In some countries, such as Persia, only the emblematic or picture part of the pack, called by the Italians Atouts, is used; but the greater part of the world ignores these entirely and is ignorant that such cards exist, recognising only the pip or suit part of the pack, but in almost every quarter of the globe four suits composing a pack are known, although the symbols on them vary widely.

The oldest emblems are those of the Tarots that are still those most commonly known. These are Swords, Rods, Money and Cups, which are the pips familiar in Italy as well as Spain, Algiers, South America, Cuba, Mexico, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands and wherever the Spanish language is used, for the Spaniards, when conquering the world, carried their favorite toys with them, introducing them to the natives who accepted the novelty with avidity and used them for games, just as the Spaniards had adopted them from the Italians.

The standard pack has ten pip and four court cards, or fifty-six in all, which are headed by a King, a Queen, a Cavalier and a Knave, and these cards all have names given to them according to the country where they are used. Cards for all parts of the world are made in Paris and local preferences are closely followed, although most countries manufacture their own cards, and a considerable revenue is gained by taxing the product as well as the import of cards. But while the ancient emblems are now commonly used in the countries mentioned, the important part of the ancient pack has been discarded. This comprised twenty-one picture cards, which were a most necessary adjunct to the pip cards, for when the fortunes of the players were to be revealed by reading the prophecies of the gods it was imperative that the two sets should be used in connection with each other, but the complete pack that is still known as Tarots can only be found in Italy.

The German cards were never intended for fortune-telling, but entirely for gambling, and they have devices peculiarly their own. Hitherto no one has explained why or for what purpose these symbols were invented, since they had no particular significance when used in connection with the cards. They are Acorns, Bells, Hearts and Leaves, and are partly heraldic emblems connected with the game of Lansquenet. There are but three male court cards called King, Over Knave and Under Knave.

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Atouts of an Early Italian Pack of Tarots

7 Il Carro
8 La Giustizia
9 L’Eremita		 10 Ruota della Fortuna
11 La Forza
12 L’Appeso

France uses the gambling pack invented for Charles VI about the year 1395. This contains three court cards—namely, King, Queen and Knave, and the cards display Carreaux, Piques, Cœurs and Trifles, or as we know them Diamonds, Spades, Hearts and Clubs. This French pack is the only one confining itself to two simple dominant colours, while all other cards are extravagantly blazoned in variegated tints that are by no means as harmonious as the distinctive French Rouge et Noir, which commends itself so well to players for gambling purposes, that the packs of this nation are being now rapidly introduced and adopted all over the world to the exclusion of native designs, even although these symbols have been inherited from the prophetical cards of prehistoric times. This is due to the fact that the cards used for fortune-telling are not as convenient as those that were invented particularly for gambling.

In Persia, where only the Atout or figure part of the pack is used, while the pip part is omitted, the figures are painted in harmonious colours and it is left for the tints of the background to indicate the suits. In the Kile Kort or Cucu pack of Sweden (which also has figures) there are no colours whatever, but the designs are printed in black ink on white cardboard. This is also the case with old cards from the Netherlands, but none of these packs were ever intended for fortune-telling.