By the end of the 17 th century Britain's Renaissance had reached its zenith. The world was fraught with wonders, and the learned men of the day were constucting elaborate new schemes to encompass the whole of knowledge. There was a society of fortune tellers in London who called themselves the Mercurii of London. They involve looking up the answer according to mathematical rules, reminiscent of numerology and dice throws, so that the prophecy is read on a specific card. Generally, that is to say in a large majority of packs, the 'fortune' is printed at the bottom of the card, beneath an allegorical illustration depicting the predestined outcome.
Some packs are more engaging than others.
There are several popular fortune telling narratives similar to the Madame Lenormand account found in booklets. Dark clouds announce trouble. Minetta was the author of another published work on the 'Science of Card Fortune Telling' which claims to make the reader become an adept. A crystal ball is also advertised in the booklet, to be sold separately. The Picture Show fortune telling pack was presented with the magazine 'Picture Show' in October 1930, and shows popular personalities of the day as the court cards, whilst the pip cards are combined with zodiac signs or the seasons of the year.