Description
This deck is based on a set of face cards by Pierre Marechal of Rouen, France, dating to 1567. The original Jacks of hearts and diamonds were missing, but are replaced with two similar cards also from Rouen. The cards of Rouen are significant because in 1628 England banned the importation of cards, and English printers used Rouen cards as models for their own cruder, more stylized decks which have become the standard motifs still used in many modern decks.
[Source: Playing cards: a history of the Pack and Explanations of its Secrets, Gurney Benham, 1931]
