Catalogue of the collection of playing cards bequeathed to the Trustees of the British museum by the late Lady Charlotte Schreiber.

CATALOGUE OF CARDS.
INTRODUCTION.
PLAYING cards may be broadly divided into two classes, viz.:-the foursuit numeral pack and the tarot * pack. These have both been, and to
some extent still are, popular in Italy and the southern parts of France
and Germany; but in Spain, the north of France and Germany, and all
other European countries, the four-suit numeral pack alone has found
favour. In its complete form this always consisted of 52 pieces (though
the number has been reduced for Trappola, Ombre, Piquet and other
p games), each of the four suits being composed of three court (or coat) and
ten pip cards. In Italy and Spain the suits used are Cups, Swords, Coins
and Clubs, the court cards being King, Knight and Knave; in Germany
the suits are Hearts, Bells, Leaves and Acorns, and the court cards King
and two Knaves (styled Obermann and Untermann); while in France the
suits are Hearts, Spades, Diamonds and Clubs, the court cards being
King, Queen and Knave. In England and the Netherlands the French
characteristics have been adopted, and they are now coming into general
use in all countries.
The tarot sequence, which is of Italian origin, and is used for the
Italian game of Tarocchi, (as also, with modifications, for the cognate
games Tarocchino and Minchiate), has the same four suits as the ordinary
pack combined with a set of 22 emblematical designs called tarocchi or
J tarots, which constitute a fifth suit; these are also termed in Italy atutti
or trionfi, and in France atouts (= trumps), from the fact that they are
superior to all others. Also each of the ordinary suits has four court
cards, King, Queen, Knight and Knave, the total number of cards in the
pack being thus raised to 78. The usual subjects of the atouts are:I. Il Bagatto (Le Bateleur); II. La Papessa (La Papesse); III. L'Imperatrice (L'Imperatrice); IV. L'Imperatore (L'Empereur); V. Il Papa (Le
Pape); VI. Gli Amanti (L'Amoureux); VII. La Carossa (Le Chariot);
VIII. La Giustitia (La Justice); IX. L'Eremita (L'Eremite); X. Ruota
di Fortuna (Roue de Fortune); XI. La Forza (La Force); XII. L'Appeso
(Le Pendu); XIII. (no title) Death; XIV. La Temperanza (La Temper.

* Fr, tarot = Ital. tarocco (plur. tarocchi).

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