Trentine Pattern

Published March 10, 2018 Updated July 04, 2023

Trentine Pattern

Italy History Patterns and Suit Types

The Trentine, or Trento pattern, along with the Brescia and Bergamo patterns, are all modelled on a common Italian-suited ancestor. Packs have 52 or 40 cards, single-figure courts, narrow elongated cards. Characteristic features include a female portrait on the ace of coins; cupid with bow and arrow on ace of cups; a dog leaping besides the jack of cups; the jacks of both batons + swords hold weapons in both hands.

Trentine pattern by Modiano, 1970s

Above: Trentine pattern by Modiano, 1970s. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.

Comparison: old and new

Trentine pattern

Above: top row shows 18th century cards from Trentine pattern; bottom row same cards from a Trentine deck by Dal Negro, 1970s. See Boxes

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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)

Member since January 30, 2009

Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.

His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.

Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.

Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.

His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.

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