History of cards...

From The Guardian:


Photo: The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds, by Georges de la Tour (1635). Photograph: Corbis






Leaders of the pack: A short history of cards
Who would have thought the humble deck of cards was once a luxury only the aristocracy could afford?
By Andy Bodle

For a symbol of international harmony and cross-cultural cooperation, look no further than the nearest pack of cards. Playing cards in their present form are the result of ideas and refinements from at least eight countries and four continents over the course of 1,200 years.

The concept, and the technology to make the paper they are printed on, probably originated in China around the end of the first millennium. During the Tang dynasty of the 9th century AD, a Princess Tongchang is said to have played the "leaf game". This was probably a paper form of dominoes rather than true cards, but 100 years later Emperor Mu- Tsung is recorded as shuffling and dealing the real thing.

Cards did not arrive in Europe until the mid-14th century, either in Islamic Spain or as the result of trade between the Mamluks of Egypt and Italy. By this time they were already in something like their current form, so it's reasonable to assume that the basic mechanics of cards - the four-suit system, royalty, and perhaps the concept of taking tricks - were established either in India or the Middle East.

In the first years after their arrival, cards were illustrated by hand, and as such were a luxury only the aristocracy could afford. But such was the demand for packs that cheaper methods of production were called for, and by the early 15th century the Germans had mastered printing with wood blocks. With the hardware easily obtainable, cards became popular among people of all classes.

The earliest packs consisted of four suits - cups, swords, coins and polo sticks - and there were no female faces in the game, the royalty consisting of a king and two viceroys. It was mid-15th-century France, where card fever really took hold, that invented the suits and court cards that most countries use today.

Britain was something of a latecomer to the game - the first recorded mention of cards is in a statute prohibiting their importation in 1463. But here too the law failed to contain the new craze, and by 1629 British card manufacturers had their own union.

By 1534, the French writer Rabelais could name 35 different card games. The games played today are the descendants of diversions invented by the Spanish (bezique), the Italians (primero, which evolved into ecarte, trump and, ultimately, whist), the Brits (cribbage), Uruguayans (canasta) and even the Amish (euchre).

The New World made several other contributions. The pilgrims were manufacturing their own decks within decades of arriving, and it was American devotees who gave us rounded edges, the joker card (originally a special card in the game called euchre), the process of lamination, and dozens of games including poker, pinochle and bridge.

Hands of time: pivotal moments in the evolution of cards

c820AD

Cards are invented in China, during the Tang dynasty. The first suits are in fact increasing denominations of currency (coins, strings of coins, myriads of strings, and tens of myriads), which suggests they may have been derived from actual money. Alternative theories say they may have been a paper adaptation of dominoes, or dice.

Early 14th century

Probable first arrival of cards in Europe, in Italy. They have travelled from China via India and the Middle East, and specifically with the Mamluks of Egypt.

1371

First documentary evidence of cards in Spain; in a Catalan rhyming dictionary, of all places.

1377

First detailed description of playing cards in Europe, by a Swiss monk named John of Rheinfelden.

1380

Suddenly, they're everywhere - mentions of cards crop up as far afield as Florence, Basle, Regensburg, Brabant, Paris and Barcelona.

1392-93

Charles or Charbot Poupart, the treasurer of the household of Charles VI of France, records payment for the painting of three sets of cards.

1440

Johann Gutenberg invents the movable-type press. Improvements in printing technology mean that cards can now be mass-produced.

1462

Earliest reference to cards in Britain. This and most of the mentions thereafter are bannings, fulminations against the evils of gambling, or notices of arrest for so doing.

1480

The four suits now commonly seen worldwide are first used in France, adapted from the German suits of hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns.

Late 1400s

The ace, or one, which had always had the lowest value in cards, starts to gain a special significance. Ace becomes high.

Early 1500s

Card-makers at Rouen hit upon the distinctive card illustrations that we still use today.

1520

First mention of the game of triomphe in Spain. Now obsolete, the game spawned many games such as euchre, whist and bridge.

1674

Publication of Charles Cotton's Compleat Gamester, one of the first attempts to lay down authoritative rules for many card and dice games.

1685

The first paper money is issued in North America - as IOUs on the backs of used playing cards - by Jacques de Meulles, the French governor of Quebec.

1711

First systematic tax on packs of cards introduced.

1742

Publication of Edmund Hoyle's Short Treatise on the Game of Whist. The pamphlet goes through several editions and becomes one of the bestselling publications of the 18th century.

1793

Post-revolutionary French authorities ban the depictions of royalty on playing cards. Kings, queens and jacks became liberties, equalities and fraternities. This stands for 12 years until Napoleon comes to power and tells them not to be so silly.

1834

First documented game of poker on a Mississippi river steamer. The game, a refinement of the Persian game "as nas", takes its name from a similar French game, "poque".

Mid-1800s

Card names abbreviated and placed in the corner for the first time. Partly for this reason, the "knave" (whose abbreviation is the same as for "king") now becomes the "jack".

1857

First appearance of the joker.

1868

Bezique is introduced to England. The rules, as published, are unclear; panic in the streets.

Early 20th century

Canasta is invented in South America. It becomes globally popular after WW2.

1909

In a New York club, ET Baker invents gin rummy. It catches on in Hollywood, and subsequently the world, in the 1940s.

1914-18

Pontoon is the game of choice among soldiers in first world war trenches.

1925

Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, on a cruise from San Francisco to Havana, perfects the rules of contract bridge, which becomes the most popular card game in the west.

1935

Card manufacturers attempt to introduce a fifth suit (not black, not red, but green) called the "eagles" in the US and "crowns" in the UK. It is a dismal failure.

Original article

Fascinating card facts...

From The Guardian:, Saturday November 22 2008

Without cards, there would be no sarnies. You're probably aware the sandwich was named after the 18th-century earl. But do you know why John Montagu dreamed up his eponymous snack? Because he didn't want to leave the cribbage table to go to dinner.

Many individual cards have picked up nicknames over the years. For example, the four of clubs is often known as Ned Stokes, the Devil's four-poster, or the Curse of Mexico; the queen of clubs, Queen Bess; the nine of diamonds, the curse of Scotland; the king of hearts, the suicide king (because he appears to be stabbing himself through the head); the king of diamonds, the man with the axe; the ace of clubs, the horseshoe; the ace of spades, old frizzle.

The king of hearts is the only without a moustache - but not because of superior personal hygiene. He originally had one, but it was lost in the reproduction of the original design. A similar mistake caused his axe to become a sword.

Ever wondered why the ace of spades' spade is larger and more ornate than the others? It's a tax thing. The first systematic duty was imposed on cards in 1711, and in order to indicate that the fee had been paid, a tax stamp was placed on the top card, which was usually the ace of spades. In 1828 it was decided instead that the Stamp Office would print an official ace of spades with the royal coat of arms to signal that the tax had been paid.

Chemistry lessons would be a lot harder if it weren't for cards. For it was while playing his beloved patience that Russian scientist Dmitri Mendeleev had his brainwave about the organisation of the elements - and thus was born the periodic table.

Gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok, who was shot dead at the poker table in 1876, is not the only famous person to have died while playing - comedian Buster Keaton and singer Al Jolson also pegged it at the card table.

Cards were freely available in Britain from the 15th century onwards - until April 1940, when the Nazi invasion of Norway interrupted our supply of cardboard. Winston Churchill insisted that playing card manufacture be maintained at any cost, as they were the soldiers' principal form of entertainment in the trenches.

During the Vietnam war, the US Playing Card Company manufactured crates of aces of spades to ship out to troops. Rumour had it that the Vietcong held the card in mortal dread, believing it to be the symbol of death. Rumour was wrong, but airdropping the cards over Vietnamese villages apparently helped the US soldiers' morale.

A few common English phrases taken from the table: on the cards, play your cards right, steal a march (euchre), not my strong suit, streets ahead (cribbage), ace up your sleeve, beats me, call your bluff, high roller, pass the buck, up the ante, when the chips are down, left in the lurch, raw deal, follow suit, come up trumps.

Original article.