Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-10-15

| very long, and the old nomenclature
was soon reinstated.
There have been, of course, changes
in the insignia and titles Of the suits,
but these, have been chronological or
national, not prompted merely by
political unrest. The Chinese, who,
according to their histories, invented
everything before anybody else, claim
the merit Of having first designed
playing cards and developed the
games rising out Of them.
Invented for His Wives.
The Emperor Soun-ho had many
wives, who naturally found time hang
heavily on their hands, SO the en-
peror devised amusement for them by
! inventing cards-that is, if we are
to put any belief in the words Of the
Chinese historians. There were thirty
cards in each, and three extra SUI
perior cards. The Chinese cards
were oblong, as ours are, while those
of the Hindoos we're round.
Surprising though it may seem, it
is nevertheless true that the queen in
our suits is a comparatively modern
innovation. The picture cards were
at first entirely military-king, knight
and knaye The Italians were the
first, it is said, to give the lady a
place in the pack.
There have been from time to time
many changes in the suits. Old Ger
4 1Ic
leaves, instead of clubs, diamonds
and spades. Many writer's have I'M
dertaken to explain the meaning OF
the symbols used upon the cards, and
one French writer endeavored to de-
duce a military moral.
The club, he said, with it's trefoil, is
the ''trefie," or clover, which abOunds
in the meadows of the French. This
shows that a general should encamp
his forces where forage is to be
found. The spade is the 'carreau,' y
or heavy square headed arrows shot
from a crossbow. "Croeurs," or
hearts, signifies the courage Of the
soldiers. The ace is the Latin ''as,
representing money, sinews or war,
and so on through several pages OF
fantastic symbolism.
The history of cards in this country
marks many interesting periods in the
nations growth The famous cotton
plant back cards are remembered by
many old time players. These cards
were mostly used in the south, but
were known the country over. One
Of the most beautiful designs of this
kind easily drew a prize over the best
British exhibits at the first of the
Crystal Palace exhibitions, in Lon
don, during the "ffties." During
those days a pack of cards of similar
, design sold for $40 in gold.
History OF Cards Here.
The old steamboat cards, first de
signed for use on vessels plying III
and down the Mississippi river, have
never lost their popularity, and are
still in general use. In the old days
of gambling on the Mississippi 6
steamboat company was known tC
take as high as $1,000 worth of cards
on a single order From 1850 to 1858
owing to the great rush to the mines
of California, it is estimated that tht
; annual output of playing cards Wen
as high as 100000 packs; but after
the war, when times were hard, i
fell to less than 100000, and since
then has grown to double tha
again.
In war times the ingenuity OF the
manufacturers was turned toward de
vising patriotic ideas and emblem;
to take the place of the kings an(
queens and other insignia of the or
binary deck. Andrew Dougherty, wh(
started in the business in 1S48, having
also associated with himself his
three sons-EdWard, Andrew, Jr., ant
William-was one of the leaders il
patriotic notions One deck that ht
devised, and which was entered &C
cording to act OF Congress" in The
later days Of the war, substitutes fol
the four ordinary suits pictorial rep
reservations Of the Monitor, the
Merrimac, zouave in the uniform q
a drummer boy. Thus, instead of tn
Lilly VI SpCSOC0, ILCI Y WOlllO NC O. CCIL I
with nine little pictures of the Moni
tor upon it, the arrangements fol
lowing exactly the positions of the
spades on the ordinary cards. One OF
the strangest things associated will
this device is that a few years after
the war Mr.. Dougherty received an
order from man in Dublin Prison
o. for two packs Of these war cards.
Works of Art.
At one time an experiment was
tried Of having beautifully engraved
pictures of women and men in royal
robes for monarchs Of the deck, and
they proved really beautiful works
Of art. But the result was a failure
and pecuniary disaster. A big stock
of these cards was later auctioned Off
in California, and brought something
like cent per pack