Spanish Playing Cards

Crews would spend long periods of time on a ship without setting foot on dry land. Games, such as the playing cards shown here, and dominoes, kept the sailors and other crew members entertained. Doctors recommended that sailors spent feast days and Sunday afternoons dancing and playing games, to let off steam.

This deck of cards is made up of 47 Spanish-style playing cards decorated with nautical symbols and the numbers in Roman numerals. The 8 of "copas" (cups) is missing. The ace of "oros" (gold coins) bears the inscription "P. D. FX SOLESIO E HIJOS Cª." On the back are schematic floral patterns in red and green. The Solesio factory was active between 1776 and 1815, producing its own paper from mills located on the San Carlos estate in Arroyo de la Miel (Málaga).