Since we are all so used to contemporary playing cards, a regular deck of Bicycle rider back cards may look rather "normal" and "traditional" to some. A deck like this, though, would have been completely abnormal in the past. Actually, playing cards have changed drastically since their inception some centuries ago. A voyage spanning centuries and a number of nations led to the development of the present deck of 52 playing cards, which has four suits of red and black and two Jokers. In reality, most of the major influences on the modern deck were developed when playing cards passed through many civilizations and nations on their way to the current day.

This article will provide a brief overview of the history of playing cards, with a focus on the many geographical influences that have contributed to the contemporary design of playing cards. Our whirlwind journey through time will begin off in the East, where the origin of playing cards is debated. We'll start in Italy and Spain, go east to Germany, west to France, and then cross the English Channel to arrive in England. In the end, we'll cross the seas and arrive in the United States, where USPCC playing card printer the vast majority of decks in their current iteration.

Part of the World Located in the Far East
Experts can't agree on where playing cards first appeared, and even the most compelling explanations are based more on conjecture than evidence. Playing cards were first documented in Europe in the late 1300s and early 1400s, but their introduction to the continent remains a mystery. It's possible that gipsies, crusaders, or merchants brought them to Europe from the East. Although it is generally accepted that an early version of playing cards originated in Asia, we really don't know for sure. Due to the fragility of paper, reliable historical records are often lost over time.

It is speculated that the Arabs brought playing cards from China, India, Korea, Persia, or Egypt to Europe, where they quickly became popular. It has been theorised that the game of cards was created in China, maybe during the Tang dynasty in the ninth century AD. Cards with images symbolising currency emerge on playing cards later in Western Europe, suggesting that at least some card games involving drinking began about this period. According to this theory, tile games like dominoes and mahjong predate 1000 A.D., and playing cards likely evolved from them. Some have hypothesised that playing cards were originally used as "play money" to symbolise the stakes in various forms of gambling before eventually being included into these games themselves. Some have speculated that playing cards are somehow related to chess or dice games, although this is just conjecture.

Spain and Italy
Several card games were mentioned by our German monk buddy Johannes from Switzerland in a handwritten document from 1377. It is obvious that a 52 card deck existed and was used in the 1400s, since it is mentioned alongside dice games as instances of gambling activities that are decried in religious sermons. Swords, clubs, cups, and coins were the suit symbols used on the earliest European decks, which were created in Italy in the 14th century. However, some historians have suggested that these symbols may have been inspired by those used on Egyptian playing cards from the Mamluk era.

Typical court cards from Italian decks from the 14th century depict a mounted king, a sitting and crowned queen, and a knave. Since the knave might also stand in for a "prince," he was renamed "Jack" to avoid being confused with the King. When it comes to playing cards, Spain took a somewhat different path, resulting in a deck with just a king, a knight, and a knave for court figures.

The original decks of cards were exquisite works of art reserved for the nobility in Renaissance-era Italy. In contrast, the widespread availability of playing cards resulted from their growing popularity and the advent of less expensive production techniques. It was inevitable that this new product would make its way westward and northward; the next significant development was spurred by their reception in Germany. In fact, one historian has likened the speed with which playing cards spread from that country to "an invasion of playing cards," with the help of soldiers.