Jean Friedrich Mayer (1752-1783).
Christian IV Anniversary
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by Simon Wintle
King Christian IV anniversary pack, designed by Thora Fisker and printed by L. Jevison Junior, 1988.
Danish playing cards - Tarock trumps
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by Simon Wintle
Two versions of trump no.15 depicting the Thorvaldsen Museum.
Danish Tarok Cards - Holmblad, c.1850
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by Simon Wintle
The traditional animal images on tarok decks are here substituted by images of buildings from Copenhagen and the surrounding area. The deck had several editions, with each new edition updating the latest changes to the buildings that had taken place since the previous edition.
Danish Tarok Cards - Salomon & Co., c.1906
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by Simon Wintle
Danish Tarok cards published by S. Salomon & Co., Kjøbenhavn, c.1906.
History of Danish Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The earliest mention of playing-cards in Denmark dates from 1487 when King Hans, who reigned from 1481-1513 and was notorious for his gambling, again and again drew money from the treasury to pay for his losses.
Holmblad Animal Tarot
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by Simon Wintle
Instead of the old emblematic designs, the trump cards show illustrations of animals, which could possibly have symbolic meanings or moralizing interpretations.
Jacob Holmblad c.1820
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by Simon Wintle
Standard woodblock and stencil deck produced by Jacob Holmblad with double-ended court cards in the tradition of the French ‘Paris’ pattern. The A♥ features a red over-stamp referring to Jacob Holmblad's royal license to print playing-cards which had been granted in 1820.
Jacob Holmblad c.1830
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by Simon Wintle
An amazing difference can be seen between the early and the later Jacob Holmblad packs, covering a time span of only 17 years.
Jacob Holmblad, 1820s
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by Simon Wintle
The Q♥ has a butterfly net in which she has caught four hearts. Many of Holmblad's designs were replaced or changed in different editions, but this design was not used again.
