1. Unit 1.2 History of Card Games
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2. First Playing Cards
The earliest playing cards originated in Central Asia.
10th century, Chinese used paper-like dominoes, shuffling and dealing them in new games.
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3. Introduction of Cards into Europe
Islamic cards were introduced into southern Europe about 1350.
The suit signs—Coins, Cups, Swords, Sticks—were variously adapted.
"Moorish" card, 14th century (?)
(Instituto Municipal de Historia, Barcelona)
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4. First European Playing Cards
The first European playing cards date from 1370 and come from Spain, Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.
No cards from this time period survive.
The earliest surviving cards come from around the 15th century - cards were hand-painted and only afforded by the wealthy.
With the invention of woodcuts in the 14th century, Europeans began mass-producing cards.
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5. First European Playing Cards
By 1500, three main suit systems had evolved:
These three suit systems became the basis of standard national patterns.
The Ambras Court Hunting Pack (1445)
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6. Evolution of German Cards
Germans were the most imaginative
Their cards tended to be decorated with lively scenes
The German national pattern finally settled on four suits (Leaves, Hearts, Acorns and Hawk Bells) from which the Queen was banished.
German deck, Nüremberg, 1813
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7. Evolution of Tarocco The Italians also added a wild card (the Fool)
Among the Florentines, the trump suit expanded until their Tarocco totaled 97 cards. The game spread northwards, called Tarot by speakers of French.
The Tarot did not acquire its modern use by fortune tellers until the 1780s
Divinatory Tarot cards by Etteilla, Paris, 1789
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8. French Playing Cards
It was the French who were instrumental in bringing the pleasures of card play to people in Europe and the New World.
French cards soon flooded the market and were exported to England first, and then in the British Colonies of America.
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9. Evolution of Cards - French
French card makers, c. 1470, invented the familiar suits
Popular demand led to mass production through the new technique of the woodcut.
Designs for whole sheets of cards were drawn and carved on woodblocks, then inked and printed on paper, finally separated and glued on cardboard.
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10. Card Indices
After 1860, Europeans and Americans came to accept card indices, markings on the faces that declared their values. Early indices included:
Triplicates, when the standard card face
bears miniature faces in two corners
Border indices, when numerals and suit
signs line the edges of the card
Numerals inscribed within the suit signs
Large numerals dominating the card face
The most popular indices proved to be the small markings in diagonally opposite corners, or, less frequently, in all four corners.
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11. History of Modern Suit System
Our modern suits are from French designs that designed a four-suit system.
These suits of spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts, and the use of simple shapes and flat colors helped facilitate manufacture.
The king of hearts represented Charlemagne, the king of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the king of clubs was Alexander the Great, and the king of spades was King David from the Bible.
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12. Early French Suits GAD Hearts Spades Diamonds Clubs King Queen Jack
CHARLES
DAVID
CAESAR
ALEXANDER
Queen
JUDITH
PALLAS
RACHEL
ARGINE
Jack
LA HIRE
OGIER
HECTOR
JUDAH
Paris pattern, double-ended, 1806
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13. Suits and Patterns – Swiss French
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14. History of the Saxony Pattern
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15. Suits and Patterns - Italian
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16. Suits and Patterns – Spanish
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17. American Playing Cards
Americans started producing playing cards around 1800.
The cards had several improvements:
Double-headed court cards - no upside down cards
Varnished surfaces for durability and smoothness in shuffling.
Identifying marks on the borders or corners
Rounded corners for extended life
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18. Improvements to Playing Cards
Rounded corners
Refined finishes
Double-ended figures
Joker was born, we now know that the Tarot had not yet entered the U. S. when the Joker first appeared. ,
Double-headed courts by Russell & Morgan, Cincinnati, 1885
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19. The Joker GAD The Joker came from a form of Euchre.
In this game two Jacks of the same color are designated as being powerful.
When immigrants carried the game to the US, they also brought some terms, such as Bauer (= Jack).
Euchre players still speak of their two highest cards as "the left and the right Bauer," but the key word is envisioned as "Bower".
Americans added to the Euchre deck a card even higher than the designated Bowers.
It was called the Imperial Bower or the Best Bower. This was the genesis of the Joker.
Joker by Victor Mauger, New York, 1875
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20. Evolution of the Joker
After the introductions of the Best Bower into Euchre, Americans equipped card games with an extra card (usually as a wild card). Later it became known as the Joker—meaning one that changes character or pops up unexpectedly.
The use of a jester is logical, not only because of his unpredictable behavior, but because he complements the court cards.
The Joker is one of America's most picturesque contributions to the history of playing cards.
Joker by Andrew Dougherty, New York, 1875
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21. The Joker The Joker originated around 1870
The Joker was known as the "Best Bower"
The Joker was the highest card in the game of Euchre.
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22. The most common representation of the joker is a “Fool”.
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23. The stick can be often seen on Joker cards.
The Joker
The stick can be often seen on Joker cards.
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24. Sometimes the Joker plays a musical instrument.
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25. Sometimes the Joker plays a musical instrument.
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26. The Joker is sometimes seen as a female.
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27. The Joker
The Jokers especially in non-standard games can have a special design that has only little if any resemblance with the fool.
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28. Other Uses of Cards Besides playing games, cards were also used for:
Advertise products and services
Promote ideas
Depict famous landmarks
Depict famous events
Depict famous people
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29. Depict famous people US-Elections 1963. John F. Kennedy
and other persons of the Kennedy-Clan,
also politicians from the democratic party.
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30. Advertise products
Left: Original Pattern slightly modified, king holds beer glass in hand; Right: Pattern newly designed, but nevertheless you can see the Bavarian Pattern shimmering through.
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31. Advertise products
Two examples for advertising in free spaces on the card picture Left: Tobacco ad from the 1930s Right: Ad for the newspaper "Der neue Landfreund" ca. 1980
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32. Non-Standard Cards
In this game not only the court cards were redesigned, also the suit symbols were changed Theme is the "Honey Barrel" a fairy tale by Lew Ustinow; advertisement for the theatre Altenburg-Gera.
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33. Non-Standard Cards
Here the courts are only stylized. These cards were drawn by the artist Sonia Delaunay.
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34. Non-Standard Cards
This card game represents the four elements. But they do not appear as the four suits; they are ranks (king = earth, queen = water, jack = air and Joker = fire).
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35. Non-Standard Cards
The Michelin-Man as playing card court.
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36. Souvenir Cards
Left Example: View of the Canary Islands; right: model trains
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37. Educational Card Games
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38. Types of Card Games Adding Games Fishing Games
In adding games, players play in turns, adding the value of the cards together as they are played. The goal is to reach or avoid certain point totals.
Fishing Games
Each player is given a hand of cards with a layout of face up cards on the table. Players play one card in turn. If the card played matches the layout card, the layout card is captured and placed in front of the player. If a card does not match, it becomes part of the layout.
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39. Types of Card Games Matching Games
Players take turns playing cards to a discard pile. The card played must match the previous card or fit with the other card in some way (rank, suit, order). The player who match or fit form their hand are penalized by having to draw one or more cards. The object is to get rid of all of your cards.
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40. Types of Card Games Card Exchange Games
Players have a hand of cards and exchanging a card or cards with other players. The exchange may be with another player or with a stack of face-up or facedown cards. The object is usually to collect certain cards of set of cards.
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41. Types of Card Games Draw and Discard Games
Players have a hand of cards and two stacks on the table. The game involves picking up an unknown card from the stockpile or a known card from the discard pile. The player must then discard a card face-up on the discard pile. Players are trying to improve their position to some end goal.
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42. Types of Card Games Patience, Solitaire and Free Cell
Card games you play with yourself.
Traditionally, the cards were about half the size of regular playing cards.
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43. Variations on Card Games
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44. Fortune Telling Cards
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45. Tarot Cards
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46. Card Trivia
Why are Jacks called Jacks?
In the game All Fours, jack is the name of the point for winning a trick containing the knave of trumps.
The word jack also means 'a common man'
At first jack was considered a lower class term [ref. Dickens's Great Expectations, 1861; Estelle says mockingly of Pip "He calls the knaves, jacks, this boy!"] but it gained acceptance while knave became obsolete.
Modern English usage has knave as a scoundrel
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47. Card Trivia
Why does the Ace rank greater than the King?
There may at one time have been a political undertone, in that people wanted to see a king overthrown by the most humble peasant, in a card game if not in real life.
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48. What is the order of suit ranking?
Card Trivia
What is the order of suit ranking?
“It depends what game you are playing"
Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades: Preference, 500, Tysiacha
Clubs, spades, hearts, diamonds: Skat, Doppelkopf, Sheepshead
Spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds: Big Two (Choi Dai Di, Da Lao Er)
Diamonds, hearts, spades, clubs: Pusoy Dos
Clubs, hearts, spades, diamonds: Ninety-nine
Spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs: Contract Bridge
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49. The end of cards
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