Little Works of Art

Once viewed as a source of luck and skill as well as advertising, history and art, this little rectangular piece of hard paper sure gets around. Designed to be works of art, the first cards were hand painted and often highly decorated. So precious were these cards, they were given as gifts for wedding and listed in wills to be passed down in the family.
Cards had harmony of color and artistic skill as well as decorated with ornamental features. Over the past six centuries cards have been engraved, painted, decorated, enhanced and adorned up to today’s chromo-lithographic works of art and into the transformation cards of the nineteenth century. Arabic cards had a embroidered or enamelled face and often designs with one technique were transferred into another.
Moralised imagery of the 15th century where artists were paid to detail the taste and cultivation of the customer. They often had esoteric or philosophical images where others display the messages from the owner. Since the 14th century playing cards have been a cultural icon, with many designs and formats available today, playing cards are diverse.