"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

"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.

"Trentine" ( trent pattern)

Trentine pattern, modanio, 40 cards.
This pattern is the northenmost italin suited pattern.
some delightful features here, like the little dog at the jack of cup's leg.
The tax- stamp for theese cards was not applied on the ace of coins, as was the custom in other parts of the country. instead, it was applied on the blank circle you see between the king of coin's legs.

Paris pattern , single faced

theese charming cards are from a divination set called "votre destin par les cartes"
 it comes with a bored, with instruction for spreading the cards, & a pair of miniature  decks of cards.
the cards are single faced, and nowhere on them is the mark of any maker, aldough it is printed by Dusserre of paris.

things to note:
I- the fan held on the queen of clubs. this feature disappeared when the pattern became double faced.
II- the little dog on the jack of spades. as above.
III-the king of diamonds is shown in profile, and has a medallion on him with the head of a cock.
IV- this feature is the most interesting one of this pattern, namely, the picture cards are named after,  historical personalities ( viz: david as the king of spades, caesar as that of diamonds, and lancelot as jack of clubs.

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

"cuccú " cards

By masenghini.
40 cards, 20 subjects repeated twice,
viz:10 pictures, 10 numbers,
the highest card is numbered 15 (XV in roman numbers) with an owl on it.
there are 2 diffrent "XV" cards in the deck, as you can see with the image.
the pictures stop at XI (11) and then procced to a series of 10 cards, each numbered with a larg roman number, with an identical lakeside secne on each.
note the unusual way of writing "9", as VIIII rather than IX.

the numbers go down to IIII, III, II and I
then, we encounter a card, with the image of a yellow circle in which is the word "NULLA"( zero).
below it, there is a motley crew of subjects, evidently representing negative values like a fool ("MATTO"), a lion, and a bucket

"feine quitili karten"

"neccesity is the mother of invention"

the picture you see above you are eight cards from a deck of quittili or quitili or  cards.

this deck is used by central european Jews to avoid religious restrictions regarding the "devil's picture-book"

the deck is of 24 cards, comprising of a dozen values, from 1- 12, indicated by the appopriate roman number.

the 2s and 11s are enclosed in a frame.

the only maker , to my knowledge of this deck, is piatnik of austria.

the game played with them, until relatively recently, remained  a mystery, due to the fact that ( apparently) the only users of these cards were members of the tight-knit Hasadic jewish communtities in new york. however, thanks to the marvel of the internet, the rules of this game emerged on pagat.com...

http://www.pagat.com/banking/quitlok.html

saxony pattern cards, single vs double faced

The first deck shown is a traditional saxony patter, which is, in my opinion, the prettiest of the decks to come out of Germany.

the suit of bells (2nd picture) is particularly charming.
Note the Peeping Tom on the ace ( top row, 3rd card from left) 
on the 8 of bells ( 3rd pic, 2nd row, first card from the left), there is a depiction of chickens mating.
above them are strung some sausages. nice.....

sadly, this patern is almost extinct right now. if you buy a saxon pattern, today, you would end up with the "double faced "version...

when you compare the pictures, it is easy why this is called the double faced version.
aldough this version is admittedly easier to play with, it has lost some of the  detail, like the little pictures on the bottom of the cards, ( on the eight of bells, there are neither sausages nor trysting chickens) but still, some features remain (like the roman number X on tens, and the peeping tom on the ace of bells)