it is on the subject of decorated papers. Go and have a look!
I would be greatly delighted if you have any interesting material for this blog. Wrapping paper, wallpaper, anything!
Here is an example of the marvels that are in store....
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Friday, 16 August 2013
Oracle patience-- two descriptions
This game of patience( or solitare, if you prefer), is perhaps unique amongst all it's relatives, as it is the only one that propounds to be of a oracular nature. I have so far only came across descriptions of it in 2 books, Basil Dalton's games of patience ( first printed 1924, Richards press limited. this edition sept.1941), and games of patience for one or more players by Miss Whitmore Jones ( second edition, L . Upcott Gill, no date*). I reproduce here scans of the relevant pages from the two texts.
* I guess the late 19th, early 20th century?
* I guess the late 19th, early 20th century?
Basil Dalton's "Games of patience" . Despite the fact that it is dated 1941( in the middle of WWII), the book is printed on surprisingly good laid paper
Miss Whitmore Jones' Games of patience for one or more players .
Note that the cards in the illustration are actually of the Paris pattern, despite the book being printed in England. I suspect that the reason is that only people who had ready made playing card type were the French. The English printer, who could not be bothered to have English playing card type made for him, decided to use what was already in existence
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Chinese chess/xiangqi set ("Butterfly brand")
" 中國象棋 " ( Chinese chess set) , 32 pieces, butterfly brand.
This set is a typical example of the Chinese chess, or xiangqi set. Despite chess and xiangqi having evolved from the same ancestor, or so we are told, the sets are very different
the pieces are as follows. :.
Red pieces 兵 , 炮 , 車 , 馬 , 相 ,士 , 帥
black pieces 卒 , 炮 , 車 , 馬 , 象 , 士 , 將
Equivellant in chess pawn , ( none) , Rook , Knight, Bishop, ( none), King
Note the fact that equivilant ranks are written differently for the opposing sides
Some pieces, like the 炮 ( cannon) and 士( valet) have no equivalent on chess. The cannon is a most perculiar piece. It can only make a capture, when there is a piece in between it and the target . The cannon has to "jump" over a piece , so to speak. The Valets are another curious piece. They perform a function somewhat similar to the bishops in chess, moving diagonally within the confines of the "square" in the back of the board.
As can be clearly seen from the above diagram, the pieces are made of roundels of wood, on which are engraved the characters. The characters are then coloured in with paint. The colours used are, in this case, red & black, although I have seen green replace black in some sets.
This set is a typical example of the Chinese chess, or xiangqi set. Despite chess and xiangqi having evolved from the same ancestor, or so we are told, the sets are very different
the pieces are as follows. :.
Red pieces 兵 , 炮 , 車 , 馬 , 相 ,士 , 帥
black pieces 卒 , 炮 , 車 , 馬 , 象 , 士 , 將
Equivellant in chess pawn , ( none) , Rook , Knight, Bishop, ( none), King
Note the fact that equivilant ranks are written differently for the opposing sides
Some pieces, like the 炮 ( cannon) and 士( valet) have no equivalent on chess. The cannon is a most perculiar piece. It can only make a capture, when there is a piece in between it and the target . The cannon has to "jump" over a piece , so to speak. The Valets are another curious piece. They perform a function somewhat similar to the bishops in chess, moving diagonally within the confines of the "square" in the back of the board.
As can be clearly seen from the above diagram, the pieces are made of roundels of wood, on which are engraved the characters. The characters are then coloured in with paint. The colours used are, in this case, red & black, although I have seen green replace black in some sets.
the pieces laid out on the board
Chess sets such as this one come in plastic cases, which are in the form of a rectangle with 2 semicircles attached to the short edges. They are almost invariably supplied with a chessboard, printed on a thin plastic, much like the sort plastic bags are made of. In some of the older sets, we find that they are made of paper.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
Crooked playing cards- US games systems
" The Crooked deck "- US games systems - 52c. + 3 jokers
We have here another of the species of novelty cards. These cards ( of which there are many makers, ) possess the feature of being cut into a curious shape
As you may see from the picture, not only are the cards themselves bent into this curious shape, but the images upon them are also distorted in this fashion. This is particularly prominent in the court cards.
One of the three jokers has the following inscription upon it. I find it worthy of being quoted here in whole:
What some of our delighted customers have said about the CROOKED DECK...
"This is the best deal I've had in years..."Hot Hands Herbie, Poker Flats, Idaho
"Will add a new twist to your card parties..."
Mrs Zelda frobishier, Crooked creek, Pa.
"You will get ine fast shuffle from the CROOKED DECK ...'
Arnold freed, President, A.freed novelty inc.
In view of the age old truths that all glitterings are not rhinestones nor iron birds a cage make; then we cannot in all justification refund part or whole of purchase under any conditions which.
***
Rather surprisingly, given the odd shape, these cards are surprisingly easy to hold and grip, at least much easier than the circular decks.
The cards in hand
We have here another of the species of novelty cards. These cards ( of which there are many makers, ) possess the feature of being cut into a curious shape
One of the three jokers has the following inscription upon it. I find it worthy of being quoted here in whole:
THE CROOKED DECK
What some of our delighted customers have said about the CROOKED DECK...
"This is the best deal I've had in years..."Hot Hands Herbie, Poker Flats, Idaho
"Will add a new twist to your card parties..."
Mrs Zelda frobishier, Crooked creek, Pa.
"You will get ine fast shuffle from the CROOKED DECK ...'
Arnold freed, President, A.freed novelty inc.
Guarantee
Circular playing cards-- Fournier
"Circular" -Fournier- 48c. + 2
Another circular deck, this time from the Spanish maker Fournier. This deck is another example of the circular sort, save that it uses Spanish suits instead of the more common French ones.
Another circular deck, this time from the Spanish maker Fournier. This deck is another example of the circular sort, save that it uses Spanish suits instead of the more common French ones.
the suit of coins
as with the house of marbles deck, Fournier seems to have come up with more or less an identical solution to the placement of the pips and court figures on the deck. ( for a more conventional spanish deck, see http://anthonylesq.blogspot.sg/2011/11/castilian-pattern-by-fournier.html.)
However, unlike the house of marbles deck, which has 6 indexed around the circumference, this one has 4.
The suit of cups-- Again, much as coins.
Batons.
Swords: I find the placement of the swords , with their tips all pointing towards the center, vaguely threatening.
For another example of circular playing cards, see:
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Making a tarot deck
A rather curious way of being able to produce a tarot deck without buying one is as follows.
I quote the following instructions from the RationalWiki.
You will need two decks of 54 standard playing cards with identical backs and different faces; in the US, a Bicycle Standard or Jumbo Index deck and a Bicycle Lo-Vision four-color deck will do. (This example is based on that combination.)[4]
Take the cards from the standard deck minus one joker (the other joker will be the Fool). Mix in the A->10 cards from the clubs (blue) and diamonds (green) from the Lo-Vision deck along with the Ace of Spades (black) and the jacks from all four suits; the clubs will be trumps 1-10, the diamonds (because a diamond's worth more than a stick) will be trumps 11-20, the big-index jacks will act as cavaliers,[5] and the ace of spades will be trump 21. You are now ready to play any tarot game using a standard 78-card deck, and you won't have to frustrate yourself with the artsy-fartsy markings on a cartomancy deck or pay obscene shipping charges to import a playing deck from France or Italy
------------------
4- Total cost approx. US$ 7, depending on supplier
5- You could also use three decks with three different index sizes, making the cavalier-jacks the middle-size index cards, but it's probably a waste of money to tear apart a third deck just for the jacks
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tarot#cite_ref-1
To sum it up, Here is a little table which breaks down the deck's structure
( the Letters in colour represent the cards of the Lo- vision deck, the "C" stands for a knight )
....
However, In this blogger's opinion, isn't part of the joy in playing at tarot the beauty of the cards?
[Edited 23rd Dec. 2018, to cure formatting error]
I quote the following instructions from the RationalWiki.
You will need two decks of 54 standard playing cards with identical backs and different faces; in the US, a Bicycle Standard or Jumbo Index deck and a Bicycle Lo-Vision four-color deck will do. (This example is based on that combination.)[4]
Take the cards from the standard deck minus one joker (the other joker will be the Fool). Mix in the A->10 cards from the clubs (blue) and diamonds (green) from the Lo-Vision deck along with the Ace of Spades (black) and the jacks from all four suits; the clubs will be trumps 1-10, the diamonds (because a diamond's worth more than a stick) will be trumps 11-20, the big-index jacks will act as cavaliers,[5] and the ace of spades will be trump 21. You are now ready to play any tarot game using a standard 78-card deck, and you won't have to frustrate yourself with the artsy-fartsy markings on a cartomancy deck or pay obscene shipping charges to import a playing deck from France or Italy
------------------
4- Total cost approx. US$ 7, depending on supplier
5- You could also use three decks with three different index sizes, making the cavalier-jacks the middle-size index cards, but it's probably a waste of money to tear apart a third deck just for the jacks
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tarot#cite_ref-1
To sum it up, Here is a little table which breaks down the deck's structure
( the Letters in colour represent the cards of the Lo- vision deck, the "C" stands for a knight )
Tarot
trump |
Fool
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Replacement
|
Joker
|
A
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
Tarot
trump |
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
Replacement
|
A
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
A
|
Plain Suits (Tarot)
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
J
|
C
|
Q
|
K
|
Replacement
|
A
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
J
Normal |
J
(Big
in-dex)
|
Q
|
K
|
However, In this blogger's opinion, isn't part of the joy in playing at tarot the beauty of the cards?
[Edited 23rd Dec. 2018, to cure formatting error]
Transparent playing cards ( 1 )
Transparent playing cards- anon- 52 + 2 c.
Transparent playing cards would surely seem to be somewhat of an outright impossibility- How would one play with a deck that would allow light to pass through it, & yet conceal what cards you are holding from your opponents?
However, such cards are made, and the are perfectly playable. However, it can be said that the makers almost always "cheat" when designing the cards. Firstly, to make them transparent, they ay are printed on thin sheets of plastic.
Transparent playing cards would surely seem to be somewhat of an outright impossibility- How would one play with a deck that would allow light to pass through it, & yet conceal what cards you are holding from your opponents?
However, such cards are made, and the are perfectly playable. However, it can be said that the makers almost always "cheat" when designing the cards. Firstly, to make them transparent, they ay are printed on thin sheets of plastic.
the cards overlaid on text , showing their transparent nature
As you may observe from the above image, only a certan portion of the cards are transparent, the rest covered with a form of design which is opaque. It is on this design where the face side of the cards are printed on. In this case, the maker has decided to only print the indexes of the cards and nothing else.
a closeup of the above. Note the ornamented borders and centerpiece.
the cards held up to strong light
the same, held up the other way. Note the opaque ovals, on which the indexes are printed
However, at least in this instance, the maker has decided, presumedly for reasons of economy, not to make the whole of the back design opaque, but only the small oval on which the indexes are printed. This causes the little ovals on which the indexes are printed to stand up when the cards are held up to strong light.
The cards in question were purchased from the Japanese discount store Daiso.
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