The Museum is indebted to Mr. Eugen Bruhin who helped us identify the deck pictured at the left. The deck was acquired by the Museum in 1976.
This deck is designed for the Swiss game of Jass. The entire deck is not pictured, nor is the flap-top box (9cm long x 6cm wide x 1.5cm thick) which holds the cards. The manufacturer's name is printed on the sides of the box and one side illustrates the blue and white back of the cards.
Each of the 36 cards in the deck is 8.7cm long x 5.6cm wide and are gilded at the edges. The suit markings on this deck are different from German, Italian, or French suit markings. the suit markings are:
acorns (clubs) Eichel- first row
shields (spades) Schilten- second row
bells (diamonds) Schellen - third row
roses (hearts) Rosen - fourth row and number cards in fifth and sixth row
Each suit includes a KING (K), OVER-KNAVE (O), UNDER-KNAVE (U), numbered cards 6 through 9, a banner card (the number 10), and a "duce". Suit symbols are in the upper left and right corners with court figure names. Duces have large suit representations.
The deck pictured on the right, although purchased in Milan, Italy, is in the "Lombard Style" and popular in the Italian speaking parts of Switzerland and in the bordering areas of Italy. To complicate matters - it uses the French suit patterns. The deck was acquired by the Museum in 1978.
The flap-top box (pictured on the left of the photograph) is 9.5cm long x 5.6cm wide x 1.6cm thick. The back of the box has a sample of the card backs - which are pictured below the box. There are 40 cards in the deck. Each card is 9.3cm long x 5cm wide - a narrow card in relation to decks from other European countries.
The numbered cards are one through seven. Manufacturer's information is on the two of diamonds. The court cards are double headed and have distinguishing designs. For example, a falcon or parrot perches on the hand of the King of Diamonds. A crowned serpentine monster appears on the chest of the Jack of Clubs.
Last update August 3, 2006