“The origins of woodblock printing in Europe are shrouded in mystery. . . . Playing cards and religious-image prints were early manifestations. . . . Card playing was popular, and in spite of being outlawed and denounced by zealous clergy, this pastime stimulated a thriving underground block-printing industry, possible before 1400. . . . Playing cards were the first printed pieces to move into an illiterate culture, making them the earliest European manifestation of printing’s democratizing ability. The games of kings could now become the games of peasants and craftsmen.”

—Phil Meggs & Alston Purvis, Meggs’ History of Graphic Design, 2006.