Posted by Nicolae on August 31st, 2008 under History, Playing cards
Tags: alleged symbolism, American, Anglo-Norman language, astronomical, Briefmaler, China, court cards, dicing terms, Donatello, early design changes, early history, Egypt, Europe, gambling, Ganjifa, History, ideograms, joker, knaves, legends, Mamelukes, metaphysical, money cards, origin, Parisian tradition, Persia, playing cards, queens, religious, reversible, Rouen courts, significance, suits, Tarot •
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Early history
The origin of playing cards is obscure, but it is almost certain that they began in China after the invention of paper. Ancient Chinese “money cards” have four “suits”: coins (or cash), strings of coins (which may have been misinterpreted as sticks from crude drawings), myriads of strings, and tens of [...]
