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What Counts as the First Joker?

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What Counts as the First Joker?
« on: September 16, 2024, 11:19:12 AM »
 

JohnEdelson

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As a historically-minded joker collector, I've been contemplating and researching what could be considered the first joker. I find it complicated. 

I hope to discuss the topic with others who are more learned than I am at the 52Plus Conference in Niagara Falls in three weeks and I wrote an article to prepare. 
https://www.amusedbyjokersami.com/2024/09/investigating-great-invention-of-1800s.html

I started by thinking that to count as the first modern joker, the card should be called a "joker", be a multipurpose extra card, and have a jester on it so that it belongs at court with the kings and queens.

But from there, I found myself in a maze of historical sources and definitions. While I started by relying 100% on info from The Hochman Encyclopedia of American Playing Cards, I learned that it too has some errors. 

(I tried to post this in the section on Card Collecting but the forum did not present me with a 'New Topic' menu choice there.)
My contribution, such as it is, has been a focus on an organizational system for jokers. It's useful for people like myself who will never be able to remember the country or publisher of each joker. Instead, we need an easy-to-follow visual system... check it out!

https://www.amusedbyjokersami.com/2019/12/my-joker-taxonomy.html