Horsin' Around with Photography

Muybridge's "The Horse in Motion", 1878.  Image courtesy of the LOC.

In 1872 the popular question in some circles was whether a horse when running ever had all four hooves off the ground.  Most paintings of horses galloping showed the forelegs and hind legs extended out in their respective positions, but no one knew if this was true.  Enter former California governor, Leland Standford, who was then the owner of race horses.  He thought that "unsupported transit" was true, and hired Eadweard Muybridge, a well-known British photographer living in San Francisco, to prove it.

Eadweard Muybridge, circa 1900.

Muybridge (who was born Edward James Muggeridge) set up a course with a series of large cameras with glass plates in a line, and tripwires that were triggered by the horse as it ran by.  Later he came up with a clockwork device to shoot this. The images were copied in silhouette onto a disc, then shown in a machine called a "zoopraxiscope", which he invented in 1879.  This device is credited with inspiring Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson's Kinetoscope, which was the first system for showing film.

Zoopraxiscope, 1893.

Muybridge settled the question in 1877 with a single of Stanford's horse "Occident" airborne.  (This negative is now lost, although there are woodcuts made of it from that time.)  A year later Muybridge did a series of photos of Stanford's horse "Sallie Gardner" which proved that all the hooves are off the ground, though not extended, but rather tucked in under the horse.

Another horse study by Muybridge of "Daisy".

Muybridge and Stanford had a falling out over the whole thing.  Stanford published a book, The Horse in Motion, without crediting Muybridge, causing the Royal Society to rescind their offer to sponsor Muybridge's stop-motion photography.  Stanford was unsuccessfully sued.

Muybridge's works are still published as reference books for artists and animators, and there are even flipbooks published using his sequences.  He is credited with influencing not only Edison and Dickson, but artists Francis Bacon, Thomas Eakins, and Marcel Duchamp, among others.

Marcel Duchamp's "Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2", 1912.

But wait!  Was he the first to do use photography to study movement?  No, as it turns out.  He, in turn, was influenced by the rather unsung French pioneer of photography and chronophotography, Étienne-Jules Marey.

Étienne-Jules Marey, circa 1850.

Marey was a physiologist, and used photography in his pursuit of science.  He began his work in the field of cardiology, studying blood circulation in the body, then turned to analyzing heart beats, respiration, and movement of the body.  He developed instruments for measuring, such as the sphygmographe to measure the pulse.

Marey's sphygmographe.

In 1869 he built a delicate artificial insect to show how it flew.  This led to his investigation of flying creatures.  In the 1880s he developed chronophotography, a photographic technique that captures movement in several frames of print, which can then be subsequently layered in a single frame or arranged like animation cels. Although it was created to study movement scientifically, it  became the impetus for cinematography and moving film that involved a series of different cameras.

A 12-lens camera was used for chronophotography.

He published a volume of his work, Le Vol des Oiseaux (The Flight of Birds), in 1890 with lots of photographs, drawings, and diagrams.  He studied other animals as well, and wrote that a galloping horse had all four hooves off the ground for a brief moment.  Muybridge knew of Marey's work, had even visited him, and said that his "Photographic Investigation" with Stanford's horses was to prove Marey right.

A photo of a flying pelican by Marey, circa 1882.

Marey played with his chronophotographic images, comparing them to images of skeletons and muscles of the same creatures.  He produced a series of drawings showing a horse in the flesh, then as a skeleton, trotting and galloping.  He developed a chronophotographic gun in 1882, capable of taking 12 consecutive frames per second on the same picture.  Using this process he studied horses, birds, dogs, sheep, fish, elephants, donkeys, reptiles, and insects.

Marey's chronophotographic gun.

He conducted a study of the famous idea that a cat always lands on all fours.  He then applied that same study to a chicken and a dog.  The results?  All could do it about the same.  Marey went on to study human locomotion, and published another book, Le Mouvement, in 1894.

A pole vaulter, 1890.

Marey's research on capturing and displaying moving images helped the nascent field of cinematography.  He had made movies with excellent image quality at high speed - 60 images per second, and created almost perfect slow-motion cinematography.  His finale was to study inanimate forms, like a ball, and his observation and photography of smoke trails led to his creation of a smoke machine with 58 smoke trails, which became one of the first aerodynamic wind tunnels.

Print from 1901of his smoke machine.
Image courtesy of the Musée d'Orsay.

The difference between Muybridge and Marey was this:  Muybridge was interested in the art of images, while Marey was strictly interested in obtaining scientific knowledge.  Although Marey is largely unheard of, his work became important in the development of cardiology, aviation, and cinematography, as well as other fields.  Muybridge influenced art and photography.  I'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall when they met.  Oh!  But then they might have used me for their motion studies!

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Images, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of Wikipedia.

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A Warning to Women From 700 Years Ago

The last scene of the Admonitions Scroll, showing the Court Instructress.
The exact date of the scroll is unknown, but estimated to be circa 6th-8th
century CE, and is a copy of one made in the 4th-5th century.

One of the most important paintings in the world was created for a Chinese empress.  Not to honor her, but to chastise and correct her.  Empress Jia Nanfeng was the first wife of Emperor Hui of the Jin Dynasty (265-420 CE), and earned a notorious reputation for murder, intrigue, and manipulation.  The painting is on a scroll and is called "Admonitions of the Instructress of Ladies in the Palace".

Scene 11:  A lady sits and reflects upon her conduct.

After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, China was in a state of chaos, with different factions competing for supremacy.  Emperor Hui was considered developmentally disabled and his wife, Empress Jia, assumed much of his power and is said to have misused it.  Her courtier, Zhang Hua, a poet-official of the palace, was appalled at her usurpation of her husband's power, and thought by appealing to her through his poem he would inspire her to commit correct actions.

Scene 2 from the Palace Museum scroll.  Lady Fan, the consort of
King Zhuang of Chu, refused to eat the meat of any animals he killed
in protest of her husband's excessive feasting and hunting.

Zhang Hua wrote the poem to all the ladies of the court, but it was meant for the Empress.  Some consider it a political parody which took a moralizing tone.  Some think it is an insightful look at statecraft and principled ruling, in line with the prevalent Confucian thought, and shows humor and wit.  Yet others consider it a moral reflection with aspirations of virtue:

Keep an eager guard over your behavior;

For then happiness will come.

Fulfill your duties calmly and respectfully;

And then shall you win glory and honor.

A century later, the situation was the same, and the court was scandalized by the murder of Emperor Xiaowudi by his consort.  To remind the court how to properly behave, the poem was resurrected and placed in a scroll done by the leading artist of the time, the legendary Gu Kaizhi.  This scroll is spectacular for its blending of the three most valued forms of expression at that time:  painting, poetry, and calligraphy.

Scene 4:  Lady Feng, consort of Emperor Yuan of Han, placed herself in front of
him to protect him from an attacking bear.  Fortunately his guards killed the bear
 which saved her.  This is the first surviving scene in the British Museum scroll.

Each of the painted scenes on the scroll are divided by the text of the poem.  It was meant to be unrolled frame-by-frame - the unrolling was part of the experience. The imagery was established in the Han Dynasty, and the message is clear:  a healthy and successful society is the result of everyone assuming their proper roles and places.  Women, in particular, must remember to be humble and a positive force in promoting social order.

Scene 7:  the palace ladies at their toilette.  It is suggested that the two
mirrors in the scene "reflect" the inner natures of the women.

The scroll is clear in "admonishing" that a woman should never exploit the weakness of her man, unless she is protecting him from danger.  Self-sacrifice is tantamount.  A woman must always play by the rules.

Scene 3 of the Palace Museum scroll:  Lady Wei, consort of the Duke Huan
of Qi, refused to listen to his licentious music, choosing instead to listen to
morally uplifting ritual court music of bells and chimes.

Despite his legendary status, none of Gu Kaizhi's original work has survived. Copies of his work exist, and he has been mentioned in dynastic histories.  He also appears in a seminal text on painting that was written by Zhang Yanyuan in 847 CE.  Known for his "gossamer brush line", Chinese artists have sought to emulate his work for centuries.

Scene 8:  the emperor visits a consort, but since his feet are on the floor, it
seems he can't decide to enter.  Or perhaps he's leaving?

The main copy of the scroll, estimated to have been made one hundred years after the original, is in the British Museum.  It was last known to be in the hands of the Qianlong Emperor, who had designated it as one of his "Four Beauties", which could stand for his four most precious paintings or the four qualities of leadership he aspired to - kindness, righteousness, loyalty, and trustworthiness - but never seemed to achieve.  The scroll has a unique aspect to it, as it harbors the seals and colophons of the Chinese emperors and collectors who once owned it.  In the aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion (1899), a British officer "acquired" it and sold it to the British Museum.

Scene 9:  The Family scene showing the Emperor surrounded
by his wives and children, suggesting stability.

It is very fragile and can only be seen for brief periods and in low light levels.  UV light is particularly harmful, and when not on view it is kept in the dark.  Painted on silk, the fabric is very frail and the paint has cracked and flaked.  It is kept where rapid or extreme changes in temperature or humidity cannot affect it or weaken it by shrinking or expanding.  Initially it had twelve scenes, but nine remain.

Scene 10:  The emperor rejects his consort with his gesture and a look.

There is another copy, in monochrome paper with twelve scenes, in the Palace Museum in Beijing.  This one was made during the Southern Song era (1127-1279), and is believed to be a copy of the one in the British Museum.  The additional scenes in this one are not as detailed as the rest of the scroll, so the other copy may have already lost the scenes when this one was made, and the additional scenes were reconstructions by the painter of what he imagined they might have been.

Scene 5 from the Palace Museum scroll showing Lady Ban refusing to
ride in the Imperial litter.

Same scene from the British Museum scroll.  She was the consort of the
Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, and refused to ride with him as paintings
of wise rulers always showed them riding with their ministers and not women.

Whether her ruthlessness was warranted at the time she lived or not, Empress Jia apparently ignored the admonition.  There were civil wars, and she was captured in a coup and forced to commit suicide in 300 CE.  But rather than correcting her behavior, the scroll immortalized her and she has become part of the history of a remarkable and precious work of art.  We may never know her true story, but she lives on tied to a thing of great beauty.

All nine scenes of the scroll, which is 10'10" long and 9.8" high.

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Images courtesy of Wikipedia (which had the best quality).

The British Museum webpage is here.

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Social and Political Satire Two Hundred Years Ago...

James Gillray by Charles Turner, 1819.
Image courtesy of the NY Public Library.

Caricaturists are all the rage today, especially with the political situations occurring worldwide.  But one of the best ever lived in what has been called the "golden age" of English caricature (circa late 1700s to early 1800s).  James Gillray was an equal-opportunity caricaturist, and no one was safe from his often outrageous caricatures, which were works of art.  This "no one is safe" approach also accounts for the long success of South Park.

L'Assemblée Nationale, 1804, is considered one of best caricatures ever done
because of its remarkable likenesses.  It depicts a reception given by Charles
James Fox for the Prince of Wales; all the participants were anti-government.
The Prince of Wales paid big bucks to suppress it and have the plate destroyed.

In the late 1700s London booksellers and print shops displayed prints in their storefront windows.  People would crowd the sidewalks, especially people who couldn't afford to buy, and look at the prints.  At this time the term "caricature" came to be used for any print that was humorous or satirical.  Soon these prints became so popular that shops catering solely to caricatures were established. Collectors, mostly upper class, collected them by the hundreds, and often had them bound.  Caricaturists became celebrities, known internationally.

May 29, 1787, shows the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and King George
(dressed as a woman) scarfing gold coins from a bowl.  They (except the
Prince of Wales) have full bags hanging around their necks like goitres,
and the door of the treasury behind them is open.

Gillray began as an engraver's apprentice at an early age.  Bored, he joined a band of strolling players, along with some of his fellow apprentices.  When that didn't pan out, he began selling his work again in London.  He was a student at the Royal Academy in 1778, and supported himself on the side by engraving.  At this time caricaturists were considered to be a "disreputable" profession, and were on the bottom of the hierarchy among printmakers, despite their work being avidly sought by the upper class (being "disreputable" may have added to their marketability.)

The Plumb-pudding in danger, February 26, 1805, shows William Pitt and
Napoleon carving a plum pudding which is also the world.

He wanted to be a portrait painter, but got few commissions, so he went back to engraving for local print shops.  He sold his work mainly through William Humphrey, but later began working for Humphrey's younger sister, Hannah. Gillray helped her become London's leading print seller, living with her in a room above her shop.  Rumors of their relationship ran rampant, but there are no facts concerning their relationship, although she was a stabilizing force in his life and physically cared for him until he died.

Very Slippy Weather, February 10, 1808, shows a scene outside
Miss Humphrey's print shop with a crowd looking at the prints.

His prints were made by four men who manned two flat-bed presses, then they were hand-colored by a crew of women.  Miss (often called "Mrs.") Humphrey sold them in her shop and also was the wholesale distributor to other dealers.

Two-Penny Whist, January 11, 1796, the second woman (with glasses) is
Hannah Humphrey, the other woman is her shop assistant.  Image courtesy NYPL.

He was a liberal initially, but then his work started showing support for the Tories. When asked why he drew things that were adverse to the Whigs, he stated that the Whigs were poor and did not buy his prints, hence demonstrating that like most satirists, his skills were for hire.  Therefore he cannot be seen as a political adherent to either side, since his work covered the entire political scene.  It was a good time to be a caricaturist, as party warfare, like today's, was quite bitter and active.  Gillray's biting humor and sharp sense of the ridiculous paired with his skills made him highly sought after and admired.

A Connoisseur Examining a Cooper, 1792, is one of Gillray's most
famous satires.  King George III (the figure depicted) once said that
he didn't understand Gillray's caricatures.  Gillray shows him using
a candle, evidence of his miserly habits, to look at a small picture
of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, evidence of his pretension
of knowing art, and reflecting republicanism in Britain.  Image
courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Along with skewering the political figures such as King George III, the Prince of Wales, and Napoleon Bonaparte, he turned his deft mind and skills to social issues as well, which are just as amusing.

The Gout, published May 14, 1799.

Gillray's eyesight failed in 1806, and spectacles did not help.  He became depressed and turned to drink. In 1811, he tried to commit suicide by jumping out of the attic window of Miss Humphrey's shop.  He suffered from insanity, but was looked after by Miss Humphrey until his death in 1815.

The Cow-Pock, 1802, Edward Jenner administers cowpox vaccine to frightened
young women at St. Pancras Hospital.  There was much controversy over the
smallpox vaccine, inspiring this satire.  Cows are emerging from the bodies of
the innoculees.

The "golden age" of the English engraver has provided us with information about the historical events of the day, fashions, and what people thought and felt.  These documents are still highly collectable.  Initially they were priced for and collected by wealthy patrons.  One of the most remarkable collections of Gillray's work was amassed by Samuel J. Tilden, lawyer, New York governor, and candidate for president of the United States.  Today, the Tilden Trust is one of the cornerstones of the New York Public Library.

A Meeting of Embrellas, 1782, a social comment on the fact
that a man carrying an umbrella was seen as effeminate.

Gillray was brilliant and a skilled draftsman and printmaker.  His familiarity with current events, issues, scandals, and trends blended well with his knowledge of history, literature, and art history, allowing him to create sharp satires that were spot on.  He is considered one of the most influential political caricaturists, and the great French caricaturist, André Gill (born Louis-Alexandre Gosset de Guînes), chose his pseudonym to honor Gillray.  How many of today's caricaturists will be valued and collected two hundred years in the future?

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Unless otherwise noted, images courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Repost: The Voynich Manuscript

From 2/15/11:

The strange Voynich manuscript boinks cerebral scholars.

The University of Arizona has recently redated a puzzling manuscript known as the Voynich Manuscript.  Most scholars, who have been unable to decipher its script or make sense of its drawings, had thought it was created in the 16th century.  But modern radiocarbon dating reveals that the pages hark back to the early 15th century, making it a century older than previously thought.

U of A researchers first performed C14 dating in 2009, and they then concluded the parchment was created between 1404 and 1438.  The McCrone Research Institute in Chicago was also able to determine that the ink was added soon afterward.  Experts think the manuscript most likely comes from Northern Italy. One significance of the accurate dating is that it places it in a time when coded texts were in fashion, and thus allows scholars to discard encoding techniques that were used later than the date of the manuscript and concentrate on contemporary ones.

The manuscript is composed of approximately 240 vellum pages, most of which are illustrated.  The unknown script in an unknown language by an unknown author has caused it to be considered the world's most mysterious manuscript.  It has been studied by professionals and amateurs alike, including codebreakers from both WWs, to no avail.  From the gaps in numbering it seems the manuscript once had at least 272 pages, and they are thought to have been reordered, maybe even several times, from the original sequence.  A quill pen was used for both text and drawings, and the figures were roughly painted, possibly at a later date.

Stars or flowers seem to serve as bullets.

Experts believe the text was written left to right with no punctuation, although there are flower or star bullets in some places in the left margin.  Some of the words occur only in certain sections, for instance in the herbal section the first word on each page only occurs in that place, hence is logically the name of the plant being discussed.  While the lettering resembles European alphabets of the time, these words do not make sense in any of the European languages.  Ten of the months (March to December) are written in Latin in the diagrams of the astronomy section, but may have been added later.

Text sample.

The illustrations are not helpful in decoding the text, but seem to suggest that the book was arranged in six sections:  herbal, astronomical, biological, cosmological, pharmaceutical, and recipes.  Except for the recipes section which is all text, the other sections have at least one illustration on almost every page.  The manuscript seems to be a pharmacopoeia or early medical book.  However, none of the plants in the herbal section are readily identifiable.  Since the text is undecipherable, the illustrations are the only clues for this manuscript.  The human figures wear dress and hairstyles that are European, and the castles are European as well.

Possibly nymphs from the Biology section.

The earliest mention of the book  is in a 1639 letter from then owner George Baresch, a 17th century Czech alchemist, to Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit Scholar at the Collegio Romano who had published a Coptic dictionary.  Kircher tried to acquire it, and finally did after Baresch left it to a mutual friend, rector Jan Marek Marci, when he died.  Marci sent it to Kircher.  The next 200 years of the manuscript's history are unknown.  It is accepted that it was in the Collegio Romano with the rest of Kircher's papers.  In 1870 the Papal States were annexed, and books from the library were furtively transferred to the personal libraries of the staff to avoid confiscation.

Plant illustration.

The Voynich manuscript still has the mark of ex libris of Petrus Beckx, who was the head of the Jesuit order.  Beckx's library was moved to the new headquarters of the Jesuit Ghislieri College in 1866.  By 1912, the Collegio Romano was short of funds and quietly sold some of their effects.  Voynich is said to have found it while sifting through a chest of books for sale.  He spent the next 18 years trying to make sense of the manuscript but made no headway before he died.

Many scholars have and do consider the manuscript to be a hoax, however it is very sophisticated.  There have been many attempts to identify the author but all are inconclusive.  In Marci's cover letter to Kircher upon sending him the book, he claimed that book had been bought by Holy Roman Emperor and Bavarian King Rudolf II (1552-1612) for a sum that would now be about $80,000, and suggested the author may have been Roger Bacon, a fact which Voynich tried to confirm.  John Dee, a mathematician/astrologer in the court of Queen Elizabeth I, has also been suggested as author.  Dee's scrier, or crystal gazer, Edward Kelley claimed to invoke angels and have long conversations with them, which Dee wrote down.  The angel's language he called Enochian, after Enoch, the father of Methuselah, and some scholars also think that Kelly may have fabricated the Voynich manuscript.

From the Astronomy section.

There are those who think Voynich may have manufactured it himself.  As an antiquarian book dealer, he had the knowledge and the means to acquire the materials.  The correspondence concerning it may not refer to the manuscript that currently exists, and may have led Voynich to fabricate the manuscript and push for the Bacon authorship, which would drive the price up.  But this is only one of many theories, and none currently are satisfying.  Some scholars even think it may be the work of multiple authors.

Wilfrid Michael Voynich in 1885.

There are so many interesting aspects to this manuscript, way too many to go into here.  Real or hoax, and regardless who wrote it, it is a fascinating puzzle.  But another puzzling aspect about it is how Voynich came upon it.   Michał Wojnicz (later known as Wilfrid Michael Voynich) was a Polish revolutionary who went to London in 1890 and worked for anarchist and nihilist organizations until at least 1896.  Suddenly he morphed into an internationally known antiquarian book dealer by 1898, but little is known of this transformation.  An even more interesting question is where he got the funds to purchase the hundreds of rare books that he displayed in his London shop.  In 1914 he moved to New York, and opened another book shop.  He died in 1930.  His wife Ethel Lilian Boole (daughter of mathematician George Boole) inherited the book.  When she died it passed to her friend and her husband's former secretary, Anne Nill, who eventually sold it to rare book dealer Hans P. Kraus.  When Kraus couldn't get his asking price of $160,000, he donated to Yale University, where it is kept in the Beinecke Library as MS 408.

Ethel Lilian Voynich, from the frontispiece of

Book News, Vol. 20, No. 229, published by

The National Book League, Great Britain

Much has been written about the Voynich manuscript - books, articles for both popular magazines and scholarly journals, and online.  It is continually being analyzed and theorized.  A facsimile of it was published in 2005.  Hopefully, with all the attention it is receiving, its mysteries will be revealed and the puzzle finally solved.

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All images courtesy of Wikipedia.

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To see all the images page-by-page, go to the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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If you would like to contribute to the discussion or keep abreast of the current

research on the Voynich manuscript, you may want

 to subscribe to the Voynich Manuscript Mailing List HQ.

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Repost: Acey, Deucey, One-Eyed Jack

From 12/13/10:

I, like most people, enjoy playing cards.  Unfortunately I don't play often enough, and it takes me a while to get my card chops back.  Except for poker.  I have the worst poker face ever.  I'm guessing my pout and displeased expression must give away a bad hand.  But if I have a good hand (and I always play with a little sheet my husband made me to remember what's what and what's higher) I'm like a dog being told that it's time for a walk.  Tongue hanging out, tail wagging, I can barely contain myself.  If I were a playing card, I'd be the joker.

  

Playing cards, like chess, are believed to have been invented in India.  The oldest Indian cards were divided into ten suits representing the ten incarnations of the god Vishnu.  They were round in shape and hand painted, and some even had thirty-two suits.  Ganjifa is a card game from Persia that was popular with the Mughals in 15th century India, but it’s not clear which influenced which, ganjifa or Indian cards.

Cards from a Dashavatara (Ten Avatars) Ganjifa set.  From top left across:

6 white horses with parasols  of the Kalki suit; four tigers  of the

Narasimha suit; seven tortoises  of the Kurma suit; 3 axes of the Parashurama

suit; minister on horseback of the Vamana suit; 3 ewers of the Vamana suit;

10 quivers of the Lakshmana suit; boar incarnation of the Varaha suit; 5 lotuses

of the Buddha suit; 6 peacock feather crown of the Taj (Crown) suit.

Rajasthan, India, 19th century,  LACMA.

Chinese playing card

found near Turfan,

c. 1400 CE

Museum fur Volkerkunde

Cards were found in China as early as the 9th century, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE).  Ancient Chinese cards have four suits, and feature ideograms.  There is a suggestion that these early cards may have been a form of currency.  Modern Mahjong tiles possibly evolved from these.

How playing cards got to Europe is debatable.  Some say Marco Polo brought them back from China, but he seems to be the go-to guy for anything in Europe derived from Asia.  Most references state the Saracens introduced them.  They are mentioned in documents from the late 13th century in Europe.  Charles VI of France bought three decks of cards we know from a receipt from 1392.  (Mother always told me to save all receipts.)  They became very popular, were taxed, and had import restrictions on them.  There are some historians who claim that playing cards came from tarot cards, but the two types of cards developed independently.  (The use of the tarot deck exclusively for divination is in the U.S.  Other countries use the deck, usually with modifications, to play card games.)

The first cards were very expensive because they were made by hand.  In the 15th century woodcuts were used to create printed decks.  Most of these woodcut printed cards were hand colored.  Soon engraved cards appeared, which was an even more expensive process.  These are very collectable, as are playing cards in general, should you have too much money and wish to spend it on something.  (I have other ideas in this regard - just email me.)

The seven of hearts,

1803, from Metastasis, the first

complete set of transformed cards

published by John Nixon.

3 of cups, c. 1520

Topkapi Seray Museum,

Istanbul

It wasn’t until 1832 that Thomas de la Rue invented a typographic process that was used in making cards, and the “double-headed” cards became the standard.  These featured images that were duplicated in reverse, so they could be viewed from either end.  This was an important feature since prior to that astute players would be able to figure out how many court cards a rival had when s/he turned them right side up.

There are currently various types of playing cards within the many countries that use them.  The number of cards and suits differ; the English adopted the French deck.  The French deck originated circa 1480 CE, with four suits:  the trèfle, or club, mostly liked derived from an acorn; the pique, or spade, from the leaf used in German decks; hearts and diamonds, which are self-explanatory.

The court cards developed in the 15th century, representing European royalty.  Thus there were kings, queens, and knaves.  The knaves were changed to Jacks in the 17th century.  Primarily this change occurred when indices were printed on the corners of cards, so the player could fan his/her holdings in one hand and know what cards were there.  Since “K” (for king) and “Kn” (for knave) looked too closely alike, the change to “J” was thought to facilitate a quicker reading of the cards by the players.

In the earliest games the king was always the highest card, but in the 14th century the ace, then the lowest card, gained significance.  It is believed that by the 18th century, the French Revolution cemented that ace high concept as a symbol of the lower class rising above royalty.  The word ace was ultimately derived from the ancient Roman aes, the smallest unit of coinage.

A vehicle for a political statement, this card of

the French Revolution symbolizes brotherhood.

During this time Kings, Queens, and Jacks became

Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities, as a good

revolutionary wouldn't associate with royalty.

This concept was reversed with Napoleon.

The U.S. introduced the joker into the deck, whose identity was similar to the fool in the tarot deck.  It was devised for the game of Eucre, which was very popular in the 19th century.  The name of the character is believed to have derived from juker, a different pronunciation of the game.  The standard deck of 52 cards includes 13 cards of each of the four suits, plus two jokers, which are removed for most games.  Although English or American decks differ from what is used in France, they are still considered French decks.

Image of the 3 of clubs from a deck called

The Key to the Kingdom  commissioned by

London's Victoria and Albert Museum of

Childhood, created by Tony Meeuwissen.

Set was published in 1992 and featured

nursery rhymes and poems.

Even though some of the design elements of the cards are rarely used in games they are notable.  The jack of spades, jack of hearts, and king of diamonds are featured in profile, and referred to as “one-eyed”.  “Acey, deucey, one-eyed jack” means that aces, twos, and one-eyed jacks are wild cards.  Since the king of hearts originally was the only king without a moustache and had a sword behind his head, it lead to his moniker of “suicide king”, or “false king”.  On some decks a closer look reveals that there are four hands, and the sleeves of the arm holding the sword don’t match his, meaning he is being murdered.  It turns out it is the arm of the queen of spades.  The explanation for this card seems to be lost.  There are many theories about just who these royal cards represent, but today’s cards have been distorted and carry no significance.  The following are some of the traditional references to the royal cards:

King of Spades            David

King of Hearts             Charles (possibly Charlemagne, or Charles VII)

King of Diamonds       Julius Caesar

King of Clubs              Alexander the Great

Queen of Spades          Pallas

Queen of Hearts           Judith

Queen of Diamonds     Rachel

Queen of Clubs            Argine (possibly an anagram of regina, which is Latin for queen,

Knave of Spades          Ogier the Dane/Holger Danske (a knight of Charlemagne)

Knave of Hearts           La Hire (comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc/member of Charles VII's court)

Knave of Diamonds     Hector

Knave of Clubs            Judas Maccabeus, or Lancelot

Again, there are many other decks.  A 32-card deck is known as a piquet deck and used in Europe for games including Belote, the most popular card game in France.  Skat, the national card game of Germany, uses a similar deck.  A 48-card deck is popular in Japan.  But the most popular card game worldwide is bridge, although poker is probably catching up if it hasn't already.

Today, decks are inexpensive and available all over in the United States.  Cards have held on to their popularity since their introduction, and with the advent of children’s games, like Old Maid, most people grow up playing some kind of card game.  Of course, the most memorable one is the one you learned to play immediately the first time – 52 Pickup.  Even I remember how to play that, no crib sheet necessary.

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All images except as noted from Wikipedia

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