Animal Tarock by J. G. Pichler

The work of the card maker Johan Georg Pichler from Linz is documented by the Talon.cc database between 1767-1799. The revenue stamp shown on the heart card No. 1 was used in Upper Austria (Österreich ob der Enns) between 1772-1803, Linz customs office. From the diary entries of W.A. Mozart (W. Mayr / R. Sedlaczek - Das Grosse Tarock Buch) it follows that in 1783 he played tarock at home. This is what the playing material he used could look like.

The complete deck of 78 cards measuring 57 x 104 mm is made by careful engraving with stencil coloring. The manufacturer's identification is only on the knave (jack) of Clubs. Sküs/Excuse (tarock without a number) depicts a flutist, Pagat (tarock no. I) is designed as Hanswurst. The design of the other tarock cards shows various common, exotic and mythological animals. The reverse side is designed with a delicate blue pattern.

The cards are designed as two-headed, but the creators still fail to keep the composition identical on both sides, especially in the tarock cards. This design error is probably the most obvious on card no. XVIII.

Above: Animal Tarock cards by J. G. Pichler, Linz, late 18th century. 78 cards.

The most common deck of Austrian tarock today (codification IPCS #14- #16) was created around 1815. Already in Pichler's design of the court cards, certain common features can be identified. The king of diamonds, designed in profile with a turban and a scepter decorated with moons, foreshadows the current design of the king of spades. The attributes of the queens of hearts, spades and clubs (flowers, fans) also correspond to today's.

Acknowledgements & References

Thanks to Carsten Mintert for the tax stamp consultation.

• Austrian Playing Card Society : Talon►

• Wikipedia : Hanswurst►