Peruvian Playing Cards

Playing cards travelled from Spain to South America from the earliest decades of colonisation. Following Christopher Columbus’s voyages, Spanish cards circulated widely across the Atlantic, reaching Peru soon after the Spanish conquest. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro set sail from Panama with a small force to conquer the region for the Spanish Crown, and Peru was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of Peru, one of the principal administrative units of Spain’s overseas empire. Vast quantities of silver were extracted from Peruvian mines during the 16th and 17th centuries and shipped to Spain, while gambling, already a familiar Iberian pastime, became increasingly widespread in colonial society.

Archaeological excavations in the Lower Rímac Valley near Lima have uncovered dice and fragments of 16th-century Spanish playing cards manufactured in Seville, confirming that Peru was supplied with imported cards from Spain from an early date. These finds also reflect the broader administrative and commercial structures of the viceroyalty, through which goods, people, and cultural practices were tightly regulated and distributed under royal authority.

In everyday colonial life, Spanish playing cards were widely used by settlers in Peru as a familiar form of leisure. Played in taverns, wine shops and other informal social spaces, card games brought together people from different social backgrounds and were often accompanied by gambling and alcohol. Disputes arising during play were common and could escalate beyond the gaming table, drawing the attention of colonial authorities and courts, and underlining the social visibility of playing cards in early Peruvian colonial society.

Sheets of playing cards were already being produced and sold locally in Peru by the mid-16th century, but in 1553 their manufacture was prohibited, reflecting official concern over gambling and the Crown’s desire to maintain fiscal and moral control. The first printing press in Peru appeared in 1594, primarily to support evangelisation through the printing of Christian doctrine. Further presses soon followed, but their output was closely supervised to prevent the circulation of unapproved or subversive material. Most printed imagery was religious in character and often followed styles and tastes current in Spain. Decorative motifs included double-tailed mermaids, fish, hybrid creatures, demons, and dragons.

At some point, local woodcutters or engravers were employed, and by 1618 an accusation was made that Francisco del Canto had produced counterfeit playing cards. This suggests that a clandestine playing-card industry had already developed at an early stage, operating alongside official restrictions and imported supplies.

Above: cigarette cards for "La Mutua" tobacco company printed by Litografía Fabbri, c.1900 using the Spanish Cadiz pattern.

The Spanish Cadiz pattern has been used in Peru since before 1900 and has become a sort of Peruvian National Pattern. The Castilian and Catalan patterns are seldom seen. For many years foreign-made cards were imported, including those made for the Estanco de Naipes del Perú, until Peruvian printers began to produce their own.

Above: discoveries in archaeological excavations.

Above: playing cards engraved in silver, 1745.

Above: Fabrica de Cigarrillos Roldan y Cia, c.1890.

Above: cards for export to Peru made in Spain.

Above: Cádiz pattern made in Peru.

Above: Naipes Pavias, c.1990.

Above: Van Genechten for the Estanco de Naipes del Peru and Cigarrillo Holiday, c.1965.

Above: publicity pack for Laboratorios Magma, Lima, c.1990.

Above: Cefacidal by Offset Cecil S.A., Peru, c.1975.

Above: Coca-Cola themed deck for Ripley Depertment Store, anon manufacturer, c.2000.

Above: Vistas de Lima, c.1910.

Above: Vistas del Perú, c.1920s.

Above: Cusco Inca Souvenir.

Above: Peruvian Souvenir by Jan Mer S.A.C., c.2000.

Above: Peru Rail souvenir playing cards "exploring the land of the Incas" published by Peru Rail.

Above: Inka Culture playing cards, Peru, c.2000.

Above: “Líneas de Nazca” souvenir playing cards, Peru, c.2008.

Above: Fenno souvenir playing cards, Peru, c.2009.

Above: Ramses II Tarot, Peru. c.1975.

Above: TU DESTINO Cartomancy Cards by Zandrox Producciones, Miraflores, Peru, c.1975.

Above: El Reloj card game by Imprenta Lecaros.

Above: “Amos del Universo” superhero card game published by Litografía Goicochea Hnos, S.A., Lima, Peru, c.1980.