Card game:Madam Morrow's Fortune Telling Cards

The practice of fortune telling, still popular today, grew out of beliefs in Renaissance magic and folklore. There are many ways to tell a fortune. Tarot card decks appeared as early as the 1400s; gaming was their first purpose. Soon, however, they became associated more with magic and mysticism, and eventually, fortune telling. Standard card decks evolved early too, and while their main purpose has always been gaming, they too are used for fortune telling. Perhaps the countless possibilities of cards in a shuffled deck led to this. Aware of the public fascination for learning about the future, European and American game manufacturers were quick to produce special fortune-telling card games. These were common in the late 19th century and can still be found today.

Similar to 107.2544, Madame Le Normand's Mystic Cards of Fortune, this deck, Madam Morrow's Fortune Telling Cards, is marked for a famous (or infamous) fortune-teller of previous years. Game maker McLoughlin Brothers sought to capitalize on Madam Morrow's name. Morrow, who told fortunes from aroun 1854-1880, was a famous New Yorker, arrested many times for bilking citizens out of their money. This deck is dated 1896. Perhaps even more unusual, the box cover image seems to be an early representation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, for no particular reason.