History of Playing Cards explained in 5 Minutes
Video by Art of Impossible. In this video you will get a short overview of the most important historical facts about playing cards and their history.
Video by Art of Impossible. Playing cards appeared more than 1000 years ago and have changed a lot during the centuries. History of playing cards shows us that what we consider to be "normal" is a result of a long historical process.
In this video you will get a short overview of the most important historical facts about playing cards and their history.
By Adam Wintle
Thailand • Member since March 15, 1997
Adam has been involved in developing the site as well as reviewing new decks and conducting research. He is particularly interested in innovation, Kickstarter and East Asian cards. He is a member of the IPCS, 52 Plus Joker, and webmaster of the EPCS.
Activity for History of Playing Cards explained in 5 Minutes
Sign in to comment or save this article.
Related Articles
Early German playing cards
Some early examples of popular German playing cards from the XV and XVI centuries.
Playing Cards: A Secret History
Playing Cards: A Secret History
“Deck with French suits”
A facsimile of an early 19th century French-suited deck from the collection of F.X. Schmid.
Iohann Christoph Hes Tarot c.1750
Facsimile of Tarot de Marseille by Iohann Christoph Hes, Augsburg, c.1750.
Qajar dynasty playing cards at the British Museum
Two small groups of Qajar-period playing cards from Iran (Persia), photographed in 2017 in the Briti...
Georg Kapfler
Antique deck of old Bohemian playing cards of the German type manufactured by Georg Kapfler and date...
I. Schenck, Nuremberg
I. Schenck, Nuremberg, late XVIIIth century
Joseph Losch
French-suited pack with full-length courts by Joseph Losch, c.1800.
Interview with Tom and Judy Dawson from 52 Plus Joker
Interview with Tom and Judy Dawson from 52 Plus Joker. Chatting about the history of playing cards, ...
Card Crawl
Card Crawl is a Dungeon Crawler build around a modified deck of standard cards. The basic idea of th...
Hans Sebald Beham
Playing cards designed by Hans Sebald Beham (1500–1550).
Old Bavarian pattern
Uncut sheets of playing cards of the Old Bavarian pattern by Michael Schatzberger, Passau, c.1780.
Cotta Transformation playing cards
In 1804, J.G. Cotta, a publisher and bookseller in Tübingen, Germany, produced the first set of tran...
German Saxon Pattern
The German Saxon Pattern or “Schwerdter Karte”.
Das Kupferstichspiel des I.M.F. von 1617
Playing cards had been made as precious objects for wealthy clients since the late 14th century. The...
1: Playing Cards and their History: An Introduction and some links to other sites
What was considered the first mention of playing cards in England is in 1463 when Edward I banned th...
German playing cards
Card-playing rapidly became popular in medieval Bavaria and German printers were quick to supply the...
Playing cards in the Upper Rhine region
Documentary evidence suggests that card playing established itself in Italy in 1376, and then spread...
Logica Memorativa
Logica Memorativa playing cards by Thomas Murner, Brussels, 1507.
16th Century French Playing Cards based on Illustrations by Gurney Benham
This pack of cards by Rose & Pentagram is said to be based off Pierre Marechal, Rouen pack from the ...
Most Popular
Our top articles from the past 60 days
