Over 900 elaborate, decorative images from rare playing cards, 14th20th centuries: Bacchus, death, dancing dogs, hunting scenes, royal coats of arms, players cheating, much more. "

Nearly 500 elegant illustrations that once graced European regular and tarot card decks. Face cards, musical instruments, fantasy figures, and other motifs -- 251 black-and-white illustrations, 245 designs in color.

First published in 1931, this vintage book explores the history and origins of playing cards from traditional English playing cards to tarot cards and card manufacturers in Britain and Europe. Extensively illustrated and full of interesting information, “Playing Cards” is highly recommended for those with an interest in the history of playing cards and is not to be missed by collectors of vintage literature of this ilk. Contents include: “Card Games”, “Preface”, “Many Theories About the invention of Playing Cards”, “The Tarot Cards”, “Varieties of the European Four-Suit Pack”, “Earliest References to English Playing Cards”, “Genesis of the English Pack”, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new introduction on card games.

Imported from the Mamluks of Egypt, card games first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread from Spain and Italy to France and Germany. By 1420, German and Swiss cardmakers were producing packs by the thousands (first by stencil, later by metal engraving) marked with a bewildering array of suits, including hounds, bears, parrots, roses, helmets, banners, and bells. Games proliferated as well, and by 1534, Rabelais could name 35 different card games in Chapter 22 of Gargantua. Today, of course, there are thousands of games, from the universally popular Poker and Contract Bridge, to national manias such as Swiss Jass, German Skat, and French Belote. This is a historical guide to cards in Europe and America. This is not primarily a book of rules or hints on how to play better, but a survey of where the games originated, how they have developed over time, and what their rituals and etiquette tell us about the people who play them.

A charming, surreal, visually stunning and utterly unforgettable new novel, in which the design of the pages replicates the way our hero's mind works as he pieces together the mystery at the novel's heart Since childhood, Riley has been a keen collector of bubble gum cards. Now, 30 years later, the one card missing from his collection is the legendary card 19 from the 1967 Mission Impossible television series, of which only one exists. One day a mysterious grey-haired man drops a playing card in a deserted alley. Riley picks it up. Is it a secret sign? Before long, he is finding all kinds of bubble gum and cigarette cards on the street, each one apparently containing a further hidden clue to a coded message. Will Riley rise to the challenge and discover the secret of the cards? And will he ever find elusive card 19? Exquisitely written, extremely funny, and visually stunning, this is the utterly unforgettable story of a man who views the world—and everything in it—just a little bit differently from everyone else. Each of the 15 cards, created by Graham Rawle, appear in color as they turn up in the story.

Based on Gene Hochman's The Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards which was originally published in six parts between 1976 and 1981. A complete cataloging of American playing card makers as well as details, types, and brands of playing cards from the late 1700s to the early 1930s.