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From their origin in China, to the great courts in Europe and beyond, the history of playing cards is as diverse as the four winds. In 1392, the royal treasurer to Charles VI ordered three games of cards “for the diversion of our lord, the King.” By the early 15th century, the four suits as we know them today appeared when the French knight Lahire invented a game of knights and chivalry. Called piquet, the suit of hearts (Coeurs) represented the church; diamonds, (Carreaux) the vassals; clubs, (Trefles) the husbandmen; and spades, (Piques) the knights themselves. And with the invention of printing, rare hand-painted cards available only to the wealthy evolved into a pastime for the masses. First brought to America by the Spanish, the Indians of the Southwest painted cards on deerskin or sheepskin in the Spanish style. The French colonists brought playing cards to New France, the English to Virginia, and the Dutch to New Amsterdam. Even Plymouth Colony recorded card playing in 1633, and by 1656 the colony enacted a law against it which carried punishment by fine, or even public whipping for children and servants. By the 18th century, the sale of playing cards in America was so profitable, they were specifically targeted by the Stamp Act. George Washington played “Whisk” for money (and sometimes lost), yet in 1777 at Morristown, recognizing the dangers of gambling, he issued a general order forbidding “All officers and soldiers playing at cards, dice or any games....” Ben Franklin enjoyed cribbage and “Boston” (a version of Whist) and it is claimed that Paul Revere engraved plates for the printing of playing cards. Popular during America's colonial and Revolutionary War periods were Whisk (Whist), Lotto, Cribbage, and Pope Joan, varieties of which are still played today.
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