Summary
Set of 40 miniature Mexican playing cards where the suits follow the Spanish tradition and are depicted as swords, clubs, cups and coins.
This set is part of the Dorothy Howard Collection, gathered by eminent US folklorist and scholar Dr Dorothy Howard, who visited Australia as a Fulbright fellow in 1954-55 to document and research the folklore of Australian children. The Collection primarily contains documents, photographs and objects from Australia and the United States. It is now contained with the Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC), unique in Australia, documenting contemporary children's folklore across Australia and in other countries reaching back to the 1870s. The Collection has a strong component of research material relating to Victoria.
Physical Description
Set of 40 miniature Mexican playing cards with suits depicted as swords, clubs, cups and coins. The reverse of each card has a small red and white diamond pattern. The obverse of the playing cards are brightly coloured in tones of red, yellow, green and blue. The coin suit is depicted in gold with the profile of a woman on the coin. The cups are an elaborate urn shape with a lid. The swords are coloured blue with gold handles and the clubs appear to be wooden and are coloured in red and green.
More Information
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Collection Names
Australian Children's Folklore Collection, Dorothy Howard Collection
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Collecting Areas
Leisure, Home & Community, Childhood, Migration & Cultural Diversity
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Acquisition Information
Cultural Gifts Donation from Dr June Factor, 18 May 1999
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Acknowledgement
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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Place Made
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Inscriptions
Within each suit, the cards are numbered from 1 to 7 and then from 10 to 12.
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Overall Dimensions
3 cm (Length), 4.5 cm (Height)
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References
Grunberg, F. 'Games of the world', pp113-117
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Keywords
Cultural Traditions, Games, Gaming Devices, Leisure Activities, Playing Cards, Recreation