[Jerrad] Help Identify early cards
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[Jerrad] Help Identify early cards
HI, I'm new to this site of course. I found a large group of these cards in an old home. I really like these cards but I don't know anything about them and was wondering if anyone here could give me any information about them. Thank You in advance, Jerrad
- dazzleguts
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Re: [Jerrad] Help Identify early cards
These are Tarock cards, also known as Tarot (the French name). They are used to play a game that is very similar to bridge, but may also have elements of the popular German game Skat.
Tarot/Tarock can be either 54 or 78 cards, depending on how many of the pip cards were included. Your Tarot uses the French suits, but this style, with the large Roman numerals centered at the tops of the trumps, is called a "Cego" deck and is used in Germany and Switzerland with it's own particluar rules, and is likely to be 54 cards.
There will be the usual 4 suits, but with 4 courts (King, Queen, Knight, Jack), either 16 or 40 pip cards, and 22 trumps. One of the trumps is the fool - it has no number and looks like a joker but is the highest trump.
The name of the company is often on one of the pip cards so you should look for that. The plaid back and lack of indices suggests these could be quite old. Finding out who made them will help determine age.
**edit
That blue emblem on the Queen of Clubs could indicate FX Schmid of Germany as the maker, but it's hard to make out.
***edit
I looked around and Cego decks are actually still being made with plaid backs and no indices, so it may not be really old so much as well used.
Tarot/Tarock can be either 54 or 78 cards, depending on how many of the pip cards were included. Your Tarot uses the French suits, but this style, with the large Roman numerals centered at the tops of the trumps, is called a "Cego" deck and is used in Germany and Switzerland with it's own particluar rules, and is likely to be 54 cards.
There will be the usual 4 suits, but with 4 courts (King, Queen, Knight, Jack), either 16 or 40 pip cards, and 22 trumps. One of the trumps is the fool - it has no number and looks like a joker but is the highest trump.
The name of the company is often on one of the pip cards so you should look for that. The plaid back and lack of indices suggests these could be quite old. Finding out who made them will help determine age.
**edit
That blue emblem on the Queen of Clubs could indicate FX Schmid of Germany as the maker, but it's hard to make out.
***edit
I looked around and Cego decks are actually still being made with plaid backs and no indices, so it may not be really old so much as well used.
Re: [Jerrad] Help Identify early cards
Thank you this helps greatly the cards were among a group of German immigrant items from around the 1860s 70s with some letters even earlier. I went over some cards before I replied and found a marking. WUST and SchutzMarke
- dazzleguts
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Re: [Jerrad] Help Identify early cards
That is the playing card maker C.L. Wust - Conrad Ludwig Wüst (1811-1927) of Frankfurt, Germany. (SchutzMarke just means trade mark.) C. L. Wüst was eventually taken over by the company Vereinigte Altenburger Stralsunder Spielkarten Fabriken (V.A.S.S.), I think in the 1930s. The deck you have is likely contemporary with the items you found it with.
Are you going to be showing more cards here? If not then I will move this thread to a more appropriate area.
Are you going to be showing more cards here? If not then I will move this thread to a more appropriate area.
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