Playing Cards

The Card Players

Paul Cezanne

1895

(Click on image to make it larger)

There is nothing I enjoy more than playing a game of cards. This prompted me to do some research and find out more about their origins. Some interesting facts emerged.

A form of playing cards were known of in China as early as the 9th century though not as we know them today. It is likely that the precursor of modern cards arrived in England from Egypt in the late 1300s, by which time they had already assumed a form very close to that used today.

The use of cards spread rapidly throughout Europe during the late 14th century. There is documentary evidence that cards were being used in Spain, Switzerland, Florence and Paris. The earliest cards were made and painted by hand. Printed woodcut decks soon followed, these were also painted by hand originally, but later the use of stencils were employed. Eventually, card, plastic and even linen were used in the manufacture of cards that we use today. Originally the four suits were represented by many different symbols depending on the country where they were being used. The four suits - spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs - originated in France around 1480. Also, in the 15th century Europeans changed the court cards to represent royalty. In earlier times the equivalent 'king' card was always the highest value card, the 'ace' being only one in value. Eventually, the ace was given more significance and was sometimes valued as the highest card in the deck as well as having a value of only one. In the 19th century artists incorporated the pips of the no-face cards into an artistic design and these were known as 'transformation playing cards.

Popular legend holds that cards are based on typical numerological elements. For example, the four suits were represented by the four seasons. 13 cards per suit are the 13 phases of the lunar

cycle, black and red are for day and night, the fifty two playing cards in the deck symbolizes the number of weeks in a year, and finally if the value of each card is added up and a one is added, generally explained away as being for a single joker, the result is 365, the number of days in a year. If the other joker is added, that makes 366 days, the number of days in a leap year. Makes you think doesn't it!

Today's Smile - Near Death Experience

A boss asked one of his employees "Do you believe in life after death".
"Yes Sir" replied the new employee.
"I thought you would" said the boss.
"Yesterday, after you left to go to your bothers funeral he stopped by to see you"

Just For Fun - What's In The Parcel

Whilst raking through some old photographs I came across this one of me with Father Christmas. It was taken in Mawer & Collinghams department store in Lincoln (now Binns), in 1948.

Can you guess what's in the parcel.

I will reveal all in tomorrows Journal!

Poem - Blankney In Winter

Today's poem describes Blankney much as it has been the last few days. It also reminds us that following a long dreary winter, Spring will always follow, and mother nature will always change her seasons. I hope you like it.


Blankney In Winter


A cold, crisp, frosty morning
Weak winter sunshine pervades
Lifeless twigs and branches
That once formed everglades
The tiny village stands alone
Blue slate roofs turned white
Supporting walls of cold grey stone
Shield families from winters bite
Reluctant children wait for school
The transports running late
Gloves and scarves keep out the cool
Young fingers brush rhyme from the gate
The little privet hedges
In summer how they grow
Now compact frozen ledges
As the pale sky threatens snow
Then falling snow becomes so dense
It smothers every sound
A robin flits from post to fence
An eerie silence falls around
Hidden now the churchyard grass
In summer neatly mown
Once again looks uniform
Pierced by each headstone
No sign of golfers in the park
Bags slung across their backs
The fairways now lie undisturbed
Except for arrowed pheasant tracks
And in the wood that fronts the church
Where chestnuts shade the ground
Amongst the towering larch and birch
A snowdrop can be found
It's fragile petals open
Searching for the sun
Behold the sign he sends us
That life goes on and on

Rodney Garlant

Whitbread Trophy Bitter

I bought these beer mats/postcards many years ago, from a flea market,whilst on holiday in Austria.
I bought them because they only cost the equivalent of a few pence and also because I was amazed to see they were English.
On the back they are printed as normal postcards and carry the slogan "Whitbread Trophy Bitter big enough to satisfy your beer buds". I know nothing about the history of them but I presume they came out around the time that Whitbread Trophy was launched onto the market.
I find them appealing because they remind me of spending time at Skegness in my youth. In those days there would be racks and racks of what were referred to as 'saucy' seaside postcards. They were all very funny and the cartoon characters were always very artistically drawn. They would be at the entrance to every bazaar mingling with the rock, buckets and spades, beach balls etc.
It was in 1894 that the Post Office gave permission for British publishers to manufacture and distribute picture postcards that could be sent through the post. But it was not until the early 1930's that the cartoon style saucy postcards became popular. At their peak sales of these postcards reached an incredible 16 million a year. Virtually everyone who went on holiday to the seaside sent the cards home to family and friends. The most renowned publisher's were a company called Bamforth & Co and leading cartoonist's included Tom Browne, John Hassall, Bruce Bairnsfather and Alfred Lees.
Back in those days of sexual repression saucy postcards were enjoyed by many, whilst others were disgusted and offended by them. Part of their appeal was the bright vibrant colours they were produced in.
The new Conservative government of the early 1950's decided the postcards were not good for our morals. Almost all seasides appointed a Watch Committee who had the powers to censor postcards they deemed unsuitable. We hear a lot today about the 'nanny state' but in fact it has been with us for over 50 years at least, and I suspect a lot longer than that.
In the early 1950's police raids were carried out and some publishers and artists were arrested. One publisher Donald McGill was brought before Lincoln court in July 1954 and charged with offences under the 1857 Obscene Publications Act. He was fined £50 and ordered to pay £25 costs.
The Watch Committees were abandoned by the end of the 1950's. The more liberal 1960's saw the return of the saucy postcard but in much lesser numbers and somewhat poorer quality. Perhaps they belonged to a past era and are not suited to the modern day sense of humour. However, in their time they brought great pleasure to millions of people. I personally, miss them!

Click on the image to see them in more detail.