Prophetical, Educational and Playing CardsVan Rensselaer, John King, Mrs.
Religion
Prophetical, Educational and Playing Cards
Van Rensselaer, John King, Mrs.
Fortune-telling by cards -- History; Playing cards -- History
The standard pack has ten pip and four court cards, or fifty-six in all,
which are headed by a King, a Queen, a Cavalier and a Knave, and these
cards all have names given to them according to the country where they are
used. Cards for all parts of the world are made in Paris and local
preferences are closely followed, although most countries manufacture
their own cards, and a considerable revenue is gained by taxing the
product as well as the import of cards. But while the ancient emblems are
now commonly used in the countries mentioned, the important part of the
ancient pack has been discarded. This comprised twenty-one picture cards,
which were a most necessary adjunct to the pip cards, for when the
fortunes of the players were to be revealed by reading the prophecies of
the gods it was imperative that the two sets should be used in connection
with each other, but the complete pack that is still known as Tarots can
only be found in Italy.
The German cards were never intended for fortune-telling, but entirely for
gambling, and they have devices peculiarly their own. Hitherto no one has
explained why or for what purpose these symbols were invented, since they
had no particular significance when used in connection with the cards.
They are Acorns, Bells, Hearts and Leaves, and are partly heraldic emblems
connected with the game of Lansquenet. There are but three male court
cards called King, Over Knave and Under Knave.
[Illustration: ATOUTS OF AN EARLY ITALIAN PACK OF TAROTS
7 Il Carro
8 La Giustizia
9 L'Eremita
10 Ruota della Fortuna
11 La Forza
12 L'Appeso]
France uses the gambling pack invented for Charles VI about the year 1395.
This contains three court cards--namely, King, Queen and Knave, and the
cards display Carreaux, Piques, Coeurs and Trifles, or as we know them
Diamonds, Spades, Hearts and Clubs. This French pack is the only one
confining itself to two simple dominant colours, while all other cards are
extravagantly blazoned in variegated tints that are by no means as
harmonious as the distinctive French _Rouge et Noir_, which commends
itself so well to players for gambling purposes, that the packs of this
nation are being now rapidly introduced and adopted all over the world to
the exclusion of native designs, even although these symbols have been
inherited from the prophetical cards of prehistoric times. This is due to
the fact that the cards used for fortune-telling are not as convenient as
those that were invented particularly for gambling.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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