modern playing cards:: As playing cards evolved during the 1800s and 1900s, card designs were simplified to make game playing easier. Court cards were made double-headed, so regardless of which end was up, you could still see the portrait of the card. Most decks moved the head position of some the court cards so that the large pip beside the head could be placed in the same location on each card. Indices were added in the upper left corner (some European decks feature indices in all four corners) so that when cards were fanned out, they were easily identifiable, a significant improvement when playing large-handed games such as bridge, hearts or rummy. This also made it easier to identify the numbered cards, especially the larger numbered cards like the 7, 8, 9 and 10, which were easy to mistake in play without indices. And significantly for this Web site, knaves were renamed jacks because the "Kn" for Knave was often confusing with the "K" for King, the other male court card.

These changes, while they were improvements for game play, sacrificed the overall design of the card. The double head meant that the patterns in the cards' costumes had to be simplified and modified, and the legs of the jacks and kings were removed altogether. Head positions were different and not standardized... for example, some decks have the jack of Spades facing left, others have him facing right. Hand positions were often random and frequently anatomically impossible, simply to work best in the the double-head format. Cards' objects, like the jack of Club's spear, have been transformed into unidentifiable objects and repeating patterns and both the jack of Diamond's and the jack of Spades' axes have been transformed into weapons of unintelligible designs. Indices by necessity made the borders around the cards larger and therefore made the court card portraits smaller. Modern cards are still beautiful in a different way, but much of the history and meaning of the original decks have been lost.

hoyle deck:: The Hoyle deck is slightly cartoonish, and uses bright primary colours. Note that the suit of each card has been worked into each card as sashes or crests in their costume. This deck unusually has a jack of Diamonds with a moustache... usually both he and the jack of Clubs have no facial hair.

piatnik deck:: This beautiful "standard" deck form the Austrian company Piatnik takes the modern style to a new level. The colours and patterns are well designed and more intricate. The weapons actually overlap and end on these jacks, instead of the usual style which has the weapons tucked behind the costume. The flesh tones are a bit darker and richer in this deck, and for once the jack of Clubs has a moustache. All of the jacks now have a double row of curls in their hair; before only the jack of Spades had this extra detail.

Note that even though there are noticeable changes in the patterns and layout of each card, there are some consistencies. The black jacks always have a red and black cap, while the red jacks have red and white ones. The jack of Hearts and Spaces remain "one-eyed-Jacks" in profile (although the way they face frequently changes) and their weapons remain largely the same in style. Even their clothing patterns remain somewhat similar... the jack of Hearts has a curved "X" pattern to his double-sashed doublet, and the jack of Diamond almost always has a diagonal sash.