New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-06-24
TIE DUNG OF CARDS.
HISTORICAL NOTES or THE DEVILS PICTURE
BOOK."

BOoK."
From The Loadon Morning Post.
Anniversary celebrations are al the fashion at the
present day indeed. II may believe the Philosopher
.,uglise Comtc The modern world Is far more Isous
in s comIncmoraLou oi Uie pr;on!grS ans me events
quingcnenary Of plnyinecar>. In honor of which an
exhibition Is announced Antwerp, certainly deserves
recognition at all events most moderate minded folk
Will probably think SO. No doIbt the "unco guid,"
who regarded pack OF playing cards as the DcVll
book will dissent from that opinion. Il may. how
more good in lc.r time In the OF Innocent re-re
alton and amusement than they have wrought mischief
a. thc Instruments Of gambling. From the standpoint
of the arr!aoOogst and OF IA" student ~ the sOfia!
development Of man the interest of the matter Is tc
yond question. \ special Tlqunncy Is given to the
subject by the varlou, questions which necessarily
ro,cd - celebrate W. should doabt whether any
body who has looked into tEc evidence rs 10 me oEn
OF paying cards believes the traditional story tlat
they were Invented a. a rccgcal on FOR the mad kins
Charles VI. Of France. The locus ca-scus upon
which that tradition +, founded i entry, dis
coyc:,,l mt tie brainnir: Of the last century ~ the
r.rc Mcncstrcr In ID" Register Of the Chamtrc dos
T y'r iIo % by " Gha. lonIar The Knes easnrcr
rms as follows: a Jaclucuin Gfingonncur. I'inirc
d. tiv.r,c' ieyls... c,battm.nt. Lvl. >os parSs.'
In point of fact. however. tbs paT'acc Is almost Goa
eSr "F Tlr ~ ne pr , Wxre ronari IN Il" @D"
.cpve Ca'alosnc' Of the IdavinScards IN The British
Missouri Jacqucmn Gruconncur :, not referred to as
me Inventor Of ~, card> Int merely having
painted them which when one further considers the
price paid for tcm. certainty seems 10 irdlcaie that
be that cards made their first appearance In En'rpc
n,put the middle Of IN. fourlccnth century the
paA.nge wc have quoted Is generally wed rs
he earliest thu; can ir accepted With ab~olu" cor
s as c d5n' as r dno i rom nas eoncctare
may. therefore, be- aid 20 begin Ia N" year 1872
~ that ground. thcrelDrc. crmmemor-it on Of the
y,nr 1892 l. quite ju-unabc. I@t when The inquirer
into the earliest ohgr II cards Las satisfied himself
Tim, that date merely marks an epoch In thci- cAis-
cncc and II Is not to be taken =, The year Of their
birth. be T. inr rs ever from lnowle'if' 81
tie time ard place Of lhdr invention Tie question;
r
with certainty Were card, originally Invented IN the
East and thence introduced t" Fnrop" IN the Middle
indcpcndenily OF tie knowledee Of them which Is be
Or lastly. were card, altogether q European orian.
and theFciorc Unknown in I n, t"s mt bco erns,
the met ancGat AGcong to t. 5e " Nv. w acc %ss
century. cards orig mated wuh ne N"prs ana were were
introduced b. them ni" Sun Prom spain. a't"n Ga
many and iay. While Us inii'Hn"uoh mo f,an ae
j. attributed 10 u:e French ir,oi" VINO .oLoNgi
purucsclln into 81" Peninsula ".1nsi iiro tnc .r ~
II s. ccrtnn that In ID" ARtccu'h century tn'
sjnnlard, iuyctorsie pave. thu in'cha.
s1u, Ju-1N. wii' travelled thnm;h Spnin u, .ra,
period. relate ilnt he "t"i travelled many n.".n,s
without hcn. able to obtain bread or wine" but that
Ne , mey Car ' rho ,5Hors Of an cs,@ai Adm.
whether in iiia. Esp China or Norocc" j.,
anoIogy woh seems 20 @.i.. between carl, and chc-s
which latter game Is Of unques onad" Ea-'en orisln;
card games Of the pocnt time. aud cort,in ncldenc"S
q nomenclature. 60 10 support that view ~ IIfhcr'
raised. ,cvcr: II them uiiclrnH rnu,b" 10 lypw
considerable doubt upon the lrory Of mpor'n'i2n
into Enrol from TIE East n, nn, r ~ d., S
g.ound up1n which the thopri.t can rio" whichever
hobby he Ping s ' %, 9G ar % S,H' cf can
be- arrived ~ can be other iran hyp"'hct,Ga,i
Of oonIrps Ir Ef 5 t qc cS % 're nothing G IS
known wiN ccI1riy. We do know, from tn"
wardrobe account, 81 Edward l. thnt money WIS
Fcec,.7 But whether the game u "Four Kings
c W d9 moi Ms kN M n Gfd wa, quito SI possible at
Four King ch",s. Al the same time me
weTc connec i%r "h IN Ills country and r
whore, with cards At very cnrE date II r H.
quite familiar to the English in 1888. For an
Act Of Parliament pa,,cd ~ thnl yenr rApre n,rE
prohibtod the lmpoao4 on plansGIs Si oS whr.
which thc English manufacturers h"d pro'TIvi
as our te q" @IoI VII I9 to Were py c3n by
she ROYAL children. and in the next rrign IA"
rns'sS v OF Wa rr a'F s} was Q Queen E,abeh
indeed tloriana Is reported 10 nave been III tho
In fact 70 follow tho history Of cards in England
would be equivalent TO following lAat OF Ehgnsh
sorcy Gs%n t" ri. re9 q and Tn aS
were first used In Europe for the pulpos" 81 div'na
ton or fortune telling has moi been a,crrlnnr1.
p,olAlly PAINTED daring The latter years Of the 18Th
eenty r'presenng phIpH@ le ToG cGnspnn' e
died in 1AG7. tAni # the painter may be- relied upon
have distinct "NlGcl or IN" Use IN
telling before that date Undoubtedly the Ypsi"S.
who believed by some 10 have been the Original
importers into FurODc uScd them fr TINT Dur
pose ~ very carly .mc. The earliest work expressly
treating Of the subject seems - have been a book
wlitton by ono Francesca MarcOlinl. and printed N
Venice in 1910 under the title Of he Sor' but
during the latter half Of the 10th century th prac-
lice OF Juggling and telling fortunes by car's had
many professors. and they have meyer boon lacking
from that time forward aS the police reports sion
plly remind i ri tho present dav. Doubtless
the Antwerp Exhibition will be able % show An I'M
rva'lcd collection o cards 81 different ag.S and conn
trcs Tho collection should be- OF peculiar inter, ST
Tor the development Of modern cards from the prmi-
five ,ros from which they MI appear 70 he deriN 81 Is
subtec; less cur Gus than that OF the origin OF
c.rde nd