An English pack, dated 1700, called Virtues and Vices, has the former so repulsively and the latter so attractively displayed that they can serve no good purpose.
Historical cards are interesting to students of costume. In the United States one pack commemorates the war of 1848 with Mexico, and the Kings represent the generals of the day. On the Aces are views of well-known country places, One is of the headquarters of General Washington at Newburgh; another is Highwood, on the Hudson River at Wiehawken, opposite Forty-second Street, New York, the residence of Mr. James Gore King.
A pack of cards of 1863 represents the battle between the “Monitor” and the “Merrimac,” and the court cards are soldiers in the uniforms of the day, such as zouaves, etc.
A pack in the British Museum displays small and very indecent pictures with descriptive legends. Some of the latter are amusing, such as, “Hee that has no Head wants noe Hatt.” Under the picture of a bachelor maid is:
I know well how the world waggs,
He’s most beloved that has most Baggs.
Under the sketch of an old woman with her pet is written: “Two heads are better than one, which made the old woman carry her dog to Market with her,” and its mate has: “Men and Doggs may goe abroad, but Women and Catts must stay at home.” Another reads: “Two Doggs and a Bone, Two Catts and a Mouse, Two Wives in a House can never Agree.”
The picture of three doctors entering a room with their sticks to their noses and approaching a sick man bears the legend:
If you’ll avoid old Charon, the Ferryman,
Consult Dr. Dyett, Dr. Quiett, and Dr. Merryman.
The following card has on it: “An Ounce of Mirth is worth a Pound of Sorrow.”