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Style of Eye - July 2007

jokers

July 27th 2007 01:32

A joker in the hand is worth much more in the bush

When I was teenager I came up with a brilliant idea. Forget collecting coins, stamps, dolls, ties, matchbooks, model fucking airplanes … I was gonna collect “jokers”. I was gonna ruin as many packs of playing cards as I could by stealing the jokers from them and displaying them in a portfolio using the face of one to exhibit the joker itself, and the back of the other to represent the generic design of the playing card.

I never followed through. I was too lazy. I collected perhaps a dozen and then realized it was too much hard work, plus I’d no doubt piss too many people off. I wasn’t gonna spend my life searching high and low for obscure makes of playing cards. Fuck that.

The most accepted explanation for the name and the role of the joker is that it originates from the game of euchre. In this game two of the jacks were named right and left bower. In the 1860s in the USA the "Best Bower" was introduced. Bower is a corruption of the German word "Bauer".

Originally the game of euchre or juker was played in the Alsace, where it was the common name for "Jack". The best bower card evolved into the joker from the American version of euchre during the 1870s and arrived in Europe along with the game of poker in the 1880s. It was gradually incorporated into the French-suited packs with 52 cards.

And the one that tickles my wicked fancy the most? I’m partial to the black and white jester’s face for traditional simplicity and the one with the ladies of leisure applying make-up arouses me so, but for sheer chutzpah "Sailor Jerry" rings my bell ... heh heh, aloha!

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: graphics

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3 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Cibbuano

July 29th 2007 23:16

20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

great post... jokers are slick, and are damn stylish... I like the sexy ones best!

Comment by Raoul Duke

July 30th 2007 01:36

Style of Eye

Thankyou, and welcome, Cibbuano, to my world of slick sexy stylistics ... One can't go past the sexy ones! Do you have a personal favourite of the sexy ones per chance?

Comment by Anonymous

March 21st 2008 21:09

I also collect jokers from playing cards. I have many doublets for exchange. My e-mail lewan@uwm.edu.pl
Regards
Krzysztof

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