Vogelspiel

Vogelspiel is a German card game known as the "cuckoo game" and this set was produced by Antoni Fescher, c.1760, whose details can be read on the ‘Auszahlt’ card. The cuckoo card is labelled ‘Pfeiff’, others are ‘Glas’ - goblet; ‘Narr’ - fool; ‘Hex’ - witch; ‘Würste’ - sausages; ‘Werda’ - a soldier; ‘Hott’ - horse; ‘Miau’ - cat; ‘Einkehrt’ - Inn and ‘Auszahlt’ - counting house. The Cucu pack (or ‘Coucou’) is a very old game with a complex history which may have originated in Bologna, Italy. It spread to countries such as Austria, Germany, all of Scandinavia, particularly Sweden. It is known as ‘Gnau’ in Denmark and Norway.

The pack has 32 cards: 10 pairs of picture cards with titles and a series numbered I - XII.

Above: Vogelspiel, a German card game known as the 'cuckoo game', by Antoni Fescher, c.1760. 32 cards: stencilled woodcut; 8.6 x 5.7 cm. Square corners, blue checkered backs with dotted crosses. Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France • Vogelspiel►

A similar set produced by Joseph Fetscher, Munich, is in the British Museum • Museum number 1896,0501.446►

One of the house cards has the legend "Joseph Fetscher", and the other "Kartenfabrikant in München".

Above: 20 picture cards from a 32-card Vogelspiel card game produced by Joseph Fetscher in Munich, late 18th century. Hand-coloured woodcut, backs printed with a pattern of circles and stars in blue. © The Trustees of the British Museum.