What are the sides of the map called? Who Invented Playing Cards

When historians became interested in the question of who invented playing cards, the invention was attributed to the artist Jacqueline Grangonner. It was believed that in the 14th century, a Frenchman drew pictures on pieces of cardboard to entertain Charles VI, who suffered from mood swings.

However, it turned out that the cards are much "younger". They are mentioned in earlier documents, where in question about the ban on card games for clerics. In fact, analogues of modern maps appeared in East Asia.

ancient maps

The prototype of maps, oblong sheets, is mentioned in the sources of the Tang Dynasty, this is 618-917. Even before that, similar rectangular tablets were made from other materials: bone, wood, bamboo. In India, cards called ganjifa were round in shape. The Japanese played uta-garuta, where instead of a deck they used mussel shells with various patterns.

Playing cards, as close as possible to modern ones, were already used in Korea and the Celestial Empire in the 12th century. It is believed that from there they came to India, then Persia, Egypt, and only then to Europe.

For a long time, proud Europeans denied the merit of Muslims in the invention of maps. But the Arabs had their own deck, something like Tarot cards. It consisted of 22 trump cards of four suits and 56 minor arcana. The Koran forbade drawing people, so only ornaments, the so-called arabesques, were applied. The suits were cups, swords, staves and pentacles in the form of coins.

Maps in Europe

Arab sailors and merchants brought maps to Europe. They are mentioned in ancient chronicles starting from 1367. As a rule, all entries about the cards refer to the ban. But since the 16th century, the aristocracy, without embarrassment, welcomes their image in their portraits.

It was Grangonner who managed to improve the pictures by depicting figures on the maps that have practically not changed to this day.

Each card with the image of a person has a historical prototype. The king of spades is the biblical David, the king of diamonds is Julius Caesar, the king of clubs is Alexander the Great. But in the time of Grangonner they were correlated with someone else from his contemporaries. For example, queen of spades- Athena (aka Jeanne d'Arc), tambourine - Rachel (in France she was painted from the beautiful Agnes Sorel), queen of worms - Elena of Troy (Isabella of Bavaria), clubs - Argina (Charles VII's wife Mary). Four brave royal knights became jacks, i.e. squires.

Inanimate virtues were endowed with military metaphorical meanings. Worms were made a symbol of courage, diamonds with spades symbolized weapons, clubs - food supplies. The most valuable card, the ace, has become the epitome of money.

In Russia, cards came into use around 1600. There is a version that the Ukrainian Cossacks played them much earlier, having borrowed from the Germans. Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich showed strictness, for card games they were punished with torture with a red-hot iron and tearing out the nostrils. But already under Peter, two small factories for the production of cards opened in Moscow, and merchants had the opportunity to make good money.

Back then, cards were made from poor quality paper. To somehow increase the strength, it was rubbed with talcum powder. When shuffling, such sheets slid, since then the name “satin” has taken root.

Satin maps were well known in the USSR. Fortunately, progress does not stand still and today there are more durable options, plastic-coated or 100% plastic.

It is generally accepted that cards come from China, but Poland, Germany and France can also be considered as countries that gave the world cards, because card games were no less common among their peoples than in China.

Deck Composition

A standard card deck consists of 36 cards, but this is already considered a modern option, however, initially there were 54 cards in the deck: 36 main and 18 auxiliary. Each card is "repeated" 4 times - one in each of the four suits.

Of interest are the names and depicted on playing cards. Many are accustomed to seeing half and mirror figures of kings and ladies, but this is a trend of the New Age, and in the old days the figures of the cards were drawn in full growth.

All cards in the deck are divided into four suits, which are commonly called:
- hearts;
- tambourines;
- clubs;
- peaks.

Map designations

The cards of clubs and spades are usually denoted in black, and diamonds and spades in red. The cards have a numerical designation and an image in the form of drawings. The numerical cards include the smallest cards in terms of seniority, and the “pictures” are more significant, such as ace, king, queen, jack. Ace is the most significant card, in many translations it is listed as "deputy head" or "deputy king". The word "ace" in Greek means "the sower of slander", and from German it is almost the devil. Either way, this card is insidious and gives a lot of power.

The position of the king and queen cards in the deck is obvious, and the name speaks for itself. What can not be said about the jack card. Translated from French, “jack” is a servant, on the map he is depicted as a young man in the form of a squire.

Suits

Very interesting names of suits. Previously, instead of the usual spades or worms, there were the following designations:
- cups;
- swords;
- wands;
- denarii.

The cups that were awarded to the winners turned over time into hearts, reminiscent of the shape of a cup and heartfelt gratitude, and the wands into clubs or crosses. Denarii turned into tambourines, and swords became sharp peaks, in fact, denoting weapons.

In some decks there is another card called. On the card, the joker is depicted as a jester in color or black and white, he rarely plays, but his move is always designed to confuse the plans (cards) of opponents.

Cards - rectangular pieces of material made of heavy-duty plastic, specially prepared cardboard or thin paper, depicting various motifs, collected in a set for use in a variety of card games, fortune-telling, magic tricks or card tricks. As a rule, all cards are palm-sized so that they are comfortable to hold in your hands.
A complete set of cards is called a card deck, a deck in which 32 cards is called a small deck of playing cards, a deck with 52 cards is called a large or Anglo-American, and the cards that the player holds during the game are his (player's) card hand. The deck of cards is unified, one deck of cards can be used in many different games, some of which include a gambling component - a game for money.
Front side each card, as it is also called the picture or the face of the card, is marked. The index of playing cards includes the designation of the strength of the card - deuce (from English deuce) ... five (from English five) ... ten (from English ten), jack (from English jack), lady (from English queen), king (from English king), ace (from English ace) and card suit- hearts (from English hearts - hearts), tambourine (from English diamonds - diamonds), peak (from English spades - shovels), clubs (from English clubs - club). The style of playing cards, as a rule, each country has its own: there is a Russian series of playing cards, French playing cards, rich traditions in Italian masters, cards from Germany, Sweden, Austria also have their own distinctive feature, their own national flavor.
The back side of the cards we call the back, in most cases it is a simple and at the same time sophisticated pattern, each card manufacturer uses its own unique pattern, sometimes branded manufacturers place their logo on the back of the cards. The color of the back of a deck of cards is rarely not blue or red, sometimes green and brown, less often there are cards with white and black backs. In exceptional cases, the difference is drastic, for example Bicycle magic cards with a transparent back or playing cards with a multi-colored back "Rainbow cards" from the same Bicycle company.

Cards by purpose are divided into:

1. Playing cards - the most common type of cards on our planet, 92% of the population at least once held one of them in their hands. The history of playing cards has more than four thousand years, the most ancient playing (namely, playing, not fortune-telling) cards came to us from China and date back to 1400 BC. Nowadays, there are more than 10,000 basic card games, plus a lot of variations and varieties of the main card games, for example, the Poker game has more than 200 subspecies, the main of which is Texas Hold'em (from the English. Texas Hold "em). Since There are many types of playing cards, we will look at them in more detail in the next chapter.

2. divination cards , or the most common among them are Tarot cards - depending on the style used, various famous decks received names:
- egyptian tarot - egyptian motifs on pictures of cards
- Marseille Tarot - cards in the French style of the 17th century
- Tarot cards of Visconti-Sforza - the cards are made in the style of the Italian Renaissance
- Rider-Waite Tarot cards - the cards were drawn at the beginning of the twentieth century, this is the most popular deck of Tarot cards, which left many clones and descendants behind it
- Tarot cards of Thoth - the last fundamental work of the master Aleister Crowley, which summarizes all his knowledge and beliefs
- Lenormand Tarot cards - Lenormand cards also belong to the category of divination cards

3. Magic cards or magic trick cards (from the English magic tricks cards) - card manipulation and small card magic shows will be available to you with these cards. Best cards for tricks in terms of their characteristics, and this is quality, high slip (which greatly simplifies their manipulation) and durability, are Bicycle cards, this brand is the undisputed leader in this area. In our store you can buy magic cards of this company in a large assortment. Videos with card tricks can be found on these sites:
- //www.howtodotricks.com/
- //www.trickmagic.com/
- //www.goodtricks.net/cardmagic.html

4. Solitaire cards (from the English Solitaire Cards Game) - in most cases, standard playing cards are suitable for laying out your favorite solitaire (be it a small 32-card deck or a 52-card big deck playing cards, it all depends on the type of solitaire). For exclusive solitaire games, separate decks are sold with the required number of certain cards by suit, in addition to the set, there is a booklet with the rules for this solitaire game.

5. Specific cards - cards that could have been included in one of the categories above, but for some reason did not get there, since the emphasis is not on the game or the convenience of handling them in card tricks, namely on their specifications, are divided into their subcategories
- cards for kids- developing cards with very bright and memorable pictures with fairy-tale characters
- joke cards- cards with funny pictures, parodies of famous people, also political cartoons and the like
- cards with erotic pictures- erotic cards and cards with porn photos, I think, do not need comments

Cards are divided according to the material of manufacture:

- cardboard cards (from English paper playing cards)– standard cards are usually the cheapest on the market. But remember - good (that means branded) paper / cardboard cards will serve you for a long time, as firm manufacturers use thin corrugated and pressed cardboard High Quality.
- plastic coated cards (from English plastic coated playing cards) - high-tech cards with a thin layer of plastic applied over the card to give strength and excellent sliding characteristics. Again, in our concept, plastic-coated cards are associated with cheap Chinese consumer goods, what to choose - 5 decks brought from China or 1 normal branded one - it's up to you.
- plastic cards (from English plastic playing cards) - the most durable and durable cards among all the others for the production of one deck of plastic cards use high-tech PVC plastic. 100% plastic cards with proper care and use will last you up to 500 times longer than cardboard cards,
- exclusive cards - a golden deck of playing cards, cards with silver additions or with inserts from other precious metals- the most elite expensive cards, but you must admit, they will be a wonderful gift for a lover gambling.

Playing cards (in English. Playing cards). Diverse characteristics of playing cards, division of playing cards into groups, systematization of playing cards by website version NashPoker.Net

Playing Cards by size:

- standard size playing cards or bridge size (from English bridge size) - playing cards with the following physical parameters: 2.25 "x 3.50" - 2.25 inches wide, 3.50 inches long, which is approximately 5.72 centimeters by 8.89 centimeters.

- poker playing cards or poker size cards (from English poker size) - playing cards with a wider base, the width of poker cards is 2.50" inches, the height of the cards is 3.50" inches or 6.35 cm by 8.89 cm.

- cards of unusual shapes (triangular, round, or 5x) - these cards are made for fun rather than serious card play and can be great and original gift for the gambler.

Playing cards are divided according to the number of cards in the deck:

- small deck of cards - there are 36 cards in the deck, the rules of such games as fool, whist, preference, point, king, thousand allow playing with a small deck ...
- large deck of cards – there are 52 cards in a deck plus an additional 2 jokers, a large deck of cards is a prerequisite for such card games: poker, bridge, blackjack, baccarat, seca…
- cards for a specific game - the number of cards in such decks is non-standard, such a deck always includes the rules of this game. For example, a deck of cards for playing pinochle (from the English pinocle or pinochle) has 48 cards - 2 sets of tens, jacks, queens, kings and aces, for another exciting game canasta (from Spanish canasta) is supposed to be a double large deck with additional jokers. There are still a lot of new card games, often decks for such exclusive games are produced by branded playing card manufacturers: Modiano, Copag, Bicycle, Piatnik, Bee, Dal Negro, Kem, Fournier.

Playing cards according to the size of the index are classified:

- cards with standard index (in English Regular Index or Standard Index) - cards with a regular index of medium size

- high index cards (in English Jumbo Index or Large Index) - playing cards with the index size that is optimal in our opinion

- huge index cards (in English Magnum Index or Super Index) - these cards are made specifically for people with poor eyesight

Playing cards for the number of indices are divided into:

- (abbreviated designation 2 Pips) - one index is located in the upper left corner, the second in the lower right, this arrangement of indices is more familiar to us and is generally accepted in the USA, but does not take into account left-handed card game lovers.

- (short designation 4 Pips) - these cards are more common in Europe and are available in a large assortment from any European manufacturer of playing cards, be it Modiano, Piatnik, Dal Negro or Fournier.

The cards are divided by the color of the index and the picture:

- (from the English standard color playing cards) - the most common playing cards in our time with a standard color of indices and suits - red is provided for worms and tambourines, black for spades and crosses, drawings of senior cards are painted in free colors.

- four color playing cards (from English 4 color playing cards) - these playing cards are gradually disappearing into history, they were popular in Europe until the middle of the last century, their hallmark are four (instead of two for normal cards) reserved colors for suits and indices. Red color is provided for the suit of hearts, blue is responsible for diamonds, black color corresponds to spades suit, and green color is reserved for crosses, jacks, queens, kings and aces are painted in a moderate style only in primary colors.

- two-color exclusive playing cards (from English. 2 color exclusive playing cards) - special and rare playing cards, can be made in one color or two colors with different variations of shades. These cards also include gold and gold-plated playing cards - they look very impressive.

Gradation of playing cards by shirt color:

- playing cards with one main back color - the pattern of the pattern and the face on the back of the cards is made in the same color, as a rule, this color is blue or red, although there are no exceptions to others.
- playing cards with colorful background on the shirt - there are playing cards, where the card back is painted in all the colors of the rainbow, a very interesting effect arises when such a deck is shuffled, and cards with a multi-colored pattern on the back also belong here.
- backside playing cards - the patterns on the shirt are different, maybe it's something neutral - a flower, a landscape, a cute animal, a picture of a car, a frame from a movie, or just an advertisement ...

Cards by manufacturer:

- branded playing cards – You can find the highest quality playing cards in the line of one of the world's leading card manufacturers, whether they are cardboard cards, plastic-coated playing cards or 100% plastic cards – you are guaranteed to enjoy the game. Manufacturers giants in the playing card market:
1. The American company United States Playing Card Company (abbreviated as U. S. Playing Card Co. or USPC) owns such well-known brands of playing cards - Bicycle Bee KEM Hoyle Aviator Congress Maverick Streamline.
2. The Italian company Modiano is the leader in the production of cards in Europe.
3. The Brazilian playing card company Copag is a major player in the American playing card market.
4. The Spanish company Fournier - produces high-quality and affordable playing cards.
5. Austrian company Piatnik - accumulated 150 summer experience in the production of playing cards reflected in the quality of products, Piatnik is rightfully proud of its traditions.
6. Another representative of the Italian school of playing card manufacturers, Dal Negro company - quality, quality and once again the quality of the released products.
7... There are a lot of manufacturers in the playing card market, but the share of these companies is very small...

- unbranded playing cards - as a rule, playing cards made in China, the name written on the box resembles or is consonant with the global brand of playing cards, the quality is naturally several times lower, of course this also applies to prices.

- playing cards on order - you can order your own deck with the image of your friends, family or your colleagues. The design can be either yours or the manufacturer's. The cost of a deck of cards to order depends on the quantity of the order, the more decks with cards you need, the lower the price of one deck.

We have reviewed the main categories of playing cards and now we can easily read conventions on any deck, for example:
Example #1: Modiano Cristallo red plastic playing poker cards size 4 pips jumbo index
Example #2: Copag 139 blue plastic coated playing cards poker size 2 pips regular index

We hope this article will become a guide to playing cards and help you make the right choice when buying playing cards. The article is live, send us your wishes and clarifications by mail ...

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) - Sunrise
Overture to the symphonic poem "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (1896)

Figurines "Spades, Clubs", "Hearts", "Diamonds"
"Nao" Spain - 2000s

Playing cards are rectangular sheets of cardboard or thin plastic used for card games. A complete set of playing cards to play is called a deck. In addition, cards are used for solitaire and divination. And cards are a favorite attribute of magicians.

The open side of the cards is called the face, the closed side is called the shirt. On the face, as expected, there are images of the suit and value - the weight of the card in card games. The backs of all cards in the deck are the same.
For most modern games the usual, so-called, French deck (54 cards), or its truncated version (36 cards) is used. There are games for which special decks are used.

Probably, I will not be mistaken in saying that in every house there is at least one deck of ordinary playing cards. Such a familiar utilitarian item, but it, like everything that surrounds us, has its own history.

The first playing cards appeared in East Asia: in China, there are references to a game in which oblong sheets were used - they date back to the 9th century - the period of rule in the Tang Dynasty (618-917). Later, playing with oblong sheets is mentioned in Korea and Japan.
Before the advent of paper maps, the Chinese and Japanese used flat, oblong tablets made of wood, bamboo, or even ivory. In different cultures, cards took on different shapes and forms: in India, for example, they played round cards, which were called Ganjifa.

Ancient Chinese cards

Theodor (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Playing cards (Prado - Madrid)
There is no reliable information about how the cards got to Europe. But, most likely, the route was like this: from China through India and Persia to Egypt, and already from Egypt to Europe. Actually, the Arabs, or rather, Arab merchants and sailors, as a rule, were the usual intermediaries for borrowing from China.
In Egypt, during the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517), their own cards appeared, which resembled modern cards Tarot. The Mamluks observed the prohibition of the Koran on the image of people and therefore applied only strict geometric ornaments - arabesques to the cards.

The first mention of playing cards in Europe dates back to the 14th century. Most often, these references are associated with the ban on card games in various European countries. But, despite all the prohibitions, by the middle of the 16th century in Europe everyone from commoners to kings played cards.

There is a version that the cards, in a form very close to modern, were invented by someone Jacquemain Gringonner - the jester of the French king
Charles VI the Mad. The king suffered from a mental disorder, and therefore was in sadness and despondency. In order to somehow entertain his master, the jester occupied him with various card games, which he also invented himself. If this happened in our time, Gringonner could patent his inventions and, given the popularity of the cards, get rich unspeakably. But it was in the XIV century, approximately in 1392, so Jacquemain Gringonner did not receive any material benefits, but it is thanks to him that the modern deck of 54 cards is called French.

Since the cards were played by the jester with the king, the cards were given the appropriate meanings. Now it’s clear why there are such cards as kings and jokers, and why the most important card is the joker.)))

All pictures on cards with kings, queens and jacks corresponded to specific historical and legendary characters.

Medieval Western European engraving


Figurine "Card game"
Germany - early 20th century

Canon - Canon
Ensemble "Nova era" plays

King - a playing card with the image of a king. Usually, in seniority, it is higher than the lady and corresponds to the number 13. In different games, the seniority of the king can vary greatly.

In medieval France, card kings were associated with the following persons:

King of Spades: David, the biblical king.
King of Hearts: Charlemagne, First Emperor of the West.
King of Tambourines: Julius Caesar, ancient Roman general.
King of clubs: Alexander the Great, creator of one of the largest empires of the Ancient World.

At the same time, the list of prototypes varied greatly: various masters signed maps depicting kings with various names, among which were, in particular, Solomon, Augustus, Constantine the Great and Clovis.

Initially, the figures on the cards were depicted in full growth, and only after 1830, for the convenience of the game, the images became symmetrical.

Kings from a French deck of 1813

Kings from various European decks released in the 20th century

Charles I the GreatGaius Julius Caesar Alexander the GreatKing David
Emperor Charlemagne - portrait by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).

Caesar - portrait by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).

Alexander the Great as Pallas Athena - a portrait by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669).

King David - portrait (after 1483) by Pedro Berruguete (1450-1503 or 1504).

Lady - a playing card depicting a woman. In seniority, it usually stands below the king, but above the jack and has a numerical value of 12.

In medieval France, ladies corresponded to the following persons:

Queen of Spades: Athena, goddess of wisdom in ancient Greek mythology.
Queen of Hearts: Judith, biblical character.
Lady of the Tambourine: Rachel, biblical character.

The queen of clubs was called "Argine". The origin of the word is not precisely established. Perhaps this is an anagram of the Latin word Regina, meaning Queen, or a distorted Argea (Argia) - a name belonging to several characters in ancient Greek mythology. Sometimes the lady of clubs is associated with Guinevere, the legendary wife of King Arthur. According to epic legends, the knight Arthur Lancelot, who traditionally corresponds to the jack of clubs, was in love with her. But most often, French artists on cards corresponding to the lady of clubs painted the favorites of their contemporary king.

Judith leaving Holofernes' tent Judith beheading Holofernes
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)

When fortune-telling on cards, the queen of hearts means love, which cannot but puzzle, knowing which character this card was originally associated with. To do this, you really needed to have a very peculiar sense of humor.
Something like this happened about 20 years ago in Lvov: directly opposite one of the city police stations there was a cafe called "Nemesis", where, among others, employees of this police station dined. At first, the cops liked the beautiful name, but then, apparently, someone explained it to them and the cafe was "asked" to rename it.

Based on the foregoing, dear men, when it seems to you that you have finally met your lady of hearts and you lose your head because of her, remember that losing your head can become literal from figurative.)))

Some sources claim that the prototype of the Lady of Hearts was Helen of Troy, better known as Helena the Beautiful. Of course, this is a more suitable character for the role of the queen of love than a lady with such an active life position as Judith. But this Elena, too, you know, is a very peculiar girl. People there, you know, are fighting because of her, and she sits there like a fool and waits for her heart to calm down.

Elena Troyanskaya (1898)
Evelyn de Morgan (1855-1919)

Ladies from the French deck of 1813

Ladies from various European decks released in the 20th century

Judith Rachel Diana de Poitiers Pallas Athena
Judith - fragment of the painting "Judith" (circa 1504) by Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco - Giorgione (1476/1477-1510).

Rachel - portrait by Maurizio Gottlieb (1856-1879).

Diane de Poitiers - a fragment of the painting "Lady's Toilet - Diane de Poitiers" (circa 1571) by François Clouet (1515-1572).

Pallas Athena - a fragment of the painting "Pallas and the Centaur" (1483) by Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510).

Having a choice of many favorites of the French kings, she chose Diane de Poitiers for the role of the Queen of Clubs - the favorite of Henry II, who was his only love all his life - he fell in love with Diana when he was only six years old - and his official favorite, while being twenty years older than the king.

Jack - a playing card depicting a young man. It has a numerical value of 11, that is, below the lady and above the ten.

In medieval France, jacks corresponded to the following persons:

Jack of Spades: Holger of Denmark, known as Ogier the Dane or Ogier of the Arden (one of the heroes of French epic tales, including the cycle about the deeds of Charlemagne).
True, there is another version in which the prototype of the jack of spades is Roland - the most famous of the heroes of the French epic legends about Charlemagne, the Margrave of the Breton March.
Jack of Hearts: La Hire, nicknamed Satan, a French general during the Hundred Years War.
Jack of diamonds: Hector, leader of the Trojan army.
Jack of Clubs: Lancelot of the Lake, Knight of the Round Table.

Jacks from a French deck of 1813

Jacks from various European decks released in the 20th century

La Hire Hector LancelotHolger
Etienne de Vignol, nicknamed La Hire (one of the companions of the Maid of Orleans - Joan of Arc) - a portrait by Louis Felix Amiel (1802-1864).

Hector - a fragment of the painting "Hector calls Paris to battle" by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein (1751-1829).

Lancelot - fragment of the painting "Guinerve and Lancelot" by Herbert James Draper (1863-1920).

Ogier the Dane is a statue of Ogier the Dane at Kronborg Castle in Denmark, near the town of Helsingør on the northeastern tip of the island of Zealand.

Cards are played by people of royal blood...

William Mau Egli (1826-1916) - Anne Boleyn and Catherine of Aragon playing cards (1852)

Members of the clergy play cards...

Luigi Zuccoli (1815-1876) - Card players

Gaetano Bellei (1857-1922) - Lucky hand

Jean Georges Wiebert (1840-1902) - The Church in Danger

This is where the church really is in danger.)))

Jean Georges Wiebert (1840-1902) - Fortuneteller

Playing cards for money...

Lucas Leiden (1494-1533) - Card players (circa 1520)

Playing cards occupy leisure and while away the time ...

Theodor (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Playing cards (Hermitage - St. Petersburg)

Theodore (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Card and Backgammon Players (Agnew Gallery - London)

Theodor (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Card Players (Royal Museum - Antwerp)

Theodor (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Playing cards

Serious passions flare up behind the cards...

Theodor (Dirk) van Rombouts (1597-1637) - Card and backgammon players. Battle over the cards

Because of the cards, real tragedies are played out ...

Leon Marie Constant Danseirte (1830-1909) - Duel

In a card game, gullible simpletons are deceived...

Jean-Louis Ernest Messonnier (1815-1891) - The game of piquet, or Carders and simpletons

Georges Dumesnil de Latour (1593-5) - Schuler with Ace of Diamonds (circa 1630), (Louvre - Paris)

Gallant gentlemen and ladies have a good time playing cards...

Jan van Olis (1610-1676) - Elegant Company, or Card Players

Charming ladies...

John Everett Millais (1829-1896) - Worms Trumps

Solid men...

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) - Playing cards

Men are better...

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) - Card players

Peasants...

Karl Ostersetzer (1850-1914) - Gamblers

And just couples in love

Wilhelm Flockenhaus - Playing cards

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the artist's life anywhere. Many sites offer to buy posters from this painting, not for free, but there is nothing related to the artist's biography anywhere.

Figurine "Couple playing cards"
Germany - mid-20th century

A lot of films have been made about gamblers and playing cards, especially in the late 90s and 2000s. Those who love cinema know these films. I cite in the plot only old foreign films that were shot before 1990 and which became famous. These films were shot in different genres: in the genre of drama and in the genre of comedy, and very famous artists starred in them.

The Cincinnati Kid (1965) - US production feature film

Big Snatch for a Little Lady (1966) - US production feature film
Starring Henry Fonda and Joan Woodworth

The Scam (1973) - US production feature film
Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford

Poker Alice (1987) - US production feature film
Starring Elizabeth Taylor

Bluff (1976) - film produced in Italy

Ace (1981) - film produced in Italy
Starring Adriano Celentano

A fragment of the film "Ace" (1981) produced in Italy
Asso - Adriano Celentano
Statuette "Gamblers"
Italy - the end of the XX century

Azzurro - Azure
Sung by Adriano Celentano

The azure sky tonight is too blue. I get on the train and go to you, but the train of my desires goes in the opposite direction...

Figurine "Card Players"
Italy - the end of the XX century

Fortune telling on cards spread almost simultaneously with playing cards. Gypsies especially fell in love with this business and became, as they say, their main professional skill.
And how many book and opera fortune-tellers chilled the soul with their ominous predictions!

Giuseppe Verdi - scene of Ulrika's divination from the opera "Masquerade Ball"
Ulrika - Irina Bogacheva
A fragment of the opera performance of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR from the film-concert of the Leningrad television "Irina Bogacheva Sings" (1971)

Today, eight out of every ten houses in the UK play card games, but the rest, if you look hard, you can find a deck of cards. Playing cards is so familiar to most of us that it even seems to us that they have always existed.

Perhaps playing cards have been known since the creation of fine art by man. Their history goes back so far that no one can say exactly when and where they first appeared.

Who Invented Playing Cards?

For a long time, it was believed that playing cards were invented by the Chinese, since earlier paper money and playing cards in China were almost identical. We know that playing cards existed in China a thousand years ago! But still, at present it is not clear who should give priority to the invention of maps: the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Arabs or the Indians.

Since its inception, cards have become one of the ways to predict fate. It is possible that they were used for this purpose before they were used for various gambling. In the Middle Ages, using playing cards, sorcerers predicted the future.

When did playing cards get to Europe? Some believe that the crusaders brought them from their campaigns. Others say that through the Saracens they got to Spain or Italy, others say that the gypsies brought them to Eastern Europe. There is no doubt, however, that playing cards have been known in Europe since the 13th century.

Initially there were many various kinds playing cards. For example, curly cards were common (there were 22 of them in the deck, and there were no numbers among them) and digital cards (there were 56 cards in this deck - and not a single picture). The French were the first to create a deck of 52 cards. They used digital cards and retained the king, queen, jack from face cards. This 52-card deck was adopted by the British.

The earliest cards were drawn by hand, but with the development of woodcarving, playing cards became cheaper and spread very quickly among the common people.