Playing Cards: the History and Secrets of the Pack
Spring Books, 1930. first. Hardcover. Besides recounting hundreds of interesting events in the history of paying cards, W. Gurney Benham deals exhaustively with the fascinating story of the design of the cards, particularly the court cards, and several chapters are also devoted to the nicknames and associations which belong to different cards in the pack, for example which is Julius Caesar and which the Beautiful Thief.
The card pack has taken about 600 years to evolve and its story is a romantic and absorbingly interesting one, and this book does it wonderful justice. The text is copiously illustrated with designs and emblems connected with or used on playing cards, covering the whole history of playing cards from its earliest origins. fair / fair. Item #31331
Price: $65.00