Anonymous: Floskaartjes (1704 - 1757)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

A print made by an unknown 18th century Dutch artist. This type of pictures are called 'Floskaartjes' (literal 'floss cards'). These are playing cards which were printed as a complete set on cheap paper and sold for 1 cent (catchpenny prints). People bought the entire set, glued it on thick paper and cut them out. The 36 cards resemble the social hierarchy of the period: each card has a number (1 to 36), a picture and a name. Cards 23 to 36 are the nobility and clergy, cards 15 to 22 are the hunters and army, cards 3 to 14 are servants, farmers and merchants. Card 2 is 'life' and card 1 is 'death'. This version is a protestant version: cardnumber 31 is the bisshop's wife, in catholic countires this card was called the 'abbess'. Each even card forms a pair with an uneven card: card 16 is the soldier, card 15 is the soldierswife etc. The rules of this cardgame varied from county to county. Print from 1704-1757.