Archives
2010 • January
Moorish playing cards
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by Simon Wintle
These two uncoloured, uncut sheets of early Moorish playing cards were formerly preserved in the Instituto Municipal de Historia in Barcelona.
Gothic Spanish-suited cards
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by Simon Wintle
These cards may be a typical example of early 'standard' Spanish playing cards, maybe from before Columbus sailed for the 'New World' which were imitated by German engravers who wished to export their wares back to Spain.
Fournier Hnos Burgos
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by Simon Wintle
In 1860 the Fournier Brothers of Burgos (Spain) commenced producing playing cards. They produced high quality playing cards bearing a portrait of King Charles IV on the ace of coins.
Genoese pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The design is purely 'Parisian' but the colouring is green, red, yellow and black. Belgium has taken this pattern for general use.
Boisse English pattern
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by Simon Wintle
Boisse English pattern, c.1870 based on designs by De La Rue.
Ramses II tarot
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by Simon Wintle
Ramses II Tarot deck was published c.1975 in conjunction with a Peruvian occult or esoteric magazine.
Paris Pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The Paris pattern was established as such around the middle of the seventeenth century (based, perhaps, on the cards of Hector of Troyes).
Piedmont Pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The Piedmont pattern is a very close relative to the French 'Paris' pattern. The courts are not named, however, and are divided horizontally (rather than diagonally).
Lombardy (or Milanesi) pattern
The origins of the Lombardy pattern probably lie in the early 19th century when it was a full-length design. It has some affinities with the French Provence and Lyons patterns which are now obsolete.
Trevisane pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The double-ended version of the ‘Trevisane’ pattern originated in the early 19th century.
French Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Some of the oldest cards still in existence come from France. During the 16th and 17th centuries France was the major supplier of playing cards in Europe.
Early Anglo-French Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Cards produced in Rouen during the sixteenth century. It was cards like these which were imported to England and are the ancestors of the modern 'Anglo-American' pattern.
