Accession No
5384
Brief Description
set of astronomy playing cards, with instruction book and card container, by F. G. Moon, English, 1829
Origin
England; London; 20 Threadneedle Street [F. G. Moon]; [G. Woodfall:] England; Skinner Street; Angel Court [G. Woodfall]; Bridgewater Square [J and G. J. Pickett]
Maker
F. G. Moon [publisher] Woodfall, G. [printer] Pickett, J and G. J. Pickett [engravers] Phillips [attributed designer]
Class
astronomy; games
Earliest Date
1829
Latest Date
1829
Inscription Date
1829
Material
paper (card, cardboard); cloth (silk)
Dimensions
container width 68mm; height 98mm; depth 29mm; playing cards height 96mm; width 64mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Trevor Philip & Sons, 75a Jermyn Street, St James, London, England on 25/03/1999.
Inscription
on the container
ASTRONOMIA
LONDON
PUBLISHED BY F.G. MOON, 20 THREADNEEDLE STREET.
1829
Description Notes
a set of astronomy playing cards published by F.G. Moon of London in 1829. Made of card in a card container. Has an instruction book.
The container is of card with gold coloured paper cover. Decorated with an black ink etching on the front and back. This etching is of a woman seated surrounded by scientific instruments used in the study of astronomy, examples include an armillary sphere, celestial globe (?)drawer telescope and sextant. Below this oval etching are depicted two cherubic type children with telescopes and astrolabe. Above is the title of the cards “Astronomia”. On the sides of the container are the zodiacal representations, the scales for Libra, the crab for Cancer etc. On the base of the container is a cloudy night with the moon and a shooting star. The lid of the box is no longer with the object. There is a ribbon which can be pulled to remove the cards from the box, with ‘pull’ written in pencil above the end of the ribbon
The Instruction leaflet is plain and contains an explanation of the celestial cards and two of the games in which they are used.
The cards 51 present of the 52 are separated into four groups and colour coordinated correspondingly. The blue cards are spring, the red are summer, yellow are autumn and the white are winter. Within each set are the same 11 celestial depictions: Jupiter, Saturn, Herschel, Tellus, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Pallas, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta. In each set two cards are different. One card is the sign in which the sun appears in the particular season, for Autumn it is Libra, Winter is Capricorn, Spring is Aries and Summer is Cancer. The other card appears to be non-specific to the season and acts as factual information. For Autumn it is The Comet of 1630, Winter is The Orbits, Spring is Luna, Summer is The Sun.
The cards are black and white etching and the colour appears to be hand painted watercolour. At the edges of the image of the celestial body are two pillars from which hang a draped curtain, exposing the night sky.
Condition good, though one card was missing when purchased.
References
Events
Description
This set of playing cards, made in 1829, was designed as a teaching aid and an entertaining game. There are four ‘suits’: Spring (blue), Summer (red), Autumn (yellow), and Winter (white). Each suit of thirteen cards had eleven cards depicting the same celestial bodies, plus two cards that differ in each suit.
The celestial bodies shown are Mercury, Venus, Tellus (an alternative name for the Earth), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Herschel (the original name for Uranus, named after its discoverer William Herschel who first observed it in 1781), Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta. The last four are asteroids (small objects orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter) that were discovered in the early nineteenth century.
Two cards are different in each suit: one card shows a sign of the zodiac in which the Sun appears in that season (Aries for Spring, Cancer for Summer, Libra for Autumn and Capricorn for Winter). Another card is only slightly related to the season: Luna (the Moon) for Spring, the Sun for Summer, the Comet of 1630 for Autumn, and the Orbits for Winter.
An instruction leaflet that came with the pack of cards explains facts about astronomy and gives the rules for several games that you can play with them. In one system, Jupiter is the highest scoring card as it is the largest planet; in another, the planets are ranked by their distance from the Sun, so Herschel (Uranus) has the highest score. The leaflet explains that the cards are ‘intended at once to introduce the young to the sublime Science of Astronomy, and to afford to all a most agreeable pastime in an hour of relaxation’. It notes that the makers cannot guarantee that the cards will not be used for ‘the pernicious practice of gambling’ if the players are determined to do so, but the card game does not require you to place bets.
From display label:
One of a set of Astronomia playing cards used in games which would familiarise the player with astronomical facts and images. Coincidentally, the publisher’s name was Mr. F.G. Moon.
02/05/2008
Created by: Dr. Jenny Downes on 02/05/2008
FM:45747
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