Current Highlights
Popular articles from the past 28 days.
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Tarot de Valverde de la Vera
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by Simon Wintle
A series of 24 surrealist engravings by Mexican artist Claudio Favier in which archetypal Tarot allegories are re-imagined as a mirror of the contradictory forces within us.
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Dungeons & Dragons “Curse of Strahd” Tarokka Deck
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by Adam Wintle
Enhance your Dungeons & Dragons game with the Tarokka Deck, a tarot-inspired set of cards that bring mystique to your adventures.
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Dungeons and Dragons Tarot
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by Adam Wintle
This 78-card officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) tarot deck offers a visually appealing variation from traditional tarot designs.
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Cyberpunk 2077 Tarot Cards
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by Adam Wintle
Polish cartoonist Jakub Rebelka created this set of tarot cards for the Cyberpunk 2077 video game.
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Cartomancy, Oracle and Divination Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Playing cards are used for fortune-telling, predicting the future or even as a psychological adjunct to folk medicine and therapy. Turning another card illumines the moment and new clarity emerges.
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Perspectives on the History of Tarot
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by Simon Wintle
Tarot, originally a 15th century card game from Italy, has evolved into a form of personal mysticism and spiritual exploration, offering new visions of expanding awareness.
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Canasta
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by Simon Wintle
Canasta is a card game of the Rummy family which originated in Uruguay probably about 1947.
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41: A Guide to Dating Playing Cards
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by Ken Lodge
Dating is a particularly tricky but very interesting problem to tackle and there are many pitfalls.
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Suicide King
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by Simon Wintle
The King of Hearts, holding a sword behind his head, is sometimes nicknamed the “Suicide King”. He can be seen to derive from a late medieval design showing a King wielding a battle axe.
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Rider-Waite Tarot
The Rider Waite Tarot was created at the beginning of the 20th century by Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith.
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Donkey game from Malaysia
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by Anthony Lee
“Donkey” children's card game designed and created by Ooi Yan Hee, manufactured by Hee Trading Co., Malaysia, 1984
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Cartes Lenormand
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by Simon Wintle
“Cartes Lenormand” published by H. P. Gibson & Sons Ltd, London, printed in Germany by B. Dondorf, 1920s.
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Manufacture of Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Traditionally cardmakers worked in guilds with long apprenticeships under master craftsmen.
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Jaques’ Happy Families
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by Simon Wintle
In 1851 the games manufacturer John Jaques of London (founded in 1795) commissioned a set of drawings from John Tenniel, later Sir John, the chief cartoonist of Punch, for their new game of Happy Families.
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Chinese Playing Cards 中国纸牌
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by Simon Wintle
The Chinese took their cards with them wherever they travelled and traded in the East, and we find Chinese cards in use not only in the mainland but also in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore, North Borneo and Vietnam.
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The Joker Card
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by Simon Wintle
The 'Joker' is believed to have been invented by American Euchre players who, when modifying the rules sometime during the 1860s, decided that an extra trump card was required.
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Mamluk Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Nã'ib, the game of lieutenants... these cards are amongst the earliest Arabic playing cards extant.
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Playing Card Design
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by Simon Wintle
The playing card calls for artistic treatment and although the constrained size imposes some limitations there is an almost bewildering wealth and variety of designs in playing cards and their tuck boxes. The serious player requires design to be unobtrusive so that aesthetic considerations remain in the background. However, with modern manufacturing technology more eye-catching designs are becoming popular as gifts, collectibles and for their attractive appearance.
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The History of Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Playing Cards have been around in Europe since the 1370s. Some early packs were hand painted works of art which were expensive and affordable only by the wealthy. But as demand increased cheaper methods of production were discovered so that playing cards became available for everyone...
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History of Court Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The court cards in English packs of playing cards derive from models produced by Pierre Marechal in Rouen around 1565. A pack of such cards is preserved in the museum at Rouen.
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Early History of Playing Cards & Timeline
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by Simon Wintle
Out of an apparent void, a constellation of references in early literature emerge pointing to the sudden arrival of playing cards, principally in Belgium, Germany, Spain and Italy around 1370-1380. Discover the early history of playing cards in our timeline from 50AD to the 15th century.
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The Visconti-Sforza Tarot, c.1460
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by Simon Wintle
This pack of tarot cards appears to have have been made in the Bembo workshop in Cremona for Bianca Maria Visconti, c.1460.