Augsburg may lay strong claim to be considered the first seat of the art of engraving on wood, as a Guild of Card Makers is mentioned in the Town Roll of 1418. Sheets of cardboard on which the pack was printed from the block, but not yet coloured by hand, are to be found in museums, and it is supposed that the celebrated woodcut of St. Christopher, dated 1423, was produced in Augsburg, which about that time became the great exporting centre of card makers, against whom the manufacturers of Vienna, Venice, and Viterbo caused ordinances to be passed in their respective cities, forbidding the Augsburg and Nuremburg cards to be sold within their boundaries. This law is enforced to-day, which has prevented the introduction of foreign or French pips into Austria and Italy. An interesting sheet of cards produced by the tool was acquired by the writer in Nuremburg in 1910. It is about ten by twelve inches in size, and is made of several sheets of paper pasted together. The reverse side shows a lozenge pattern, and each one of the spaces contains a _fleur de lis_, emphasised at the corner by a square. The sheet has not been cut apart, and there are eighteen cards printed on it, comprising all those belonging to the court, and six pip cards bearing the usual German devices. The figures do not include a Queen, but have the King, the Ober, and the Unter. The King of Eicheln (or Acorns) is seated, wears a crown on top of a turban, and holds a sceptre. His Ober and Unter both carry two swords. Their dresses are richly trimmed and they wear lace at the neck and wrists. The King of Grünen (or Leaves) also wears a crown on top of a turban, but holds his sword in his right hand instead of his left, as is the case with his brother of Acorns. His chair is more ornate than that of any of the other kings. He wears at his neck two muslin lapels, such as were once worn with black silk gowns by ministers when preaching. One of his Knaves plays a flute, the other beats a drum. The King of Bells wears a five-pointed coronet and has a book on his knees. His Ober has a wig and a richly embroidered coat, but is bareheaded, as is his Unter, who is a ludicrously stout figure, parrying a thrust with his sword from an unseen warrior. The King of Hearts has a crown with _fleurs de lis_, and on the side of his chair is an anchor with the initials M. S., leading to the supposition that these cards were engraved by Martin Schongaur, the successor to the "Master E. S." The execution, however, is far inferior to his usual delicate work. The Ober of Hearts is armed with a pike and his hair is tied with ribbons, the two ends of which float carelessly down his back. He and the Unter of his suit can "ruffle with the best of them," for both have side arms as well as long pikes, and their coats are handsomely embroidered, while they wear lace at the throat and wrists.