among artificers, an instrument consisting of a block of wood, befit with sharp teeth, serving to arrange the hairs of wool, flax, hemp, and the like; there are different kinds of them, as hand-cards, stock-cards, &c. They are made as follows:

A piece of thick leather, of the size intended for the card, is strained in a frame for that purpose; and then pricked full of holes, into which the teeth or pieces of iron wire are inserted. After which the leather is nailed by the edges to a flat piece of wood, in the form of an oblong square, about a foot in length, and half a foot in breadth, with a handle placed in the middle of one of the longer sides.

The teeth are made in the following manner. The wire being drawn of the size intended, a skin or number of wires are cut into proper lengths by means of a gauge, and then doubled in a tool contrived for that purpose; after which they are bent into the proper direction by means of another tool; and then placed in the leather, as mentioned above.

CARDS, among gamesters, little pieces of fine thin pasteboard of an oblong figure, of several sizes; but most commonly in Britain, three inches and a half long and two and a half broad, on which are painted several points and figures.

The moulds and blocks for making cards are exactly like those that were used for the first printed books. They lay a sheet of wet or moist paper on the block, which is very lightly done over with a sort of ink made of lamp-black diluted in water, and mixed with some starch to give it a body. They afterwards rub it off with a round lift. The court-cards are coloured by means of several patterns, styled flame-files. These consist of papers cut through with a penknife; and in these apertures they apply feverally the various colours, as red, black, &c. These patterns are painted with oil-colours, that the brushes may not wear them out; and when the pattern is laid on the pasteboard, they slightly pass over it a brush full of colour, which, leaving it within the openings, forms the face or figure of the card.

Among sharpers, divers sorts of false and fraudulent cards have been contrived; as, 1. Marked cards, where the aces, kings, queens, knaves, are marked on the corners of the backs with spots of different number and order, either with clear water or water tinged with pale Indian ink, that those in the secret may distinguish them. Aces are marked with single spots on two corners opposite diagonally; kings with two spots at the same corners; knaves with the same number transferred. 2. Breef cards, those which are longer or broader than the rest: chiefly used at whist and piquet. The broad cards are usually for kings, queens, knaves, and aces; the long for the rest. Their design is to direct the cuttings, to enable him in the secret to cut the cards disadvantageously to his adversary, and draw the person unacquainted with the fraud to cut them favourably for the sharper. As the pack is placed either endwise or sidewise to him that is to cut, the long or broad cards naturally lead him to cut them. Breef cards are sometimes made thus by the manufacturer; but, in defect of these, sharpeners pare all but the breefs with a penknife or razor. 3. Corner bend, denotes four cards turned down finely at one corner, to serve as a signal to cut by. 4. Middle bend, or Kingston-bridge, is where the tricks are bent two different ways, which causes an opening or arch in the middle, to direct likewise the cutting.

Cards were invented about the year 1390, to divert Charles VI. of France, who had fallen into a melancholy disposition. The inventor proposed, by the figures of the four suits or colours, as the French call them, to represent the four classes of men in the kingdom. By the coeurs (hearts) are meant the gens de coeur, choir-men, or ecclesiastics; and therefore the Spaniards, who certainly received the use of cards from the French, have copas, or chalices, instead of hearts. The nobility, or prime military part of the kingdom, are represented by the ends or points of lances or pikes; and our ignorance of the meaning or the resemblance of the figure induced us to call them spades: The Spaniards have espadas, swords, in lieu of pikes, which are of similar import. By diamonds are designed the order of citizens, merchants, or tradesmen, carreaux, (square stones, tiles, or the like): The Spaniards have a coin, dineros, which answers to it; and the Dutch call the French word carreaux, "streenen," stones and diamonds, from the form. Trefoil, the trefoil-leaf, or clover-leafs (corruptly called clubs), alludes to the husbandmen and peasants. But how this suit came to be called clubs is not easily explained; unless borrowing the game from the Spaniards, who have bajos (slaves or clubs) instead of the trefoil, we give the Spanish signification to the French figure.

The history of the four kings, which the French, in drollery, sometimes call the cards, are David, Alexander, Caesar, and Charles; which names were then, and still are on the French cards. These respectable names represent the four celebrated monarchies of the Jews, Greeks, Romans, and Franks under Charlemagne. By the queens are intended Argine, Esther, Judith, and Pallas (names retained in the French cards), typical of birth, piety, fortitude, and wisdom, the qualifications residing in each person. Argine is an anagram for regina, queen by descent. By the knaves were designed the servants to knights (for knave originally meant only servant); but French pages and valets, now indiscriminately used by various orders of persons, were formerly only allowed to persons of quality, esquires (écuyers), shield or armour bearers. Others fancy that the knights themselves were designed by those cards; because Hogier and Lahire, two names on the French cards, were famous knights at the time cards were supposed to have been invented.

Deceptions with Cards. See Legerdemain, sect. i.