| The cards of the suit of hearts from a deck of playing cards made in the
style of German decks of about 1480. There are few remaining cards from this
period and many of those which exist today have been recovered from printed
sheets that were never cut into cards, but which were used as waste paper or
glued up to make cardboard for use in binding books. Like the original cards, these
have been colored by using a stencil. |
 |
The suits are hearts, bells, leaves and acorns. The aces in this desk are
pure inventions, since German decks of this period routinely had none. The twos
all have pigs; the tens are banners. The 'court' cards are the king and the upper
and lower 'knights'. It is interesting, but surprisingly difficult to play games
with this deck; you really come to appreciate how familiar and easy to read modern
cards are when you're trying to count your hand in a hurry. |
