Signed and initialled limited edition of 5. These cards are made entirely by hand and as far as possible using methods that have been documented to have been used in the pre-industrial era.
The design of the court cards is a recognised pattern known as "Rouen II", Rouen being the town which exported cards to England pre-1628. Constructed from four layers of paper glued together to achieve the right thickness, they are printed using a reproduction wooden press from a hand-carved pearwood block. The cards are then stencilled with four historic colours, namely extract of Persian berries for yellow, Venetian red, indigo and lamp black. When dry, they are polished, cut and packed in a paper presentation tuck box decorated with another hand print. NB that these cards may show some spots of colour from strayed stencils or ink. These should not be taken as faults but rather as evidence of the hand made process.
Cards in the 17th century were not long lasting, and play will lead to wear. They are not intended as toys and should be kept away from babies and young children.

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