The  Liechtenstein'sche Spiel

Das Liechtenstein'sche Spiel is very interesting, as it might be the oldest example of a cheap card deck. The Polosticks as suits proves, that it still did possess a near relationship to the original Mamelucks cards. Also it presents a mixture between socalled German and Italian style. The rest of the suits (beside the shields, which are known as a German element) presents Italian influences, The Court card system (King, Ober, Unter) is from German tradition. It clearly has 5 suits, and lies in the development between 4x13 standard deck and 5x14 Trionfi deck, also it lies between German and Italian decks.

1440 - 1450 (?): "Liechtensteinsches Spiel", produced at the Oberrhein (eventually Seeschwaben), woodcut-technic. 2 sheets of paper with 16 cards have been found in a book cover (according to Hoffmann). It seems, that this deck had a 5x13-structure (5x14 or even 5 x 15 is not impossible, as the 4th court card might be missing). Hoffmann relates to Schreiber, who dated this deck cause of arguments of the clothing to the time of 1465. Hoffmann accepts this, but states, that the motives might be from this time, but that the printing is of younger date. Hoffmann doesn't give any information about the book cover in which these papers have been found. Segeth dates without comments the deck at 1440/1450.  5 suits: the common 4 Italian suits (in a varified form, polo sticks instead of batons - similar to the Mamelucks cards -, the swords are different from the bowed Italian swords) and the 5th shows shields with  heraldic signs. The use of polosticks in Europe is also documented by another sheet of low quality in 15th century. 3 court cards (a 4th or 5th court card is eventually missing), King, Ober and Unter, however, 2 of the Unter are females, one of them is a nude. Another Unter is an urinating Fool (perhaps it is the first nude and the first known Fool on a card deck). Mixings of two female and two male pages are also known from the Minchiate.  10,5 x 7,7 mm The both papers were bought in 1871 by the collection Rothschild from a Dr. Roth. They are located at Paris, Musee de Louvre, Coll. Rothschild, Inv.-Nr. 3806 LR.

Swords Ober             Swords Unter             Coins King Shields Ace

Polosticks Ober Polosticks Unter Cups King Shields Unter

Cups Ober Cups Unter Polosticks King Shields Ober

Coins Ober Coins Unter Swords King Shields King