The History of Playing Cards
Portuguese-suited cards
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by Simon Wintle
Portuguese-suited cards with dragon aces, made in Italy, 1613.
Prisoners of War
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by Simon Wintle
Hand-made playing cards by French prisoners of war in Porchester Castle, Hampshire, c.1796.
Progressive Whist Cards
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by Tony Hall
There are references to “progressive whist” or “whist drives” during the 19th and early years of the 20th century but this form of the game came into its own during the 1920s and 30s.
Provence Pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The 'Provence' pattern contains figures which go back to the fifteenth century.
Real Fábrica de Macharaviaya
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by Simon Wintle
This is the official Spanish National pattern of the 18th century. Design and production was controlled from Madrid as a source of national or regional revenue. The factory was located in the town of Macharaviaya, in the province of Málaga.
Robert Morden’s Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The 52 Counties of England and Wales described as a pack of cards first published in London in 1676.
Royal Cards Reign of Queen Anne
“Royal Cards Reign of Queen Anne” cover historical events, both honourable and treacherous, during the period 1702 to 1704.
Russian Playing Card History - From the Beginnings to 1917
An in-depth review of the history of card-playing, gambling, legislation, manufacture and taxation of playing cards in Russia.
Russian Playing Card Monopoly
The Russian Playing Card Monopoly was established in March 1798 with all revenue going to support the St Petersburg Foundling Hospital. After the construction of the Foundling Hospital's own factory in 1817 (known as the Imperial Playing Card Factory), all subsequent Russian playing card production was located there until the end of the State monopoly in 1961.
Secondary Uses of Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The unprinted backs of playing cards have led people to use them for secondary purposes such as memorandum slips, bibliographic index cards, for declarations of love, rendezvous notes, emergency money, visiting cards and so on.
Sicilian playing cards by Antonio Monasta
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by Simon Wintle
"Il Leon" Sicilian playing cards, 40-card pack based on Spanish designs, made in Sicily by Antonio Monasta, probably 17th century.
Silver Cards from Peru
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by Simon Wintle
Spanish-suited silver cards, richly embellished and enamelled, from a former Spanish Viceroy in Peru, dated 1745.
South German Engraver
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by Simon Wintle
Conforming to an archaic format of 52 cards with banner 10s, female 'Sotas', horsemen and kings, the pack is of interest on account of a number of other packs with similar characteristics surviving elsewhere, suggesting an archaic variant of the Spanish-suited pack.
South Sea Bubble
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by Simon Wintle
The South Sea Bubble Playing Cards were first published in London by Thomas Bowles in 1720. The cards bear satirical portrayals of the speculators involved in the South Sea Bubble of 1720, providing a unique contemporary record of the feverish atmosphere of the time, as well as the fashions of dress.
Spanish National Pattern
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by Simon Wintle
Probably originating in Spain in the seventeenth century or even earlier, this pattern became strongly established by the Catalan cardmakers Rotxotxo of Barcelona.
Stuttgart pack, c.1430
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by Simon Wintle
The luxury, hand-painted Stuttgart Cards (Stuttgarter Kartenspiel) dated c.1430, with suits of ducks, falcons, stags and hounds.