Phelippe Ayet, 1574
49 assorted cards were found hidden in the lintel of a doorway, in an old building in Toledo, during demolition, and are now preserved in the the Museo de Santa Cruz de Toledo.
Archaic Spanish-suited playing cards.




Above: cards of archaic Spanish-suited pattern, printed from woodcuts by Phelippe Ayet and and Pierre Pepin, dated 1574. Phelippe Ayet was a card maker living in Valencia. Pierre Pepin was a French card maker who operated in Seville and who was known by Miguel Cervantes. A total of 49 assorted cards by these different makers were found hidden in the lintel of a doorway, in an old building in Toledo, during demolition, and are now preserved in the the Museo de Santa Cruz de Toledo. Size: 57 x 98 mms, reverse blank. Another similar pack has been discovered in Madrid by the same maker, who was recorded as residing in the Valencia region at that time. Cards from facsimile edition by Naipes Comas, 2002. The set includes 2 explanatory cards→
See also: Spanish Playing Cards • Phelippe Ayet • Baraja Morisca • History of Playing Cards • Seville 17th Century • Spanish National Pattern • The Money Bag pattern • Pedro Bosio • Gothic Spanish-Suited Cards • Rotxotxo Inventories • Navarra XVII Century • Quercia y Possi • Gandarillas • Naipes Artiguistas • Macharaviaya • Francisco Flores • 16th Century 'Rimac' Cards • Spanish-suited playing cards made in Germany Joan Barbot •

By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
View ArticlesCurator and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.