While no one knows for certain exactly when and where playing cards originated, it's clear that by the 14th Century, much of the known world were playing games with them. Their design and manufacturing process has changed much since those early days, and they continue to evolve today. Since the beginning, however, some characteristics have remained the same. As today, most historical decks had 52 cards of four suits.
Changes in Design
From the beginning, a deck of playing cards has contained both numeral and face cards, and for nearly as long, people have speculated that the representations of kings, queens and knaves, also called knights, might be portrayals of historic figures. The Queen of Hearts, for example, at various times in history has been attributed to King Henry VII's consort, Elizabeth of York and to Henry VIII's ill-fated wife, Anne Boleyn.
What is known is that in these early face cards, royalty was as likely to stand on their heads as not. Reversible versions did not come into existence until the 18th Century. Until then, savvy players could sometimes guess at a competitor's hands by watching them set them right-side-up. Packs with the value of the cards repeated in the corners appeared on the scene around a century earlier. Some believe that before that innovation, people played with two hands. Indices enabled players to hold a fanned stack in one hand.
Changes in Manufacturing
Until the 15th Century, each card was painted by hand, sometimes using stencils. Only the rich could afford them. Then decks began to be printed by woodcut, using blocks of wood as templates. In the 16th Century, the wood blocks were replaced by cooper plate engraving. The next innovation came in the 19th Century when color lithography came into play. Modern printing plates and card-cutting machines have made packs affordable and available throughout the world. New innovations are likely to include printing processes that eliminate the need of plates by printing directly from computer software programs.
Today, decks are made from either paper or plastic. Plastic playing cards are of a higher quality, as they are far more durable, more uniform and longer-lasting. A plastic playing card can be made from polyvinyl chloride or cellulose acetate polymer. Programmed machines handle much of the work, including punching the corners, sorting the pack into the proper order and wrapping it in cellophane. As many card players know, there's something satisfying about opening a fresh deck. The crinkle of cellophane signals fun and entertainment for hours to come.
Author is a freelance copywriter. For more information about Plastic playing cards, please visit http://www.copagdirect.com/
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