Designer
Invents the look of the court cards, the suit signs and the back, and works out how the image will read at a small size and from either end. It is this vision that makes a deck recognisable.
People
People and makers
Even the simplest deck is the work of several craftsmen. One invents the figures and signs, another transfers the design to a printing surface, a third pulls the impressions and a fourth pastes the board and cuts the sheets into cards. Years later a collector and a curator handle the deck, describing it and looking after it. We write about roles and crafts, because history has not preserved the names of most card makers.
A deck's design outlives its makers: the figures are recognised, but nobody remembers who cut them.
How this section works: we write about the professions and roles connected with cards, and the only name we give is Adolf Charlemagne, the artist who created the design of the Russian "Atlas" deck. This keeps the story verifiable and stops it turning into a retelling of legends.
Who makes a deck
Six roles without which a deck would not be a work of graphic art.
Engraver
Turns the drawing into a printing surface: cuts the block, engraves the metal or prepares the stone. How cleanly the impression comes out depends on the precision of the line.
Printer
Chooses the inks, aligns the colours and makes sure every sheet is printed evenly. A registration error shows up at once in the small details of the figures.
Card maker
Pastes sheets into stiff pasteboard, cuts it into cards and finishes the corners and edges. Thanks to this work a card bends without breaking and lasts a long time.
Collector
Seeks out, compares and describes decks, noticing differences in design and printing. Many details of card history are known thanks to the patience of collectors.
Museum curator
Establishes a deck's origin, monitors light and humidity in storage and decides how to show fragile sheets to the public without damaging them.
How to read a legend about a deck without believing a myth
- Check whether a good story has a source: a tale with no reference to a catalogue or encyclopaedia remains just a tale.
- Separate the date a design was created from the date a particular deck was issued: one design could be repeated for a very long time.
- Do not link court figures to real historical people without evidence; such identifications are often invented after the fact.
- Be sceptical of any "secret meaning" in the suits and court cards: the artist's first task was a clear, practical image.
- Remember that behind a deck there is almost always a workshop rather than a lone maker, even when the designer is known.
- Compare information across several independent sources and note where they disagree, instead of choosing the most striking version.
Read next
- History
The journey of the playing card from Tang-dynasty China to the European suits and the Russian "Atlas" deck of 1862.
- Analysis
How the picture of a card king is built, and how to tell woodcut, copper engraving, lithography and offset apart by the print.
- Events
Print exhibitions, collectors' fairs, museum talks and printmaking workshops, and how to check an announcement.
- Collections
Three reading routes: court cards and kings, card backs and patterns, small decks and patience.
- Articles
Six themes of the magazine, from the first decks to caring for old cards, plus the catalogue of English-language articles.
Sources
- Encyclopaedic sources on the history of playing cards
- Museum catalogues and publications on printmaking
Dates and facts about the history of playing cards come from open encyclopaedic and museum sources; where historians disagree, we try to say so. Please check the times, venues and admission arrangements for exhibitions and lectures with the organisers.