Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards

by William Andrew Chatto

"The paper intended for the backs, being previously prepared with the colour desired, in the same manner as the fronts, is printed in various devices at the hand-press or steam-machine. The plaid or tartan backs are produced from a block engraved with straight lines, and printed in one colour, which is afterwards crossed with the same or any other colour, by again laying the sheet on the block, so that the first lines cross the second printing at any required angle. A variety of other devices are obtained from appropriate blocks; and some, like the court cards, and by the same process, are printed in a number of colours.

"In printing gold backs, size is substituted for ink; the face of the card is then powdered over with bronze dust, and rubbed over with a soft cotton or woollen dabber, by which the bronze is made to adhere to those parts only which have received the size. The printing of gold backs is usually executed after the card is pasted, but we have described the process here for the sake of convenience.

"As connected with the printing of backs, we may mention that the Messrs. De La Rue have lately taken out a patent for printing from woven wire, from which some highly beautiful patterns are obtained, bearing, of course, a perfect resemblance to the woven fabric. The wire when prepared for printing, is merely fastened at the ends by two pieces of wood, and stretched over a cast-iron block, on which it is fixed by means of screws passing through the wood into the iron. The variety of these patterns is very great; the printing is effected in the ordinary manner.

"Hitherto we have been referring to printed sheets of paper, which are either the size of double or single foolscap; the next object, therefore, is the conversion of these sheets into card-boards of the usual thickness. In France the card generally consists of two sheets of paper; but in England a more substantial article is demanded; it is generally four sheets thick, that is, the foreside and the back, and two inside leaves of an inferior description.

"In order to make a firm and smooth card, it is first necessary to obtain a paste of an equable well-mixed substance. A paste of this quality is produced from flour and water, mixed together, and heated to the boiling point, in a forty-gallon copper, by steam; which is made to pass into the interstices between the copper and an external casing of cast-iron, of the same shape as the boiler. By employing steam, instead of fire, the paste is not liable to burn, or adhere to the sides of the copper, and thus become deteriorated in its colour and quality.

"Previous to the commencement of pasting, it is necessary that the sheets be arranged in the order in which they are to be pasted. This operation is termed mingling. The insides, which are merely two sheets of paper pasted together, are placed between the foresides and backs, so that the paste may take them up without the possibility of error. A heap of paper so pasted will therefore uniformly consist of the foreside and back, between which, the inside, pasted on each side, is placed.

"The paste is laid on by means of a large brush, resembling the head of a hair-broom, with which the workman, by a series of systematic circular movements, distributes a thin coat. And by way of illustration of the long practice and manual dexterity which are necessary for perfection in even the simplest departments of art or labour, it may be worthy of notice that card-pasting is in itself a branch of labour, and that three or four years' practice is necessary to render the operator complete master of his business.

"These newly-pasted cards are then, in quantities of four or five reams at a time, subjected to the gradual but powerful pressure of a hydraulic press of one hundred tons, worked by a steam-engine. By this means the water in the paste exudes, and the air between the leaves is expelled, which would otherwise remain, and give the card a blistered appearance.

"After remaining a short time in the press, they are hung up on lines to dry; and to prevent, as much as possible, their warping while in this limpid state, small pins or wires are passed through the corners, and are then dexterously bent over the lines in the drying-room.

"The card-boards, after thus drying, are subjected to the pressure and friction of a brush-cylinder,—the face of which is covered with short thickset bristles, which not merely polish the surface, but even penetrate into the interstices. At this stage of the manufacture, cards of a superior description are waterproofed on the back with a varnish prepared for the purpose, so that they may not be marked by the fingers in dealing. When so prepared, they will keep perfectly clean, and may even be washed, without injuring the impression or softening the card.