52+J Convention – October 15th through the 18th, 2014:
One of our members will be discussing and displaying a recent acquisition – an original deck (that’s right, not a facsimile) by Jost Amman, created in Nuremberg in 1588. No ordinary deck of playing cards, Amman’s CHARTA LUSORIA pack is world famous, even outside the realm of card collecting. As our member says, it is an amazing work of art, a trove of mysteries, and a compelling artifact of secular life at the height of the German Renaissance. Considered a masterpiece of the woodcutter’s art, this particular deck has been lovingly hand-illuminated with brilliant colors and real gold, in the manner of early medieval manuscripts. Our member has done some interesting original research on the deck, which he promises to share with us. For example, did you know that most playing card reference books cite this deck as coming from Amman’s 1568 BOOK OF TRADES (“Das Standebuch”) – and that this is simply wrong? It turns out that CHARTA LUSORIA (which means playing or pleasure cards) is a completely different work from two decades later. Here are pictures of a couple of cards to whet your appetite, but if you want to see the rest of the deck, COME TO CHARLESTON – MEET WITH YOUR FELLOW COLLECTORS IN PERSON. Internet, shminternet, there really is no substitute for these in-person meetings. Especially in this case, if you would care to view one of the most fascinating and imaginative expressions of the Renaissance mind you could ever hope to run across.”
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