Games - Playing Cards

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playing_cards#mediaviewer/File:Medieval_gambling_cards.jpg

This post began its life in the line of the other "Games" posts, looking to follow the tradition of the history of one form of play, but evolved (devolved?) as the research began.  This is partly due to the fact that Whist (the original subject) seems to be a relatively late developing game and partly because the history of playing cards is so convoluted.  While it is quite clear that playing cards first appear in China (who were so much more advanced in the art of printing), determining if or how the cards or concepts migrated to other parts of the world is more difficult. Part of the difficulty lies in the fragility of the material, the rest comes from the normal fog of history.  What is clear is that cards and cards games proliferated and evolved to suit each of the cultures it encountered.
    In China, the convoluted history is deeper and involves more components, due to its long history.  Playing cards are known as far back as the 9th C, but their history is interwoven with that of dominoes, dice and mahjong.  Their use in some games is interchangeable, casting some doubt as to which came first.  The cards of the "kun p'ai" (or kwan p'ai) pack were originally paper money, which were the prize as well as the means to play the game, with three suits (coins, string of coins, myriads of coins).  Lut Chi appeared in the south of China with a fourth suit (even more coins).  While there have been many theories connecting these cards with the later European decks (including Marco Polo bringing some home) and tenuous connections between the images on each, there is no evidence for a direct link.
    While its history is also clouded, Ganjifa became popular in India, Nepal, Iran, Turkey, and some Arab countries somewhere in the 15th-16th Centuries.  The Mogul Ganjifa has eight suits of twelve round cards.  First popular in court, these cards were made from inlaid ivory or tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and precious metals.  As it disseminated to the masses other materials were applied (wood, rags, leather, pasteboard).  All of these cards were traditionally hand-painted by groups of artisans, sometimes whole families.  It is suggested that the Hunduization of the subject-matter on the cards helped to encourage its spread, some suggesting that the pursuit was pleasing to God.  While these cards bear little resemblance to their European cousins, Imperial influence can be seen to creep into some later Ganjifa card designs.
    European cards were most likely introduced in the 14th C, by the Mamelukes of Egypt.  All cards of this time were hand-painted and affordable only to the rich.  The four suits were: polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups.  Each suit had ten number cards and three court cards (the king and two marshalls), like the modern Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese decks.  The earliest French cards (around the same time) have an additional court card, as well as 22 extra high cards, known as the Tarot deck (though fortune-telling with them isn't documented until much later).  The Germans became large producers of cards from 1418 on, using suits of hearts, bells (round, like for hawking), leaves and acorns.  German printing (engravers) made playing cards accessible to the masses.  The French introduced the Queen and developed the modern suit system (which may be a stylized form of the German), which eventually migrated across to England.  Much like other pastimes, card playing was outlawed in a number of places by authorities (my grandparents wouldn't play cards on Sundays).  As games developed, decks built to fit the games evolved, changing the number of cards or suits (like the modern pinochle deck). 
    It's nearly impossible to track who influenced who in the history of playing cards, especially once they became relatively cheap.  Traders wouldn't bother to put them on bills of lading.  Soldiers could easily slip a pack into their bedrolls and teach locals along the route of march.  Game rules undoubtedly simplified or altered depending on what the players remembered of them (no Hoyle yet).  I can imagine some games being devised to make use of a partially spoiled deck.  In your world (depending on the level of technology), playing cards might be common, or held only by the elect.  The commoners might be playing for pennies, or the royals might wager the wealth of a nation.  Don't forget to have some fun along the way.
    






Chinese Cards - http://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/Archives/Wilkinson/Wilkinson.html
Ganjifa Cards - http://ganjifa-kishor.com/Ganjifa%20-%20A%20Historical%20Perspective.htm
Ganjifa - http://indiahistoryspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/02/art-of-play-case-of-ganjifa-playing.html
Card History - http://houseofplayingcards.com/playing-card-history
Card History - http://www.tradgames.org.uk/games/playing-cards.htm
Card History - http://www.i-p-c-s.org/history.html#