Print:Pletranger Playing Cards c. 1650

Standard card deck designs we're familiar with today came to America with the first colonists from Europe. The cards we know are an English design based on a French style popular in certain parts of Europe. Ancient card decks are rarities, but some exist in museum and library collections around the world. A late-20th century artist produced a print based on a particular deck, titled "Pletranger Playing Cards c. 1650." There are many similarities, as well as substantial differences, between these cards and the cards we recognize today.