The first playing cards were invented during the Tang dynasty in China around the 9th century with the first reference being made in 868 which described how Princess Tongchang who was daughter to the Emperor, was seen playing the “Leaf Game" with the members of the Wei Clan.
Images on the first paper cards were printed using woodblock printing technology. Wood blocks were created by carving images along the grain of select pieces of wood. As with traditional stamps, ink would be spread over the blocks and then pressed onto various materials to create the images. The areas of the blocks that were etched deeper would leave blank spaces when printing. The printing of playing cards developed around the same era when writing paper changed from rolls to sheets of paper.
From China cards spread to India and Persia and eventually to the Mameluke Empire in Egypt. The first evidence of playing cards in Europe was around 1360 along the Italian and Iberian regions.
The first possible evidence of playing cards to The Americas was apparently in 1492. Sailors on the ships of Christopher Columbus’s first discovery voyage to the West Indies were keen gamblers and often carried playing cards with them.
In 1576 the Spaniards established playing card monopolies in South America as form of income to the Spanish Crown.
In North America some of the first cards were brought in by colonists from England into the regions of New England and Plymouth in 1633. By the second half of the 18th century the actual manufacture of playing cards began.
A Chinese printed playing card dated c. 1400 AD, Ming Dynasty, found near Turpan, measuring 9.5 by 3.5 cm.
How the designs of cards developed through the ages |
| Four Mamluk playing cards. |
China
Some of the first playing cards found in China seemed to be based on paper money of the time. Designs varied from images of single coins to strings of coins and myriads of strings of coins. Images of old folk tales were often printed onto the faces of cards as well.
Egypt
The Egyptians were possibly the first to produced playing cards that resemble the cards of today. A deck of consisted of 4 suites, each with 13 cards. The images on the faces consisted of polo-sticks, swords, coins, goblets, coins and cups.
Europe
In Italy the deck faces depicted swords, cup and coins. As polo was an uncommon sport in Italy, the polo-sticks were changed to batons.
In Germany cards included hearts, bells, acorns and leaves. Swiss-German cards depicted roses , bells, acorns and shields.
Etienne Vignoles, who was a Knight in France was the apparent inventor of the modern day playing cards as we know them. The cards included diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades.
United States
The manufacture of playing cards in the USA only started in the 1860’s. The design was much the same as the cards that were imported from England at the time. The Joker was added by the Americans during the civil was as a trump card in the game of Euchre .
