Animal Tarot by Johann Jobst Forster
French-suited 78-card animal tarot deck of the Bavarian type.
By the mid 18th century Tarot packs with French suit signs were being produced in France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Packs usually contained 78 cards with trumps displaying whatever appealed to the maker's fancy, such as popular imagery, oriental imagery, dancing, folklore or historical scenes instead of the older emblematic designs. Animal-themed Tarots were very popular in Germany and were used to play the game called Tarock.
There is a border around each card and the trumps have large Roman numerals at each end.
The Court Cards
The court cards are in Bavarian style, adapted from the French ‘Paris’ pattern with the addition of cavaliers or horsemen. The knave of clubs bears the name “Joh. Jobst Forster”.
References
Beal, George: Playing Cards and Tarots, Shire Publications, 1988.
Hargrave, Catherine P.: A History of Playing Cards, Dover Publications, 1966, 2000.
O’Donoghue, Freeman M: Catalogue of the collection of playing cards bequeathed by Lady Charlotte Schreiber (German 153), Trustees of the British Museum, London, 1901
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
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