Deck by Deck

Like most things around us, modern day games also hold cultural significance as they get passed on from generation to another. The case of playing cards is no different. To someone not very concerned, a deck of cards may just be paper with colourful figures but in reality they are the result of skillful engineering, historical innovations, art of design and just loads and loads of history. In the yesteryears, playing cards were part of favourite courtroom games, serving honour bound gambles and objects of amusement when used by magicians. You might be surprised to know that playing cards also served as currency for one point of time and carried cryptic messages for people. Clearly there is a lot that needs to be dug out.

Unaccounted history

According to educated guesses and findings by the historical and cultural experts, playing cards at first emerged in China during the Tang dynasty in the 9th century. When the cards reached Europe, the deck carried signs of gold coins, polo sticks and swords. A lot of these signs pointed towards the Mamluk dynasty in Egypt. Well, they say the deck might have travelled from China to Europe via Egypt. As Spain and Italy started to come in picture, beautifully painted cards with kings and swords were noticed. There were still 40 cards in the deck.

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When Germany used its groundbreaking wood-cut printing, they added their own suits and the deck now had 48 cards. Then came the French and the game changed forever. They added the suits we use today-- hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs, by the names coeurs, piques, carreaux and trefles. Not just that, they divided the deck into blue and red colour and with Gutenberg’s invention in 1400, the French had all the reasons to dominate the deck market. All the figures we see on modern decks are the result of French artistry.

Soon England got its hand on the cards and translated the French suit names to English ones. Since playing cards received a lot of notoriety from the public at that time, special taxes were imposed, separate printing and selling of Ace of spades started to take place. This is how it became the most important card of all. Later, the name Thomas De La Rue came into picture who brought standardization of card figures by becoming the chief manufacturer at that time. Not just that, the double ended cards were also made during his time. As for the last one to the party, the Americans played a huge role in popularising the playing card market. They also added miniature suit motifs at the corners.

Manufacturer in the now

The rampant digitisation makes people think that paper hardly holds the same significance. Well, they are wrong when it comes to playing cards. With its mature market in varied demographics, the demand of playing cards hasn't slowed down much. There are about thousands of manufacturers around the world but only few are able to hold a place at high end tables. The experts recommend Bicycle brand and Tally Ho, both associated with United States Playing Card Company to be the best of the market. They sell about 100 million decks of playing cards per year and this includes more than 20 million decks to casinos. Other than that Belgian Cartamundi is also part of the big league.

From the October 2020 issue of FHM India.