Fortune telling cards 1690
Page of Simon Wintle:
http://wopc.co.uk/uk/margary/lenthall.html
Fortune telling cards from 1690. Simon Wintle thinks, they are the oldest fortune telling cards.
----
John Meador in post 558 in the Yahoo-group LTarot (27th September 2003) reported about a German production of Book with Playing cards between 1506 - 1520, which fulfills somehow (in a low quality system) the definition of "divination with cards"). The base is the German playing card deck of the time with 48 cards.
Message 558 of 1252
From: "drdee00726" <drdee007@hotmail.com>
Date: Sat Sep 27, 2003 1:53 am
Subject: losbuch
"In einer vermutlich zu Nurnberg verfassten bearbeitung, die uns in einem Strassburger abdrucke Matthias Schurers (zwischen 1506 und 1520) vorliegt, ist das tierlosbuch 0 in ein kartenlosbuch) umgewandelt, indem die achtzeiligen spruche mit den notigen veranderungen den 48 karten eines deutschen kartenspieles in den Mund gelegt werden. " etc..
In the same message from John a second losbuch 8also related to a playing card deck) is noted as from 1543 and from an author with the name Cammerlander in cooperation with a second author named Jacob Vielfeld.
"Der aus Mainz geburtige Strassburger drucker Jacob Cammerlander veroffentlichte 1543 ein eigenartiges Kartenlosbuch), als dessen
verfasser wohl sein genosse Jacob Vielfeld anzusehen ist). Wie in M.
Schurers kartenlosbuch finden wir auf bl. iiij a eine scheibe mit den
vier farben (hertz, laub, eychel, schel) und deren zwolf karten
(kunig, fraw, oberbub, underbub, neun his zwei), die einen zeiger in
gestalt eines einhorns (wie bei Wickram) enthielt; und das vorwort
mahnt (bl. iij b):" etc.
The style of the described deck seems to have been rather similar to the Boiardo Tarocchi deck, that is, there had been a picture with poem for each card.
compare:
http://trionfi.com/0/h/
http://trionfi.com/0/j/d/boiardo/
Similar is also the deck of Johann Bussemecher (Cologne):
http://trionfi.com/0/j/d/bussemacher/index.html
, probably also others. The combination of text and picture (on playing cards) was in the course of time common, not unusual. Combinations of text and grafique are frequent in art history. Using them for a divinatory system is not very far. Using as media playing cards - why not.
Michael Hurst has composed an overview about early cartomancy:
http://www.geocities.com/cartedatrionfi/Fragments/Cartomancy.html