July 18, 2024: Various Card Games

 The present translation "Diversi Giochi di Carte," posted July 18, 2024. Notes in square brackets - plentiful here - are mine, in consultation with Franco, for clarification purposes. Single-digit numbers by themselves in the left margin are the page numbers of the corresponding pdf, with footnotes numbers highlighted in red, with the notes at the bottom of the pdf page.

The subject-matter is card tricks, the fourth of recent notes on that topic.

Various Card Games

Franco Pratesi

1. Introduction

I recently reported and discussed three books entirely dedicated to magic tricks - with a notable part reserved for those played with playing cards - preserved in the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF). [note 1] During the same research in the very old collections of the BNCF I came across another work of this kind, which, however, only consists of a file within a manuscript of various subjects, described as follows in the Inventories of Mazzatinti.

II — 190. (Nelli, 190 [ 243 ]).
Miscellaneous. — Discourse on the trading of Bro [Fra] Cesario Mantaccini. — Discourse on the Painting of Giulio Mancini. — Speech by Alamanno Viviani. — Treatise on politics, adsp. — Treatise on "how one can speak and write commendably as a private individual." — Treatise by Ferroni on the teaching of mathematics. — Letter on the choice of Ministers of civil judiciary. — «Popular instruction on the method of studying Jurisprudence». — Apology on a sonnet. — Academic speeches. — « Various compositions by Iacopo Micalori of Urbino «: some are minutes from his letters. Various letters are addressed to him. — «Several card games». 16th century and following, in fol. Leg. cs [note 2]

Despite the fact that it is only a sixteen-page issue, two of which are blank, the date seems ancient enough to make these games also of a certain historical interest. I will take advantage of the fact that these are just a few games to transcribe the text in a much greater quantity than in the previous cases.

2. Transcription of the text

In the transcription, I allowed myself some liberties, especially with regard to accents, punctuation, and capitalization.

Various Card Games and other
Various card games

Take a pack of low cards [i.e,. the 52-card deck], and cut them a little below and above with the shears, except one card, ensuring that it is a figure [court card], which, without cutting, will be the master.

1. To play the game of divining whether or not one has put the Card previously removed into the deck by smelling the deck of cards.
You take the card called the master because it is longer than the others, and give it, taking it together with making a fan [note 3] of the deck in such a way when presenting it, one cannot help but take said master, [note 4] who, having taken it, tell him that look at it, and by giving him the whole deck together, he will be able to go with it to a place so that he cannot be observed by anyone, and then, whether he wants to place the said Card which he has taken from the deck or not, he can then do so. By giving me said deck of cards I will be able to tell by smelling said deck whether or not he has placed said card in said deck. Which you can immediately know when he gives me the deck by feeling if said master is there, immediately making sure to smell said deck before answering. If you feel that said master

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1. https://www.naibi.net/A/MAGIA.pdf
https://www.naibi.net/A/TARGIONI.pdf
https://www.naibi.net/A/STECCHI.pdf
2. https://archive.org/details/InventariDe ... 6/mode/1up
3. Rosta: square [?] or differently shaped fan with wooden, bone or ivory handle. (Treccani)
4. The corresponding technical term is forzare, to force.


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is not in the deck, you reply that it is not there, and you return to give him the deck; if you then feel that the said master is there, then you reply that the card that he has drawn he has placed in the deck, and said master is drawn without moving the deck, by asking him which card he has taken and then said master card is revealed, and the game will be over.

2. Game of having a card taken from the deck and then putting it back in the deck, and after shuffling, finding it again.
You take the deck of cards, and spread them out in your hand like a fan [rosta], telling a person to take a card and look at it, and then have it returned, by placing it under the master, and shuffle the cards a little. Once this is done, feel where the master is, and take the card from underneath it and show it to him, that it will be the same one that he took; and the game will be done.

 

BNCF, Fondo Nazionale, II.—.190. From the last group (Reproduction prohibited)

 

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3. Game of having a card taken from the deck, and afterward shuffling, removing three, placing them face down on the table like this ▌▌▌ and asking him [the one who took the card] which of the three cards already placed on the table he wants the card removed to be, making it be the one he will say.

Having shuffled the cards, you will tell someone to take a card from the deck and look at it, then telling him to place it inside the deck, where for this purpose you will cut the cards, so that he places it under the master, and then you will go on shuffling the deck lightly, and deftly feeling it to find the master, you will take the card under said master, and place it under the deck, which will be the one he has drawn; and then take out another one, and place it under that one, and showing it with the whole deck closed [i.e. in one piece face down, except for showing him the one card], you will ask him if that is the card he took out, and he will answer no, and then with dexterity you will take out the second one placed first under the master, which will be the one he took out, and you will place it in the middle of two other open cards [taken out of the deck one at a time face down] on the table and then you will ask the person who took the card out of the deck in which of those three cards placed on the table he wants the card he removed to be, and saying in the middle, as he would most likely respond, having seen that that middle card is not the same one he removed, then by giving a pat to said middle card you will reveal it. If he instead responds by wanting it one of those on the side, then in a nice way you say to the middle card, you go from here to where he wants it to be [moved manually, apparently], and it turns out that the game will be done.

4. Game of having more than one person take a card of their choice, keeping in mind what card it is, and placing them all one at a time into the deck and shuffling them, and then knowing how to tell each person what card they have taken.
Having shuffled the cards very well, you will take the deck and make a nice fan [rosta] of them in your hand, going around to have each person take a card of their choice, telling them to look at it and keep it in mind, then you will cut the master, having him place the card underneath and then you will shuffle the deck slightly, and continue to do the same with the others, as long as the cards that are removed always remain in place under the master. And then you will ask the last one who removed a card, what card was his, and in the meantime you will cut the master in a beautiful manner, and taking the card immediately that comes from [i. e., below] it, it will be the same, and likewise the others at the same time, so that the game will be done.

5. Game of having people take a card and knowing how to remove it from the deck by covering it with a handkerchief.
Shuffle the cards, having someone take out a card in his own way, and look at it, and then have him place it under the master. Then shuffle all the cards, and place them under a handkerchief, and with your hands under it you will remove the card that is under the master, which will be the one he had removed from the deck, asking him before showing it what card it was.

6. Beautiful game of telling a Person in one ear which card another person must take before he takes it.
After you have shuffled the cards, you look at one without being seen and place it under the master, then that card that you looked at and placed under said master, that is, for example, if you saw that it is the 6 of clubs, you will say first in a person's ear the person who will have to take the card will take the 6 of clubs. And then you take the deck of cards and place it in division with the master, in such a way as a fan, so that it makes the card that is behind the master easy for him to take, and that he cannot help but take the one that you know which Card it is, and after it is taken, you will tell him to put it in his pocket without looking at it, and then ask that Person who you told before in his ear the card that someone else had to take from the deck, what card you told him, and he will reply that it is the same card that the Person who took it from the deck will have in his pocket, so that the game will be over.

Games to be played with the low cards as they come from the card-maker.

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7. Game of making people imagine a card and knowing which one it is.
You give the cards to a Person to shuffle and then tell him to imagine a Card to himself, knowing how to tell me, when I ask him, what number his imagined card is. Then have the cards returned to you, without having shuffled them, starting to count them underneath, placing them one on top of the other, counting up to the 29th, which you will place on top of the cards remaining in your hand without counting, saying: wouldn't it be a good game if I told you I would give the card you imagined to the 30 cards I will count? He will answer yes, and then you ask him how much was the Card he imagined. He will answer for example at 4 and you then start counting the deck by saying and 5 6 7 etc. up to 30, at which number you will find to be the card he imagined. And if, for example, he answered that his imagined card was at 17 and you start counting from the first one up saying 18, 19 etc. until 30; and so continue on to whatever number he responds to be [i.e., says is] the card imagined by him.

8. Game to have several people take a card of their choice without them seeing it, and that card that I tell them to give me will be that one.
You take the deck of cards, and look at the last card with skill, keeping it in mind, and then throw the deck of cards on the table spread out at length, making sure that the last card you saw underneath remains close to you covered, so that it would not be taken by someone. And if, for example, said card you saw was the 6 of hearts [quori = cuori], you will then say starting from one: please take out a card without looking at it, and give it to me, I want it to be the 6 of hearts. And everyone keeps in mind the card that I will ask him for, when he has given me the card taken from the first one you will quickly look at it, and then you will say to the second: Please give me the card that the first one gave you, that is, if it was for example the ace of diamonds [mattoni, bricks, alternative name for diamonds], it is said, give me the ace of diamonds, and so on to every person who wants to draw cards. Then when there is no more person that wants to draw, then you say: and for myself I will take that card that you will receive from the last person, that is, for example if it is the two of spades, taking for yourself the card that you looked at at the beginning under the deck which will be the 6 of hearts that you made the first player get. And so, then asking the first one what card I asked him for, he will answer me the 6 of hearts, and you will show it to him as you will do similarly, so that the game will be over.

9. Game to make seen the deck of cards in the hand tightened, i.e. from the extremity of the parts on one side all figures [court cards], and on the other all without figures.
Take a court card and place another card that is not a court card a little shorter than the first, placing thus in this way until there are figures, and then by holding them tightly in your hands turned towards the figure you will show a band of said cards, which will be seen to be all figures, and then on the other without figures, so that the game will be done.

Various other games without cards

The game of tying several knots in a silk handkerchief with its opposite sides; and then your hand being covered with said handkerchief, placing the knot underneath, with which only said knot is held, and it remains immediately untied.
The game of making seen an apple divided without touching the peel.
Beautiful game of making everyone present appear with ugly faces.
Game of removing a key or ring inserted into a double thread, and making it be held with the two large fingers of the hands.
Game of cutting a thread in the middle, knotting it, and then leaving it whole without any knots.
Game of placing a candlestick with the tallow candle lit on the ground ten arm lengths away and having it go out when you tell it to go out.
Game of having an uncovered flask full of red wine placed under a ceiling, and by giving said flask a blow, making it that the wine does not spill at all, even though the flask is in fact broken.

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Game of the Clock with minchiate Cards, and then they are spread out on the table as follows, but face down.

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BNCF, Fondo Nazionale, II.—.190. Detail from the last group of sheets [Ace-Queen right to left, King in bottom center] (Reproduction prohibited)

Then say: Remember the time you went to bed last night, or imagine whatever time you want. He will answer, I have thought of it. Ask him which card he wants to start counting from; he will say for example from the first [from the right], meaning the ace; then tell him to count over [i.e. starting with the number after] the imagined hour, starting to count from the one [the ace, far right], followed by the King [bottom center], Queen [far left, with “dama” on it], etc. that is, backwards [clockwise] to fifteen. And if he said he wanted to start counting from the second [card], which is the deuce, tell him to count until 16, etc. And so when he finishes counting, you turn over the card which will be the number of the hour he thought of. As, for example, if he thought of 9 [the imagined hour], beginning to count from that card he wants [the ace or deuce, this example] by saying 10, 11, 12, etc, until 15 or 16 [which, when turned over, will be the 9], depending on the card that he wants to start counting [from], and the game will be done.
Warning that those numbers placed above the aforementioned display of cards are those that give the rule up to where it must be said that he counts above [i.e. starting the hour after] the imagined time; that is, if he says he wants to start counting from the 4th card, which will be the 4, he must count [from the imagined number] up to 18.

Low Card Game, by Och and Boch
Have the cards shuffled, then have someone make two piles on the table, telling him to look at the first two cards on top of said piles. And in the meantime, you go aside and wet the palm of your right hand with spit [without – FP] anyone observing you; then come to the table and tell him to keep one of the cards he has seen in his memory. And then you will ask him which pile he wants [i.e, which pile has the card he wants to go with, keeping it in his memory], then he will answer one of the two, and you place your wet hand on that one, saying, this one, and at the same time dexterously remove the card and place it on the other pile pretending to shuffle it without touching the one above. And then immediately you will tell him to put his hand on that pile where you removed the card, placing your hand on it again, telling him, say och and boch. His having said that, you will then have him shuffle the cards of that pile where the aforementioned hands were placed. And at that time you take the other pile and shuffle the cards, making sure to always keep the card of said bunch [mazzo] that you will shuffle on top, which card you will place face down on the table. And then you say, wouldn't it be a good game if that card that you saw in the bunch [mazzo] in your hands was the one on the table face down; he would say yes; and then you will pat said card on the table, turning it over, which will be it, and the game will be done.

Card game, of the Viglietto [note 5]
Give the deck of cards to the person you want to play the game, telling him to shuffle them and then have them returned to you, and carefully observe the bottom card of the deck, and then without touching the one seen, shuffle them well, and then place the deck of cards on the table; and write on a small sheet of paper the card you saw at the bottom of the deck, i.e. for example, the 4 of clubs. And having that note [viglietto] kept sealed, give it to another person; then take a wand, and give it into the hand of that person who you had shuffle the cards, and tell him to touch a card; to this effect, having the

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5. Viglietto=Biglietto, in English: “note.”


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cards in your hand spread out like a fan so that the last card of the deck that you have seen remains in the left hand and when you see the card that he touches with said wand, try with skill to place the card of the 4 of clubs, that you have seen, under the one touched with the wand, wetting to this effect the 3rd finger of the left hand, immediately dividing the deck of cards into two parts so that in the right hand the 4 of clubs remains at the bottom of the deck, and the other, the deck that will remain in the left hand, is placed on the table, showing together with the deck that will be in the right hand the last card, which will be the 4 of clubs in front of the one that he has touched with the wand, telling him while giving him said card, Your Lordship, keep it face down. Then all the cards are taken back and shuffled, saying: wouldn't it be a good game if that person who holds the note that I gave him, told him, what card it is that which you have covered there the said note being written before he, Your Lordship, touched the card, and he will say yes, then tell the person who has the note to read it; so the game will be done, and it's beautiful.

Game of having three dice be rolled together, without the person who wants to do the game seeing them rolled, and all the same being able to tell the number on each dice that have been rolled.

Game to divine by touch without seeing what cards they are, i.e. Figure [i.e. court card], or Number Card [Cartaccia], placing the deck of cards above the head in sight of the person who sees.
Tell a friend to stand among the other people who will be facing the player and looking at the cards that said player will hold above his head. And when he sees that they are figures, he lowers his eyes to the ground, because that will be the sign that they are figures, and when they are number cards, he continues to look at the cards, so that the player will know when he has to say this is a figure, and this is a number card, pretending to feel them with a finger before saying it, so as to take the time to recognize said gesture of the friend.

3. Comments

Coming after the description of entire manuscript books dedicated to the same subject, this fourteen-page text presents itself as a secondary addition. Unfortunately, the elements that could certainly assign a greater value to these games are missing. The uncertainty is mainly due to my insufficient expertise in the matter, and I have already recognized this in previous cases. There would be two ways to assign considerable importance to the games presented here. The first way is simply technical, that is, to recognize that these are not entirely traditional games, but that they have some originality. As mentioned, for this we would need the opinion of an expert in the history of these games. One detail, secondary but of some interest, is that the text presents itself as an original draft, with several corrections, and not as a copy from previous compilations. On the other hand, if we find expressions that are not very correct and clear, we can observe that a professional magician was not usually required to have particular competence in the written Italian language.

The other way to enhance these games would come from knowing the date, if not also the author: if they were cards from the seventeenth century, the date would be enough to make them more appreciated. The relevant issue is the last of all those sheets bound together in this manuscript book. Of dated documents there are some from the 1630s, but others without dates can be dated well into the eighteenth century, based on the context. A large date range therefore remains unavoidable if one relies on the other documents preserved together.

Since this is a manuscript, however, there is a further possibility: based on the handwriting, a narrower date range should be able to be defined. Personally, I could propose a year close to 1700, but I would do so by associating it with an interval of at least half a century more or less. To make such a dating more useful I can report the opinion of a librarian more expert than me who would propose "second half of the seventeenth century."


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I can also conclude on a positive note: with all the related uncertainties, if nothing else we find a fixed point: the documents preserved together and the very use of minchiate in the proposed card games demonstrate, if nothing else, that the origin is Florentine, or at least Tuscan.

Florence, 18.07.2024