About the year 1660, heraldic C. were first introduced into England, the king of clubs being represented by the arms of the pope; of spades, by those of the king of France; of diamonds, by those of the king of Spain; and of hearts, by those of the king of Eng land. From these heraldic C., we suppose, Mr. Chatto derives the word coat-cara, instead of court-card, which is certainly in more general use. In 1679, a pack was published containing the history of all the popish plots, "excellently engraved on copper-plates, with veryIarge descriptions under each card. Aspersers of this pack," it is added by their disinterested publisher, "plainly show themselves to be popishly affected." The French, from whom we derive our ordinary suits of diamond, heart, spade, and club—carreau, coeur, pique, and treljle—were continually changing their court-cards, and representing on them all sorts of historical characters. In the earlier periods, their kings David. Alexander, Caesar, and Charlemagne, or Solomon, Augustus, Clovis, and Constantine; about all of whom, as well as their queens, Pere Daniel has the most ingenious theories. Troops, says he, however brave and numerous, require to have prudent and experienced generals. The true or clover-plant, which abounds in the meadows of France, denotes that a chief ought always to encamp his army in a place where he may obtain forage for his cavalry; piques and rarreaux signify magazines of arms, which ought ever to be well stored—the carreau being a sort of heavy arrow shot from a cross-bow, and which was so called from its bead being squared (carrel ; cmurs, hearts, signified courage of both commanders and soldiers; the ace was the Latin as, and represented money, the sinews of war; and so on.
At the time of the French revolution, the places of the card-kings were filled by four philosophers—Moliere, Lafontaine, Voltaire, and Rousseau; and those of the queens by four virtues—prudence, justice. temperance, and fortitude.
Many attempts have been made to put down card-playing by the strong hand of the Jaw; but the history of the four kings has, nevertheless, always retained its students. Not a few enthusiastic players have absolutely died in harness, with cards in their hands, such as the great Bath player Lookup, who expired at his favorite "double dumby," not even being permitted by inexorable death to play out the game. The four kings, like their flesh-and-blood originals, are likely to lose all sway over the new world; for Mr. Chatto informs its. that the if they can lie called so, of a republican pack manufactured in 1848 at New York, have neither kings nor queens; the president of hearts being Washington; of diamonds, John Adams; of clubs, Franklin; and of spades, Lafayette. One of the queens is Venus, modestly concealing her charms; and the others are respectively Fortune, Ceres, and Minerva; while the knaves are fitly repre sented by Indian chiefs.
The manufacture of playing-cards comprises many interesting processes. The card board employed for this purpose is formed of several thicknesses of paper pasted together; there are usually four such thicknesses; and the paper is so selected as to take paste, paint, and polish equally well. The sheets of paper are pasted with a brush, and are united by successive processes of cold-drying, hot-drying, and hydraulic press ure. Each sheet is large enough for 40 cards. The outer surfaces of the outer sheets are prepared with a kind of flinty coating, which gives sharpness to the outline of the various colored devices. Most packs of cards are now made with colored backs. The ground-tint is laid on with a brush, and consists of distemper color, or pigments mixed with warm melted size. The device impressed on this ground-tint is often very beauti ful. Messrs. De la Rue, the leading firm in the manufacture, employ tasteful artists, and invest a large amount of capital, in the introduction of new patterns. On cards sold at moderate prices, the colors at the back are generally two—one for the ground, and one for the device; but some of the choicer specimens display several colors; and many of the designs are due to the pencil of Mr. Owen Jones. The printing of the design
is done on the sheets of paper, before the pasting to form cardboard. The pips or spots on the faces of playing-cards are now spades, crabs, hearts, and diamonds; but at differ ent times, and in different countries, there have been leaves, acorns, bells, cups, swords, fruit, heads, parasols, .and other objects similarly represented. In English cards, the i colors are red and black; Messrs. De la Rue once introduced red, black, green, and blue for the four suits; but the novelty was not encouraged by card-players. The same makers have also endeavored to supersede the clumsy devices of kings, queens, and knaves, by something more artistic; hut this, too, failed commercially; for the old patterns, like the old willow-pattern dinner-plates, are still preferred—simply because the users have become accustomed to them. Until within the last few years, the print ing of cards was generally done by stenciling, the color being applied through perforated devices in a stencil-plate. The color employed for this purpose is mixed up with a kind of paste. When there is a device at the back, the outline of the device is printed from an engraved wood-block, and the rest filled in by stenciling. The stenciling of the front and back can be done either before or after the pasting of the sheets into card board. One great improvement in the manufacture, has been the substitution of oil color for paste or size color; and another, the substitution of printing for stenciling. Messrs. De la Rue have expended large sums of money on these novelties; for many experiments had to be made, to determine how best to employ oil color so that the spots or pips be equal-tinted, the outline clear and sharp, the pigment well adherent to the surface, and the drying such as to admit of polishing without stickiness. The plates for printing are engraved on copper or brass, or are produced by electrotype, or are built up with small pieces of metal or interlaced wire. The printing is done in the usual way of color-printing, with as many plates as there are colors (usually five), and one for the outlines; it is executed on the sheets of paper, before being pasted into card board. When the printing, drying, and pasting are all completed, a careful polishing is effected by means of brush-wheels, pasteboard wheels, heated plates, and heated rollers, in such a way that the polish on the back may differ from that on the face—since it is found that two equally polished surfaces do not slide quite so readily over each other. Every pack of cards made in England for home-use pays a duty of threepence, which duty is levied on the ace of spades. The makers of cards pay per annum for a license, and formerly the venders had to pay 28. fid. per annum, but this latter tax was repealed on the 5th July, 180. The carboard, when all the printing is finished. is cut up into cards; every card is minutely examined, and placed among the "moguls," " harrys," or "highlanders," as they are technically called, according to the degree in which they may be faultless or slightly specked; and the cards are finally made up into packs. Persons wishing- the best cards should ask for "moguls," the usual retail price for a pack of which is 2/3 to 3/9.
A few years ago, it was estimated that about half a million packs of cards are made annually in England, by about seven or eight firms. Card-playing is not now so general in England as it was early in the century, and the number made has conse quently lessened, although the quality has greatly improved. All the cards used iv Russia, with a few exceptions, are made at an imperial manufactory in St. Petersburg, where the operations are conducted on a large scale, and where the number of packs made exceeds manifold the whole produce of England. The French cards are some what smaller and thinner than those of England.