World of Playing Cards Downloads Centre
"A Moorish Sheet of Playing-Cards" by Simon Wintle. Article about the introduction of playing-cards into Europe. Download as Adobe Acrobat file (400 Kb. PDF).
Tarot cards by Nicolas Bodet (1743-1751). An early example of the "Rouen/Brussels" Latin-suited tarot, probably the earliest we know actually made in Brussels (466 Kb JPG).
"Ernesto Flaiban: playing-card manufacturer in Buenos Aires (1936-70)" by Simon Wintle & Diego Flaiban. Download as Adobe Acrobat file (2 MB PDF).
"Shipman's Guide: early card packs and the arcana" by Diane O'Donovan. Article about the pack of playing-cards. Download as Adobe Acrobat file (60 Kb. PDF).
"Michael Scot's rebus figure of 'Juppiter' as prototype for the tarot pack's Magus/Bateleur" by Diane O'Donovan. Download as Adobe Acrobat file (42 Kb. PDF).
"The place of The Fool" by Diane O'Donovan. Download as Adobe Acrobat file (1.5 Mb. PDF).
Livre du Destin or Book of Fate nineteenth century Cartomancy deck, with titles in French and English, published by Chartier-Marteau & Boudin and printed by B.P. Grimaud, Paris, c.1890. 32 cards. Download entire deck (21 MB) as large size images, suitable for desk-top publishing into hand-made deck. Images courtesy Gilles Daigle.
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