Playing Cards by Roger Tilley (PT74)

Published 1973: First Octopus Books Edition / Hardcover / Very Good Condition / Illustrated throughout

Original pictorial boards and original pictorial dust jacket. 97 very clean and bright pages, mild speckled top edge. Slight shelf wear on dust jacket consistent with age. (PT74)

Postage €6.95 including any additional books ordered
An Post prepaid postage envelopes within the Republic of Ireland, with no weight restrictions from €6.95

This beautifully illustrated history traces the design of playing cards from their origins to the present day. The author follows the changes and developments from the earliest cards in China, India, and Persia, to the beginning of the four-suited pack in fourteenth-century Italy. He then shows how the Germans used woodcuts to produce intricate designs which were superceded by the simpler designs of the French.

He describes how suit-signs evolved gradually from a variety of different symbols. As well as the usual type of pack, a wide variety of special packs—commemorative, instructive, humorous—from all over the world are discussed. The illustrations, many of which were specially photographed for this book, show cards from all over the world. Google Books.