"Canasta special"- Modanio

"Canasta special"-Modanio-  54 x 3 cards

If you were to first see this deck of cards, without any introduction, one may be forgiven for thinking they were produced for a children's game- After all, how would you expect any serious game to be played with a deck which consists of pictures of fruit?
 
  However, it is not so. A serious game is indeed played with these cards, and it is Canasta. This becomes more apparent upon examining the deck's structure, and with a knowledge of how it is played.

 The subjects of a normal deck, have been replaced in this one with images of plants and animals. If one were to observe the indices of the deck. Firstly, the joker has an image of a copurnica ( D).  There are a pair of these cards, in each deck.

 Secondly, The 2s and aces are represented by a basket ( canasta in spanish) , and a pineapple.

( B, C) To reflect the black and red suits in a normal deck, Two of the cards have black frames, and two others have red ones.

  The red 3s of a normal deck(3♦, 3♥) now bear the image of a squirrel. The black 3s (3♣, 3♠,)  bear the image of a hound. There are only 2 of each card. ( A, J)

 The  4s, 5s, 6s and 7s have been replaced with images of berries. Like the pineapple and basket, their colour is reflected by that of their frame,  along with the colour of the fruit's stems and indices .

The 8s,  9s, 10s,  and the three court cards have been replaced with images of other kinds of fruit. Note the minature depictions of the fruit in the card's corner.

If you are somewhat confused, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canasta

"canasta"( modanio)

"Canasta" ( modanio ), 162 c. ( 54 cards x 3 )
This curious variation of the international pattern is made for only one thing in mind, that is, the playing of the game of Canasta.
As some of my readers will know, in canasta,  only the colour of the suit  counts ( that is, there is no distinction made between hearts & diamonds nor spades or clubs) . Therefore, the ingenious italians have made a special deck expressedly for this game, with red or black dots replacing the suits.

As in Italy, the game of canasta is played with 3 decks of cards, this "pattern" comes only in 162 card sets, with 3 copies of each card.

Note that the courts used in each "suit"  are identical. 



Sicilian tarot, part 3

Sicilian tarot, part 3- the trumps:
the Sicilian tarot's trumps are quite unusual. for starters, instead of the pope at trump 5,  we have temperance. likewise, as I have stated in the introduction, the highest trump is marked 20, and depicts Jove.
Sometime after its introduction into Sicily, some figures of the tarot deck, viz; the devil, and the tower were judged to have been offensive ( apparently, by the duchess  Rosalia Caccamo), and were replaced by more innocuous counterarts: the devil was replaced by a ship (taken from the minchiate deck) However, the reason why the tower was censored was because, according to reports,  it originally depicted a person being dragged down to hell......

However, strangely, some other subjects escaped censorship:. take 11 for example, "the hanged man" in most tarot decks, the figure is suspended from the foot. However, in this deck, the unfortunare is depicted quite graphically strung by his neck!. Also, on 19, the sun, we see 2 men [ cain &abel?] , one about to club the other.  also, no 13, death , escaped censorship altogether.

for part 2, see http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/12/sicilian-tarot-part-2.html

part 1- http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/12/sicilian-tarot-tarocco-siciliano.html



 for another review of this deck , see: http://pasteboardmasquerade.com/Reviews/sicilian.html

Sicilian tarot, part 2

Sicilian tarot, part 2- the court cards:
the courts of the Sicilian deck are very interesting. For starters, the knaves are female. this mirrors the ancient portugese cards, where the jacks in the suits of cups and coins were female.
in the suit of batons, observe the knave. she is holding a parrot. innocuous, you may say, but in former times, the parrot was a dragon....

see part 1 http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/12/sicilian-tarot-tarocco-siciliano.html
part 3 - http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/12/sicilian-tarot-part-3.html

tarocco piemontese (modanio) part 2

For an introduction to this deck by modanio, see  http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/tarocco-piemontesi-modanio-part-1.html

Now, in this post, I shall discuss the trump cards of this deck.
The trump cards are a series of 22 cards. 21 of them are numbered from 1-21, and there is one unnumbered one, called the fool (or "matto") . this series is known to the fortune tellers as the "major arcana"

the picture above shows the first 5 trumps, including the fool ( numbered 0)

note the card marked "2" it bears the text "la papessa"- "the popess " this is intended to refer to pope joan, who was said to have reigned ( disguised as a man) in the middle ages. also , the card marked '5" depicts " il papa"- "The pope"

the top 5 trumps. in most games played with the deck, the 20 ("judgement") is regarded as the highest trump-

the trumps of 10-13. here you see the effect of making the cards double faced.

trump 12, "the hanged man, " is usually depicted as a man suspended by his foot from a gallows ( see below) .  however, when the deck became double-faced, all that was left was his pants and legs!

the hanged man, before becoming double faced.

tarocco piemontesi (modanio), part 1

tarocco piemontesi , modanio, 78 c.
this tarot deck is used in piedmont for playing various games ( and if you are one of those who think the tarot is for fortune telling, please see http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/on-tarot.html)
Since a deck of 78 cards is quite hard to examine in one post, I shall break it down into it's 2 parts, viz: the trumps and suit cards. this post examones the suit cards.

Now, one of the defining features of a tarot deck is the inclusion of an extra rank into the court/picture cards, the knight. this brings the total number of court cards from 12 to 16.
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Note the followng features in the deck:
I- three of the forur ourts bear names in italian. the only rank that is unnamed is the jack, or valet.
II the 2 of coins has a sort of ribbon wrapped around the pips. this feature is found in other italian decks.
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/bresciane-modanio.html
III the pips of the coins bear numbers in them.

"bresciane" (modanio)

Bresciane by modanio. 52 cards.
The Brescian pattern is the only italian pattern that invariably has 52 cards. You will not find a 40-card version of this pattern.
The design of this pattern is not unlike the bergamo pattern ( see:http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/bergamasche-modanio.html), viz: it has the same distinctive red & black coins, the cupid on the ace of cups & the 5 of coins has a starburst around the central coin.
other than that, this pattern is much smaller ( 8.5 x 4 cm) ,and the court figures are drawn in a more crude fashion ...

compare : http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/11/bergamasche-modanio.html,
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/trentine-trent-pattern.html

"bergamasche" ( modanio)

Bergamasche ( bergmao pattern) by modanio. 40 c.
This pattern is used in the city of Bergamo, and is rather plain.
that is to say, it does not have interesting fatures. for example,  on the ace of cups stands a Cupid, and the ace of batons exclaims "VINCERAI"-  "Victory!"
Some of the pip cards have little pictures inserted in them (see 3rd pic)
Another interesting feature is the ace of coins, which is Normaly a simple ring in red & black ( the inside of the coin was cleared so the tax stamp could be put on it) but here, the ring has been filled in with the characteristic black & red coin of this pattern.

"sarde" (modanio)

Sardinian playing cards by modanio. 40 cards.
In my opinion, this pattern is the most artistic of all those used in italy
The design of this pattern barely conceals it's spanish origins. it probably was a copy of a luxury spanish deck made sometime in the 1820s. In fact, it can be said to be simply a copy of the " Baraja Neoclasica' by clemente roxas in 1810.(http://pictures.todocoleccion.net/tc/2009/06/20/13868554.jpg for a pic of the deck.)
also note the little pictures on the 4s.
compare http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/spanish-playing-cards.html

Romagnole (modanio)

playing cards from  Romagna, by modanio. 40 cards

another italian pattern.
The card on the far left ( that is blank save for the maker's name & a green thing  in the middle) is the ace of coins. the reason for the sparse decoration is the fact on this card went the tak stamp, and as a result, space had to be cleared for it.
also note the king of coins. in older editions of this pattern, he is shown about to stab hmself with the ax he is holding... the same as the english king of hearts!

"napoletane"( modanio)

Neopolitan playing cards  by modanio. 40 c.
the followibng pattern is used in naples, and is about the same size as the sicilian  playing cards.
note the grotesque on the 3 of batons, & the hunting scene on the 5 of swords.

sicilian pattern ( modanio)

sicilian pattern, 40 cards.
in my poinion, this pattern is probably the most charming to come from itally, for starters, the cards are only 8 x 5 centimeters!
Some features to note include the little figures on the pip cards. for example, a man & a woman are duelling on the 4 of cups.
another feature to note is the horizontal arrangement of the cups on the 6 of cups.

Triestine pattern

Treistine pattern, Modanio, 40 cards.
This queer looking pattern is closely related to the Venitian pattern, as evidenced by the mottoes on the aces, and the figures on the courts.
the courts have the rather convenient ( at least if you know italian) feature of having labels on them, spelling out the card's rank and suit. for instance, the text on the king of coins reads "RE DE DANARI" - "KING OF COINS" ( lit "money") . handy of you have a bad memory.
see also-> http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/trevigiane-venetian-pattern.html

here you can compare the venetian ( top) and treistine ( bottom) cards

Primera Bolognese ( modanio)

Primera Bolognese by modanio, 40 cards.
this pattern is one of the most interesting patterns. the 'primera' part is the name of an ancient game, known in english as prime....

You minght be wondering how the ace of swords ( 2nd pic, 1st row, 1st from left) came to become this shape. Well, Originally, the sword was a schimitar, (  a curvy sabre) which aquired a eagle's beak at its tip, and grew increasingly curvy, till the extent it looked like a question mark.
when the pattern became double faced, the bottom part of the schimitar was cut off, leaving us only with the curious top.
 Another feature that was lost when the cards became double faced, was the skirts of  the jacks of cups and coins, who were actually female. but, over the years, when this feature became forgotten, the jacks underwent a sort of ... sex change....

"Trente et quarente" ( modanio)

"Trente et quarente" ( modanio)- 52 c, blanck backs, no jokers or indexes.
Trente et quarente is a gambling game much played in the Italian casinos. it is played with small (8x5 cm) cards , as shown here.
This pattern is known as the "Trente et Quarente pattern" . However, in the famous "all cards on the table" by Sylvia Mann, it is known as the "international pattern" the latter name, is more inconvenient, for it generally refers to the double faced English pattern ( the common "poker "or "bridge " cards)

"Toscane "(Tuscan pattern)

Tuscan pattern by Modanio. 40 cards.
up till the 1960s there was another relative of this pleasing pattern, also from tuscany, called the "small tuscan " pattern ( Toscane formato piccolo). this pattern, therefore, is known as the "large Tuscan pattern" images of this elegant deck can be found here.--
http://www.wopc.co.uk/italy/tuscan.html

Genoa pattern ( "genovesi")

Genoa pattern ( "genovesi") by Modanio.
40 cards.
this pattern is actually a belgian pattern in almost everything but name. the only differnce being the shape of the sheild carried by the jack of clubs viz: it having scalloped instead of straight edges.however, on this deck, Modanio seems to have forgotten this feature, so, what we have here is actually a belgian deck, but with 40 cards and no indexes!

see also: http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/belgian-pattern-katja.html
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/paris-pattern-grimaud.html
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/piemontesi-piedmont-pattern.html
http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/paris-pattern-single-faced.html

"piemontesi" ( piedmont pattern)

 Piedmont pattern by Modanio.
40 cards.
note the decorative borders round the aces.
This pattern retains some hints of the paris pattern. for example, the fan on the queen of clubs.

see also: http://anthonylesq.blogspot.com/2011/10/paris-pattern-single-faced.html

"Trevigiane" (venetian pattern )

the following deck is by Modanio.
it is a deck of 52 cards, which is unusual, because you normally get it in 40-card decks.
Some features to note:
I-the aces carry mottoes- like on the ace of cups"PER UN PUNTO MARTIN PERSE LA CAPPA"- for want of one point, martin lost his cloak-
II-the 2 and 6 of swords carry little pictures in them.
III the jack of swords ( 2nd pic, 1st row, 3rd from left)  carries a severed head- charming....