"rose" patience cards:: These beautiful cards are in the Swedish style, according to its manufacturer, Piatnik. Note that the index letter is a "B" for Bube, which is Germanic for Jack or Knave. Indices for the jack on some foreign cards are; "V"alet (France), "B"ube or "U"nter (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Holland and Norway), "U"nder (Switzerland), "C"avallo and "F"ante (Italy, for Cavalier and Foot soldier), "C"aballo and "S"ota (Spain, for Cavalier and Foot soldier or Knave), "Kn" (Finland), "O" (Greece), "B" (Russia), "W" (Poland), "G" (Iceland) and "G" Lithuania.

The costumes on this deck are beautiful, inventive and highly detailed. They are not at all similar or related to either the French or English patterns, but rather borrow their look from court dress around the time of the late Renaissance.
 

german patience deck:: This tiny deck of cards is more primitive in design, more limited in its colour palette, but still is an interesting deck. Note that European decks' suits are more stylized than North American decks; the diamond is more squat and squarish, and the club more closely resembles a shamrock or trefoil. This deck makes little to no attempt to smoothly integrate the costumes from one head to another (except in the jack of Hearts) but rather cuts the portrait in half creating a mirror reflection effect.
 

"empire" patience deck:: This stunning deck is more typically Austrian in its traditional Baroque fashion. The jacks' tricorn hats and powdered wigs make these dandified young courtiers more romantic and feminine. Gone are all traces of knighthood or warlike demeanor; these jacks are purely for decoration.
 

swiss patience cards:: This little miniature deck is very similar in style to the Empire deck above. Notice the creative indices with the pip above the initial, which is long and narrow.

 
miniature deck:: These jacks are perhaps more Bavarian in style and while elegant are more believably soldiers than the previous decks. The palette is predominately primary (red, yellow, blue), but a closer look reveals some orange and green inks in the details of the costumes.
 

austrian "wein" deck:: This deck is truly unusual in that the jacks actually have waists! The colours are bold and even a bit garish; the auburn hair and pale blues, pinks and oranges somewhat clash with the brighter yellows, reds and blues.
 
"russian traditional" deck:: The Russian costumes and accoutrements of these jacks are beautiful and detailed. Sports and weapons common to the period are represented by the spears, falconry tools and bow and arrows. The colouring and design seem almost Victorian, and are perhaps a more romantic representation of Russian style than an accurate reproduction.

 

:: close window ::