Imported from the Mamluks of Egypt, card games first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread like wildfire from Spain and Italy to France and Germany. By 1420, German and Swiss cardmakers were producing packs by the thousands (first by stencil, later by metal engraving) marked with a bewildering array of suits, including hounds, bears, parrots, roses, helmets, banners, and bells. Games proliferated as well, and by 1534, Rabelais could name 35 different card games in Chapter 22 of Gargantua . Today, of course ...
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Imported from the Mamluks of Egypt, card games first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread like wildfire from Spain and Italy to France and Germany. By 1420, German and Swiss cardmakers were producing packs by the thousands (first by stencil, later by metal engraving) marked with a bewildering array of suits, including hounds, bears, parrots, roses, helmets, banners, and bells. Games proliferated as well, and by 1534, Rabelais could name 35 different card games in Chapter 22 of Gargantua . Today, of course, there are thousands of games, from the universally popular Poker and Contract Bridge, to national manias such as Swiss Jass, German Skat, and French Belote. Now, in The Oxford Guide to Card Games , internationally renowned game expert David Parlett provides a fascinating historical guide to cards in Europe and America. Unlike other books, this is not primarily a book of rules or hints on how to play better, but a unique survey of where the games originated, how they have developed over time, and what their rituals and etiquette tell us about the people who play them. Parlett discusses such ancient games as Karnoffel (German for "hernia"), in which the King could be captured by cards named Pope, Kaiser, Devil, and Karnoffel (this subversive ranking was decried by civic authorities and Karnoffel was even banned in Augsburg in 1446, but it was very popular among soldiers and workers). We learn that the term "Bower" in Euchre comes from the German word Bauer ( Boer in Dutch), which means "farmer" or "Jack," and that Poker comes from the German word Pocher , which means "bash" or "pulverize" or "brag" (Poker is, as Parlett points out, ultimately a bragging game, in which players boast--or bet--that their hand is best). And we follow the rise and fall of such games as Piquet, which was once far and away the best loved game in Europe, and Canasta, which became a world-wide phenomenon in the 1950s, for a while rivaling Contract Bridge in popularity. The first book to explore the history of cards in the West, this attractively illustrated volume is both informative and entertaining. Whether your favorite game is Poker or Pinocle, Cribbage or Gin, Contract Bridge or Crazy Eights, you will find much here to fascinate and amuse.
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Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games to cart. $4.99, good condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press, USA.
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Good. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 408 p. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
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Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games to cart. $5.29, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press, USA.
Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games to cart. $6.29, good condition, Sold by eQuip Online rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Aliquippa, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press, USA.
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Good. Shipped within 24 hrs of purchase. Satisfaction guaranteed! This is an ex-library book with stickers and typical library markings. The binding is in solid condition. This is great reading for the thrify shopper.
Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games: a Historical Survey to cart. $21.26, very good condition, Sold by The Guru Bookshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, WALES, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games to cart. $29.09, like new condition, Sold by Dodman Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Morston, NORFOLK, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
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Fine in Very Good jacket. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall. Excellent and comprehensive history of card games in fine, clean, crisp and bright internal order. Smart blue 'Oxford' boards with bright gilt titling to spine. VG unclipped d/j. This is a charity sale for Friends of Morston Church (reg.1099831). 8vo. xiii, 361pp.
Add this copy of The Oxford Guide to Card Games to cart. $41.97, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
