Authentic reproduction of Early American Playing Deck. The deck includes 52 colorful reproduction playing cards.  The back of the cards are blank as was common during this time.  
 
The origin of playing cards is a mystery. Most authorities agree that cards were first used in ancient China more than 800 years ago. Such cards may have reached Europe via the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land. Today, an average of 175 million decks of cards are manufactured annually in the US alone.