A very complete account may be expected from Mr. Wilkinson, who has
displayed here what is doubtless the most perfect collection of Chinese
cards ever exhibited. The miscellaneous cards in this collection are
drawn from western China and bear some resemblance, according to Mr.
Wilkinson, to the “Proverbs” and “Happy Families” of Europe and America.
They include the cards based on a writing lesson, cards based on
numbers, and cards based on a lucky formula.
Returning to the subject of dice, the special implements used in dice
divination in India are shown, as well as illustrations of the methods
employed in telling fortunes with dominoes in China and Korea; these
forming part of the material used in the investigation of the origin of
dominoes. Japanese and Siamese dice are also exhibited with the East
Indian and Chinese specimens, as well as dice made in various parts of
Europe, comprising a pair of iron dice purchased at Perugia, which,
although presumably modern, have the dots arranged with the 6–5, 4–2,
and 3–1 opposite, like those of old Etruria, instead of the sums of the
spots on opposite sides being equal to seven, as is otherwise general.
With the dice are the spinning dice of various countries, including the
East Indian _Chukree_, the Chinese _Ch’e me_, and the corresponding dice
of Japan and Siam. A variety of dominoes are also displayed, including
those of Korea, which are identical with those of China, and the Siamese
dominoes, which were also borrowed from the latter country.
The pair of knuckle-bones appear to be the parent of many of that large
class of games which Mr. Tylor describes as the “backgammon group.” With
reference to dice-backgammon the evidence in this particular is very
direct, but the similar games played with cowries and wooden blocks, for
which even a greater antiquity may be claimed, there is a likelihood of
independent origin. Several games of the latter class from India, North
America, and Egypt, types of which have been referred to by Mr. Tylor,
are exhibited in this collection. The first, _Pachisi_, is the most
popular game in India. It is played around a board, usually made of
cloth, in the form of a cross, according to the throws with cowries. Six
or seven shells are ordinarily used, and count according as the
apertures fall. When long dice of ivory are employed, the game is called
_Chausar_. This game was introduced from India into the United States,
where it was first published in 1860 under the name of Parchesi, and has
become very popular. Mr. Cushing has set up beside the _Pachisi_ a Zuñi
game, which the Zuñis call _Ta sho lí wé_, or “wooden cane cards,” and
which has many points of resemblance to the East Indian game. The moves
are made according to the throws with wooden blocks three inches in
length, painted red and black upon their two faces, around a circle of
forty stones which is broken at the top and bottom, and the right and
left, by four openings called the “Doorways of the four directions.”
This game embodies many of the mythical conceptions of the Zuñis. It is
played by two or four players, who use colored splints to mark their
course around the circle. These splints, which are placed at starting in
the doorway to which they correspond, have the following symbolism: At
the top, Yellow, North, The Wind, Winter. At the left, Blue, West,
Water, Spring. At the bottom, Red, South, Fire, Summer. At the right,
White, East, Seed or Earth, Autumn. The colors of the two wooden blocks
symbolize the two conditions of man: Red, Light or Wakefulness; Black,
Darkness or Sleep. The throws with the blocks, which are tossed, ends
down, upon a disc of sandstone placed in the middle of the circle, are
as follows: 3 red count 10; 3 black count 5; 2 red and 1 black count 3;
1 red and 2 black count 1.
A count of three red gives another throw. When four play, the North and
West move around from right to left, and the South and East from left to
right. When a player’s move ends at a division of the circle occupied by
his adversaries’ piece, he takes it up and sends it back to the
beginning. It is customary to make the circuit of the stones either four
or six times, beans or corn of the seven varieties being used as
counters. This game forms one of the seven sacred games of the Zuñis,
and its antetype, _Sho lí we_, or “Cane Cards,” is one of the four games
that are sacrifices to the God of War and Fate. The sacred form of the
game is called _Tein thla nah na tá sho lí we_, or literally, “Of all
the regions wood cane cards, and the blocks which are thrown in it bear
complicated marks, consisting of bands of color on one side.” In the
sacred game, the players are chosen with great care with reference to
their totem, and the region to which it belongs. A much more complete
account of this game may be expected from Mr. Cushing himself, from the
ample material which he has placed at my disposal. Side by side with _Ta
sho lí we_ is the corresponding game as played by the Apache and
Navajos, which has been set up by Antonio Apache. It lacks the color
symbolism, but the principle is identical. The Navajos call it _Set
tilth_, which Captain John G. Bourke, U. S. A., tells me should be
transliterated _Tze-chis_, or _Zse tilth_, and means literally,
“stonestick.” The circle of stones, he says, is called _Tze nasti_,
“Stone circle.”
Lieut. H. L. Scott, U. S. A., has contributed the implements for a
similar game of the Kiowas, which is known as the “Awl Game.” It is
called by the Kiowas _Zohn ahl_, that is, _Zohn_, “creek,” and _ahl_,
“wood.” A detailed account of it will appear elsewhere, furnished to the
writer by Lieutenant Scott, who states that the Comanches have a similar
game which they play with eight ahl sticks, which are two feet or more
long.
These games are all similar to the Mexican Patoli, as described by the
early Spanish chroniclers. A picture of the latter game from an early
Hispano-American manuscript, reproduced from the original in Florence by
its discoverer, Mrs. Zelia Nuttall, is exhibited in this connection. The
method of play among the Aztecs is here shown, and it is curious to note
that they used a diagram or board in the form of a cross, like that of
the East Indian Pachisi. In the Malayan archipelago, a stone is placed
in the centre upon which dice are thrown in games, as among the North
American Indians. Mr. Tylor has set forth the conclusions which may be
drawn from these resemblances, but the matter is still open for
discussion. Another game remains to be noticed, played with wooden
blocks as dice: the Arab game of _Tab_, in which men are moved on a
board according to the throws of four slips of palm. These slips, about
eight inches in length, are left with one face of the natural color, and
the other showing the whiter interior of the palm, these sides being
called black and white respectively. The throws count as follows: 4
black, 6; 4 white, 4; 3 white, 3; 2 white, 2; 1 white, 1.
The implements displayed for this game were made in the Cairo street. No
more curious ethnographical parallels are presented in the Exposition
than that of the Arabs in the Plaisance, and the Navajos beside the
South Lagoon, both playing these curiously similar games.
CASE VII.
BACKGAMMON, SUGOROKU, AND THE GAME OF GOOSE, EAST INDIAN, JAPANESE, AND
SIAMESE CARDS.
According to Mr. Tylor, dice-backgammon makes its appearance plainly in
classic history. The game of twelve lines (_duodecim scripta_) was
played throughout the Roman Empire and passed on, with little change,
through mediæval Europe, carrying its name of tabulæ, tables; its modern
representatives being French Tric trac, English Backgammon, etc. Among
the ancient Greeks _Kubeia_, or “dice playing,” is shown by various
classical passages to be of the nature of backgammon. The pearl-inlaid
backgammon board here shown is from Damascus, where the game is known as
_Towla_, “tables.” A Siamese board exhibited by the government of Siam,
with other games, through its royal commissioner Phra Surya, has
departed little from the ancient type. Backgammon is known in China as
_Sheung Luk_, “double sixes,” and in Japan by the corresponding name of
_Sugoroku_. The popular games, both in China and Japan, however, are not
played with men upon a set board, but resemble the games with many
stations, which are common in Europe and America.
The most notable of the Chinese games of this class is the one which is
called _Shing kun to_, or “The Tables of the Promotion of Officials,” a
game which has been known to scholars, through Dr. Hyde’s account, as
“The Game of the Promotion of Mandarins.” It is played by two or more
persons upon a large paper diagram, upon which are printed the titles of
the different officials and dignitaries of the Chinese government. The
moves are made according to the throws with four cubical dice, and the
players, whose positions upon the diagram are indicated by notched or
colored splints, are advanced or set back, according to their throws.
The paper chart here exhibited was purchased in a Chinese shop in New
York city. It was printed in Canton, and bears an impression about
twenty-three inches square. This is divided into sixty-three
compartments, exclusive of the central one and the place for entering at
the lower right-hand corner. The latter contains the names of thirteen
different starting-points, from _yan shang_, or “Honorary Licentiate,”
down to _t’ung shang_, or “student,” between which are included the
positions of _t’ín man shang_, “astrologer,” and _í shang_, “physician.”
These are entered at the commencement of the game by the throws of
“three, four, five, six,” three “fours,” three “sixes,” three “fives,”
three “threes,” three “twos,” and three “ones;” and then in the same
manner double “fours,” and so on down to double “ones.”
The sixty-three compartments, representing as many classes of officials
or degrees of rank, comprise three hundred and ninety-seven separate
titles, of which the highest, and the highest goal of the game, is that
of man _fá tín tái hok sz’_, or “Grand Secretary.” This, however, under
favorable conditions, can only be reached by a player who starts from a
favorable point, advancement in the game being regulated by rules
similar to those which actually regulate promotion under government.
Thus, a player whose fortune it is to enter as physician or astrologer
can only obtain promotion in the line of his service, and must be
content with a minor goal, as he is ineligible to the high civil office
of “Grand Secretary.”
The dice are thrown into a bowl placed in the centre of the sheet, the
players throwing in turn, and each continuing to throw until he makes a
cast of doublets or higher. It is noticeable that “fours,” as in Dr.
Hyde’s account, constitute the highest throw. A pair of “fours,”
according to the rules, is to be reckoned as _tak_, “virtue,” and leads
to a higher place than those of the other numbers. Sixes are next
highest and are to be reckoned as _ts’oi_, “genius;” and in the same
manner, in descending degree, “fives” are to be reckoned as _kung_,
“skill;” “threes” as _léung_, “forethought;” “twos” as _yau_,
“tractability;” and “ones,” _chong_, “stupidity.” The game is much
complicated by being played for money or counters, which is necessary
under the rules. By this means advancement may be purchased, degradation
compounded for, and the winner of a high position rewarded.
The main point of difference between the game as it exists to-day, and
as described by Dr. Hyde, is the number of dice employed, six being the
number mentioned by him. The enlarged form of the diagram is of minor
importance, as he himself says that the names of officials written on
the tablet are many or few, according to the pleasure of the players.
With the game of _Shing kún_ to may be seen a copy of Dr. Hyde’s
treatise, _De Ludis Orientalibis_, containing the reproduction of the
chart of the game which he made in London 200 years ago. The names of
titles of the Ming dynasty appear upon it, in curious contrast to those
of the present Tartar domination. The two hundredth anniversary of the
date of the imprimatur of this precious volume occurs on the 20th of
September of this very year.
There is a very great variety of games of this character in Japan, new
ones being published annually at the season of the New Year.
Illustrations of the more formal game played upon a board divided into
twelve parts are figured in the Chinese-Japanese cyclopædias. According
to the _Kum mō dzu e tai sei_, the twelve compartments, called in
Japanese _me_, or “eyes,” symbolize the twelve months, and the black and
white stones with which the game is played, day and night.
Italy contributes several forms of the dice game played upon a board
having many stations. The oldest specimen in the collection, purchased
in Parma, is a manuscript game bearing the title of _Oca Franchese_.
Others printed in Florence bear the printed labels of _Giuoco dell’ oca_
and _Giuoco del Barone_, while late examples more fanciful, both in name
and design, appear as _Giuoco del Tramway_ and _La Battaglia del 48_. A
French game is shown under its proper title as _Jeu de l’oie_, beside
which is placed a similar American game published as the “Game of
Goose.”
A number of packs of Oriental cards other than Chinese are contained in
this case, among which are included several packs of East Indian Hindu
cards which they call _Gungeefa_. They are all circular, varying in
diameter in the different sets from 1⅝ to 3⅛ inches. One pack from
Lucknow comprises eight suits, each composed of twelve cards, ten of
which are “numerals,” from one to ten. The two remaining cards are
designated respectively as _Badsha_ and _Sawar_. No satisfactory
explanation has yet been afforded as to their origin.
The Japanese call the cards which are now current in Japan by the name
of _Karuta_, a word evidently derived from the Portuguese _carta_. Those
commonly used by gamblers, a pack of which is exhibited by Mrs. J. K.
Van Rensellaer, are called _Hana Karuta_, or “Flower cards,” and
comprise forty-eight pieces, a number, it will be observed, identical
with that of the present Spanish pack. They bear pictures, chiefly
flowers, emblematic of the twelve months, four cards being placed under
each. Their names are as follows: _Matsu_, “pine;” _Sakusa_, “cherries;”
_Momidzi_, “maple;” _Butan_, “wild rose;” _Hagi_, Lespedeza; _Kiku_,
“golden-colored daisy;” _Kiri_, Paulonia; _Fudzi_, Wisteria; _Soba_,
“tiger lily;” _Ume_, “plum-tree;” _Yama_, “mountain;” and _Ame_, “rain.”
The _Iroha_, or Proverb cards, also consist of ninety-six cards, half of
which bear a picture and one of the forty-seven characters of the
_Iroha_, or Japanese syllabary. Each of the other cards is inscribed
with a proverb, the first word of which is written with one of the
characters. There are several methods of play, the commonest being that
of laying out all the picture cards face up. One of the older players
reads the proverbs in turn, while the others endeavor to select the card
from the table bearing the corresponding initial character. The _Uta
Karuta_, or “Cards with songs,” contain, according to Mr. Karl Himly,
the well-known one hundred songs (_Hiyaku nin issiu_, 1235 A. D.), or
the poems of the “Old and New Collection” (_Ho kin schiu_, 905 A. D.).
The picture cards have the pictures of the poet or poetess, with the
commencement of the poems. The rest is on the corresponding cards. The
game is the same as that played with the _Iroha Karuta_.
CASE VIII.
AMERICAN BOARD GAMES PLAYED WITH DICE.
The first of American board games played with dice is said to be the
“Mansion of Happiness.” This game is said to have been published in
1852, and copied from an English game. Thirty-three specimens of similar
games published in this country are exhibited. They form a small part,
however, of the entire number.
CASE IX.
TAROTS, TAROCCHINO, AND MINCHIATE. TYPES OF ITALIAN CARDS. MANUFACTURE
OF PLAYING CARDS.
The question of the origin of playing cards in Europe, whether they were
introduced from the East, or an independent invention in France, Italy,
or Germany, has been the object of much discussion. It may be regarded
as conclusively settled that playing cards were invented in China in the
twelfth century, and in view of the remarkable similarities between the
card and card games of China and those of Europe which have been brought
to light by Mr. Wilkinson, it may be profitable to suspend further
consideration of the matter until the results of his studies are made
public. Italy appears to be the oldest home of the playing card in
Europe, and the earliest Italian packs are said to be those which the
Italians call Tarocchi. Several types of these cards are found in Italy.
According to Willshire these games are known as the _Tarots_ of Venice
or Lombardy, the _Tarocchino_ of Bologna, and the _Minchiate_ of
Florence. The first of these, the old Venetian Tarot, he regards as the
parent of all. The sequence consists of 78 cards, _i. e._, of 22
emblematic cards of Tarots proper, and 56 numeral cards made up of 16
figures or court cards, and 40 pip cards. The 22 Tarot cards bear
emblematic designs which appear to be borrowed from a series of prints
which are known to collectors as the _Tarocchi_ of Mantegna or the
_Carte di Baldini_. The emblematic cards in the Venetian series usually
bear the following inscriptions: 1. La Bagattel. 2. La Papessa. 3.
L’Imperatrice. 4. L’Imperatore. 5. Il Papa. 6. Gli Amanti. 7. Il Carro.
8. La Guistizia. 9. L’Eremita. 10. Ruot. della For. 11. La Forza. 12.
L’Appeso. 13. . 14. La Temperan. 15. Il Diavolo. 16. La Torre. 17.
Le Stelle. 18. La Luna. 19. Il Sole. 20. Il Giudizio. 21. Il Mondo. 22.
Il Matto.
No name is placed upon the 13th, which usually bears a skeleton with a
scythe, representing “death.”
The second game, the _Tarocchino_ of Bologna, though a direct descendant
of the ancient Venetian tarots, is not so old as the third game, or
_Minchiate_ of Florence. The chief characteristic of the _Tarocchino_,
its name a diminutive of _tarocchi_, is the suppression in it of the 2,
3, 4, and 5 of each numeral suit, thus reducing the numeral cards from
56 to 40. This modification of the tarot game was invented in Bologna,
early in the fifteenth century, by Francesco Fibbia, Prince of Pisa, an
exile in that city, dying there in 1419.
The third game is the _Minchiate_ of Florence. It is more complicated
than the Venetian game, twenty additional cards being added to the
emblematic series. A pack of modern Venetian tarot made in Milan, which
are remarkable for their beautifully engraved and painted designs, a
pack of modern _Tarocchino_ from Bologna, and a pack of seventeenth
century _Minchiate_, are displayed in the south side of this case. All
of these cards are in current use in different parts of Italy.
The suit marks of Italian cards consist of money, cups, swords, and
clubs, called _danari_, _coppe_, _spade_, and _bastoni_. The four court
cards of the numeral suits are known respectively as _Re_, King,
_Regina_ or _Reina_, Queen, _Cavallo_, Knight, and _Fante_, Knave. The
regular cards, as opposed to those which include the emblematic series,
are distinguished by certain peculiarities in the designs of the court
cards in different parts of Italy. The distinctive cards of Florence,
Milan, and Naples are exhibited in this case, together with several
interesting packs upon which all the designs, except an indication of
the value at the top, have given place to texts designed to afford
instruction in history, geography, etc. A remarkable pack of this
character, exhibited by Dr. G. Brown Goode, of Washington, is in
manuscript and is intended to teach geography.
According to Chatto, on the earliest cards he had ever seen the figures
had been executed by means of stencils, this being the case both in the
cards of 1440 and those known as the Stukely cards. There are exhibited
in this case the stencils, brush, and unfinished card sheets from a card
maker in Florence, who still practises this ancient method of
manufacture. The cards on the south side of this case, which in common
with all others not specially mentioned are exhibited by the University
of Pennsylvania, represent the cards made at the present day in no less
than eighteen Italian cities by some twenty-nine makers. They were
collected for the University Museum by Mr. Francis C. Macauley of
Florence. The cards of Florence, Bologna, Modena, Parma, Piacenza,
Ferrara, Padua, Treviso, Udine, Novara, Turin, Sesia, Bergamo, Brescia,
Genoa, Perugia, Naples, and Bari are included in the collection, in
which an opportunity is afforded to observe the peculiarities of the
cards of the different Italian cities. A distinctive character of the
marks of the numeral suits of _spade_ and _bastoni_ is the mode in which
they are interlaced or connected together in place of standing
separately or apart. It is interesting to note that in the cards made in
and for southern Italy this peculiarity does not exist, they being
almost identical with the cards made in Spain.
The cards of Austria succeed those of Italy. The pack exhibited from
Trent is like those of Italy, but the distinctively German cards
predominate among those made in Vienna and the northern cities.
The suit marks of old German cards consist of hearts, bells, leaves, and
acorns, which they call respectively _Herzen_ (_roth_), _Schellen_,
_Laub_ (_grün_), and _Eicheln_. The court cards of the German pack are
usually three in number, the peculiarity of the true German pack being
that the queen is omitted and an upper valet or _Obermann_ put in her
place. They consist of the _König_ or “King,” the _Obermann_, and the
_Untermann_.
Tarocchi cards are found in Germany under the name of _Taroks_, and a
number of Tarok packs manufactured in Austria appear in this collection.
Special names appear on their labels, as _Trieste Tarok_, _Kaffee
Tarok_, etc., and the tarots proper bear a variety of emblems and
designs different from those of Italy. They are usually numbered at top
and bottom with Roman numerals from I. to XXI.
Willshire has pointed out that the Italians early suppressed the
emblematic cards in a game which was termed _Trappola_, in which the
true tarots were abolished, as likewise the three, four, five, and six
of each numeral suit. This game, he states, was still in vogue in
Silesia when Breitkopf wrote (1784). An interesting Austrian pack of
this character is shown under the name of _Trappolier Spiel_, in which
the shape as well as the suit marks of the Italian tarots are displayed.
The German cards manufactured in Germany are prefaced by a series of
reprints of German cards of the last century exhibited by Mr. Macauley.
They were obtained by him through the courtesy of the Bavarian National
Museum in Munich, for which they were made from the original blocks of
the old Munich card makers that have been conserved in the Museum.
CASE XI.
GERMAN CARDS (CONTINUED), SWISS, DANISH, SWEDISH, AND RUSSIAN CARDS.
SPANISH, MEXICAN, AND APACHE CARDS.
The collection of cards made in Germany comprises 53 packs, consisting
chiefly of the current cards manufactured by card makers in Munich,
Altenburg, Frankfort a. M., Berlin, Leipzig, and Breslau. Among these is
an extremely beautiful pack by B. Dondorf of Frankfort, with pictures
suggesting the four quarters of the globe, after designs by Haussmann.
Toy cards, patience cards, comic cards, trick cards, and cards which are
labelled “Gaigel cards” appear, as well as cards made for special games,
as the _Hexen_ or “witch” packs. Many of the cards manufactured in
Germany are seen to bear the French suit marks of _Cœurs_, _Carreaux_,
_Piques_, and _Trèfles_, or “hearts,” “diamonds,” “spades,” and “clubs,”
instead of the old German suit marks, and the court cards correspond at
the same time with those of France and England. There are a number of
packs with French suit marks, which bear pictures of Swiss scenery and
costumes. The cards made in Switzerland are from Schaffhausen and
Geneva, and comprise a variety of designs, including those which are
especially designated as Swiss cards, German cards, and German Taroks.
Belgium is represented by a German tarot pack, and imitations of English
cards made for Oriental markets. Three packs of this character are
shown, which were sent from Johore, in the Malay Peninsula, with another
pack from Beirut, in Syria. The Russian cards in the collection,
contributed by Madame Semetchkin, the representative on the Russian
Commission of the “Institutions of the Empress Marie,” are similar to
modern French cards. The manufacture of playing cards in Russia is a
monopoly of the state, and the revenues accruing are devoted to the
support of the great charitable institution of which Madame Semetchkin
is the distinguished representative.
Tarots or Tarocchi cards are not used in Spain, nor are they found among
Spanish cards. The regulation Spanish pack now consists of 48 cards of
four suits, called respectively _Dineros_, “money,” _Copas_, “cups,”
_Bastos_, “clubs,” and _Espadas_, “swords.” The numerals run from one to
nine, the ten being replaced with the _Caballo_. The court cards
comprise the _Sota_, or “knave,” the _Caballo_, or “knight,” and the
_Rey_, or “king.” Cards manufactured at Vitoria, Burgos, Madrid,
Barcelona, Valencia, Cadiz, and Palamos are displayed. Great antiquity
has been claimed for cards in Spain, and it has been urged that this is
the country through which Europe received cards from the East, but
heretofore no Spanish cards of assured date earlier than 1600 have been
known, and material evidence has been lacking. There was exhibited at
the Columbian Historical Exposition in Madrid in 1892–93, a sheet of
cards made in Mexico in 1583, which has been preserved in the Archives
of the Indies at Seville, Spain, and which throw light upon the origin
of Spanish cards. A copy made in water-colors by an artist in Madrid is
shown in this collection. The original consists of an uncut sheet of
about 11 by 17 inches, and bears on the back a pen and ink inscription
with the date 1583. The face displays an impression from a wooden block
of 24 cards each 2 by 3½ inches. They are colored in red, blue, and
black, and represent the court cards and aces of the suits of money,
cups, clubs, and swords, and ten numeral or pip cards of the suit of
swords. There are but three court cards for each suit, instead of four
as in the present Spanish pack. The marks of the numeral suit consist of
crossed swords, instead of being arranged as on the Spanish cards now
current, and strongly point to the Italian affinities of early Spanish
cards.
Side by side with this early Mexican pack is a colored plate
representing leather cards made by the Indians of South America, and an
original pack of leather cards used by the Apaches. From the arrangement
of the swords on both of these sets, which were copied from cards
introduced by the Spaniards, it appears that they were initiated from
the present type of Spanish cards. Such is not the case with the
corresponding marks on a pack of native cards from the Celebes, which
are also exhibited. Their Spanish origin is clearly indicated by their
number, 48, and by the devices, which still bear a faint resemblance to
those of Europe. The clubs and swords on both are represented by crossed
lines which confirm the impression created by the Mexican pack. The
Japanese “Hana Karuta,” or “Flower Cards,” are also shown here, as
another pack of Oriental cards derived from those of Spain or Portugal.
Their number, 48, and their name, _karuta_, from the Portuguese _carta_,
clearly suggests their origin.
CASE XII.
FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND AMERICAN PLAYING CARDS. FORTUNE-TELLING CARDS, DR.
BUZBY, AUTHORS, AND MISCELLANEOUS CARD GAMES.
Tarocchi cards are called Tarots in France, and the French tarot pack is
similar to the Venetian. The earliest specimens of French Tarots
exhibited bear the name of Claude Burdel and the date 1751. There is
direct historic proof that France possessed cards at a very early time
in the accounts of the Treasurer of Charles VI., A. D. 1392. The
earliest pack of French cards in this collection is one of which I have
not been able to determine the date. It bears the name Pierre Montalan
on the Knave of Spades and Claude Valentin on the Knave of Clubs. A
variety of modern French packs are shown, including those made with
Spanish suit marks and special cards for various games. The French suit
marks reappear on English cards, and according to Willshire it is most
probable that cards made their way into England through France. He
states that the time is not known, but that we are safe in believing
that cards were not in use in England until after the reign of Henry IV.
(1405), and that they were certainly employed before 1463. The English
cards here displayed consist entirely of those of the present day, but
this deficiency in historical packs is compensated for in part by Lady
Charlotte Schreiber’s folio volume on English and Scottish, Dutch and
Flemish cards which she has loaned for this collection. The great work,
of which this is but the first volume, contains fac-similes of the cards
in Lady Charlotte Schreiber’s private collection, and reveals the wealth
of historical suggestions to be found upon playing cards, and their
value, as thus collected, to the antiquary and historian.
America early received playing cards from Spain, and Spanish cards are
still made and imported into Spanish American countries. In the United
States English cards were naturally adopted. No very early packs are
shown, but some interesting cards are found in the North American
series, including a variety of cards with patriotic emblems of the time
of the Rebellion, as well as caricature cards of the recent political
campaigns. The collection closes with the souvenir packs of the
Columbian Exposition at Chicago. Mrs. J. K. Van Rensellaer’s work,
entitled “The Devil’s Picture Books,” a copy of which is exhibited,
contains many interesting particulars concerning cards and card playing
in America. Several interesting card boxes are shown in this collection,
with specimens of the old-fashioned “fish” or card counters of
mother-of-pearl, among which are some that belonged to Robert Morris,
the financier of the Revolution. Treatises on American card games,
exhibited by Messrs. Dick & Fitzgerald, conclude the series of playing
cards proper.
Among the notions concerning the origin of cards in Europe is one that
they were first introduced by the gypsies, who used them in
fortune-telling. It appears that they were early used for divinatory
purposes in Europe, but according to Willshire their employment in
fortune-telling gradually declined among the upper classes until the
middle of the eighteenth century, “though it was prevalent, no doubt,
among the lower grades of society frequenting fairs and the caravans of
mountebanks. About 1750 divination through cards again became popular in
Paris, at least, for in 1751, 1752, and 1753 three persons were publicly
known as offering their services for this intention.” According to
certain writers, the emblematic figures of the tarot cards are of very
remote origin, stretching back as far as the ancient Egyptians, from
whom they have descended to us as a book or series of subjects of deep
symbolic meaning. The discovery and explication of the meaning of the
tarots employed in modern times was claimed by M. Count de Goebelin in
1781, who in his “Monde Primitif analysé et compare avec le Monde
Moderne,” gave a dissertation on the game of Tarots, in which he states
that the tarot pack is evidently based on the sacred Egyptian number
seven, and reviews the tarot emblems in detail.
The probable origin of the 21 tarot cards has already been suggested in
connection with Chinese cards, and it is not surprising that the
astrological notions associated with Tarots should find parallels in the
speculations of the Kabbalists, who attached similar notions to the dice
throws as are now found associated with them in China, from whence the
21 Tarot cards doubtless came to Europe. An explanation is therefore
found for some of the resemblances upon which M. de Goebelin lays such
stress. His fancies, however, never subjected to very severe examination
or criticism, were seized upon by a perruquier of Paris of the name of
Alliette, who combined with his ordinary occupation the practice of
cartomancy. He read the dissertation of Count de Goebelin, and, thereby
enlightened, changed the letters of his name and prophesied under the
name of Ettillia. His writings furnish the basis of most of the
treatises now extant upon the subject of fortune-telling with cards, and
his name is found associated with several of the modern French tarot
packs published especially for fortune-telling, in the present
collection. During the exciting periods of the first Consulship of
Napoleon I., there lived, according to Mr. Willshire, a well-known
diviner named Madame Lenormand, whose predictions gained great repute.
Her name, with that of Ettillia, appears on the French cards here
exhibited, as well as on those made in America. Several French and
German fortune-telling packs of an amusing character are to be found in
the present collection, as well as others published in the United
States, which are designed solely for purposes of amusement.
The entire northern side of this case is devoted to the card games other
than regular playing cards, which owe their existence to the prejudice
against cards or to the demand for simple and instructive amusements for
children and young people. Mr. Milton Bradley has contributed some
interesting notes on the history of such games in this country. In 1843
Miss Annie W. Abbott, a clergyman’s daughter of Beverly, Mass., offered
to Mr. Ives, a publisher of Salem, Mass., a card game which she called
“Dr. Buzby.” This game, which was the first of its kind, was reluctantly
published by Mr. Ives and met with an astonishing success, no less than
50,000 copies being sold in the following year. It will be remembered by
many of the parents of the present day as among the earliest games ever
learned and possibly played upon the sly through fear of reprimand. A
pack of the original Dr. Buzby cards will be found at the beginning of
this collection. The game of “Authors” was originated by a young man
living in Salem, helped by some of his female acquaintances. The method
of play was copied from “Dr. Buzby,” but it contained an element of
instruction and profit not found in the older game. He took it to a
local publisher to see if he could have ten or a dozen packs printed, as
it was too much work for him to print them. Mr. Smith, the publisher,
saw the possibilities of the game and told him if he would let him make
them, he would supply his needs gratis, to which he consented. This was
in 1861, and the sale of this game has since been wonderful. Many
modifications and improvements of the original game are shown in the
collection.
Soon after the publication of “Dr. Buzby,” a teacher in a young ladies’
school in Salem devised a game of letters which has since become popular
under the various names of “Spelling Puzzle,” “Word Making and Word
Taking,” “War of Words,” “Anagrams,” “Logomachy,” “Words and Sentences,”
etc. The publications of the Milton Bradley Company, McLaughlin Bros.,
and E. I. Horsman are here exhibited, and no less than 78 different card
games are displayed. They are classified in groups according to the
methods of play, which, in spite of the ingenuity displayed in the
designs of the cards, are relatively very limited in number, the ideas
in the main being derived from games already played with regular playing
cards.
The collection has received many additions since its installation,
notably a very complete series of Zuñi games from Mr. Cushing, and a
series of Malayan and Chinese games from H. H. the Sultan of Johore,
through Mr. Rouncesvelle Wildman, as well as an extremely important
collection of East Indian games from the Provincial Museum, Lucknow, and
of Burmese games collected by Mr. C. S. Bayne, Rangoon, both through the
courtesy of the Honorable Charles H. T. Crosthwaite.
_Stewart Culin._