When you think of card games, computer Solitaire is probably what first pops into your head (or maybe not, I’m just old). The dragging and dropping of digital cards with a click of a mouse, or now with a tap of a finger on a touch screen phone, sometimes it’s hard to remember that humans have been shuffling card decks since at least the 9th century. Located in a former royal chateau in the Issy-les-Moulineaux district of suburban Paris for nearly thirty years, the Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer is a museum dedicated to playing cards. Winner of the 1999 European Museum of the Year Award, the collection contains over 9000 items, including 6500 cars, 980 etchings and posters, and 1000 objects related to card games. Among the oldest cards are hand–painted Franco-Flemish examples depicting hunting scenes from the 1540s and an illuminated 15th century Tarot card attributed to Italy’s Ferrara School. There are also exhibits on the history of the chateau and its owners, the Princes of Conti, as well as noted artists associated with the Issy area (Auguste Rodin, Henri Matisse, and Jean Dubuffet). I used to carry a deck of cards with me all the time, especially in high school, because we had a thirty minute homeroom with nothing to do except pray (this was Catholic School) so my friends and I would usually play “Bullshit”. Perfect setting for a game of lying, don’t ya think?
Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer, France
