TO BE CLEAR playing cards -------------- The definition of playing cards is a standard set of 52 varnished paper cards used in most standard card games. {1} Depending on the manufacturer the quality of the cards may vary but the most common material is paper {p} The western world is most familiar with the standard 52 deck of playing cards, but cards in general are a broad term. Simply the word cards don't necessarily mean playing cards, as card(s) can refer to tarot, debit and credit, or any form of identification, a card is at its most basic a rectangle commonly made of paper or plastic with information on it. {2, 3} Playing cards have a deep history related all across Europe, China, and America with history spanning as back as the 14th century and even more! {3, 4} --- HISTORY --- There is no concrete truth to who was the first to invent playing cards but it is believed to have originated from China, moving south then west spreading to India, Persia and then Egypt roughly around 1250-1517 during Mamluk control -(insert image here)- {4} Where cards came from There is no origin point of invention as culture is shared and something like cards is very vast in what you can do and how you can interpret it {p} The oldest complete deck of playing cards is called the Cloisters Playing Cards, a set of 52 cards created around the 15th century in Burgundian territories which is around the Southern Netherlands all made of paper -(insert image here)- {5, 6} It's believed that in the late 1300s during the Crusades that soldiers along with playing chess also played cards, with that in mind the popularity of cards spread throughout Europe “When soldiers had nothing to do, which is most of the time, what do they do? Today they play video games, but in those days they play cards,” -Emilia Maggio {5} However what is known is that cards were originally made for more wealthier folk as production in older times -(find date or era)- was more time consuming, since this was before Gutenberg's printing press they had to be hand painted, and so because of this rich folk love to be very fancy a great example of this are the Mamluk Cards {4,5,7} =Mamluk Cards were created around the 15 century with heavy Islamic roots, and influence from the Chinese Money-Suited Cards which are thought to be one of the first playing cards to have existed, those cards based off of domino tiles The suits displayed are coins, cups, swords and polo-sticks and there are 13 cards per suit, but cards have been lost over time making the deck only 47 cards total the numbers 1 to 10 plus 3 court cards, the King, the Lieutenant and the Second Lieutenant (all male) if the deck was completed it would have been a set of 52 cards all hand painted -(separate the card decks by year/era)- {7,8,} There wasn't a standard in Europe yet for the 4 suits leading to many variations depending on the cultural background -(insert image here)- {5} Mamluk cards are closely related to Chinese money cards, and European cards are originated from Islamic cards {p} The turning point of cards in Europe is seen in the Moorish Deck made around 1420 in Spain being 2 uncut sheets of paper with a woodblock printing press with suits and pips shown on the design, with both Islamic and European influences shown, the Moorish deck is one of the oldest European card decks to date {4,10,8} --- Card really started to be known come of the 14th century when Europe got ahold of them and started producing them on their own, the most famous well know version of a playing card deck is the French style with clubs, heart, diamond, and spades but more on that in a moment ""playing cards reached Europe around the mid-14th century" {p} expanding trade routes existed all across Europe, Asia and Africa because of this as the century changed trading became a lot more common leading to the spread of popularity of playing cards, and with the slow advancement of technology and machine making many craftsmen became traders and started to arise looking for business {p,4} card games are a reflection of society, because of this certain eras have games suited to how cards were mostly used, some to pass time others to gamble -(see wild west and Victorian)- {4} "The Gothic age, from the 13th - 15th centuries, saw fundamental economic and religious changes,A new form of economy evolved, based on production for sale and exchange, in which merchants and craftsmen played increasingly important roles,luxury playing cards were produced for the wealthiest clients." Members tended to live in proximity, so that our street might be named "Baker Street" or "Saddler's Row". {4(direct quote)} playing cards started to be mass produced as the printing press made its way around, it being invented in 1440 but becoming more popular and well used in the 15th century {p,4} In 1423 St Bernadin of Siena preached against games and playing cards, convincing them to burn in "bonfires of the vanities" as cards were directly linked to gambling Even went as far as being card "The Devils Picture Book" Derogatory terms such as card-sharps, cheats, and swindlers were called many who played cards more so on the gambler spectrum {4,11, 12} - As cards started to become more available to the general public, culture started to be formed mostly of gambling {4, EXPAND ON WITH MORE} - Aside from the general public luxury cards were hand painted and used by the upper royal classes sometimes as talking pieces and or fine art {4} The first refences of playing cards was in the 1370s, where exactly? is debated, some say Spain others Germany, but the first documented records of playing cards were in the Cities of Bern and Florence with mentions of banning cards due to gambling {4, 14, 15}