Andy's Playing Cards - Uncut Sheets of Playing Cards

first sheet by Raffaele Pignalosa	The first sheet by Raffaele features three rows of Swords, Batons and Cups, with pip cards running from 1 (ace) to 7 and the three courts. Its size is 54 x 32 cm (21¼ x 11¾ in). The second one by the same maker features 8s, 9s and 10s in groups of three, repeated a number of times enough to fill the sheet, plus three extra aces of Coins in the upper part, printed horizontally; the sheet is slighly taller than the previous one, measuring 54 x 37 cm (21¼ x 14½ in).

The Trevigiane belong to the few Italian patterns which exist with two different compositions: 40 cards (pip cards from 1 to 7) and 52 cards (pip cards up to 10). In Pignalosa's sheets, only pip cards up to 7 were printed regularly aligned, so to form one full deck. The higher pip cards, i.e. from 8 to 10, were printed on separate sheets, almost as extra subjects. Considering the sizes of the two sheets and the extra aces in the second one, it is difficult to tell whether the first sheet originally had also a fourth rows of Coins at the top, that was cut off, or whether it had three rows only.	second sheet by Raffaele Pignalosa

The Trevigiane belong to the few Italian patterns which exist with two different compositions: 40 cards (pip cards from 1 to 7) and 52 cards (pip cards up to 10). In Pignalosa's sheets, only pip cards up to 7 were printed regularly aligned, so to form one full deck. The higher pip cards, i.e. from 8 to 10, were printed on separate sheets, almost as extra subjects.
Considering the sizes of the two sheets and the extra aces in the second one, it is difficult to tell whether the first sheet originally had also a fourth rows of Coins at the top, that was cut off, or whether it had three rows only.

second sheet by Raffaele Pignalosa

Both sheets by Raffaele Pignalosa have advertisement backs, printed in two colours (deep blue and red), concerning a mineral water brand. The label features a red castle and the text ELETTA ACQUA DA TAVOLA; the building in the label looks very much like the medieval Anjou Castle in Naples, and was probably inspired by the city's famous landmark. However, these cards were certainly not made for the local market, but for north-eastern Italy, where this pattern is commonly used.
No year of print appears on the back, so the age of these sheets can be approximately estimated as sometimes during the 1930s.

back of both sheets by Raffaele P.	back of one sheet by Edoardo P.

sheet by Edoardo Pignalosa	The two sheets by Edoardo Pignalosa, instead, feature a full set of 40 cards, regularly arranged in four rows (note that the sequence of suits, from top to bottom, differs from that of Raffaele's first sheet). They measure 49.5 x 41 cm (19½ x 16 in) and 52 x 41.5 cm (20¼ x 16 in); the slight differences are due to the amount of extra space along the edges. Their backs are standard, but while one of them has a generic black '+' texture, the other one has a much more attractive self-advertising label (above right).

sheet by Edoardo Pignalosa

The two sheets by Edoardo Pignalosa, instead, feature a full set of 40 cards, regularly arranged in four rows (note that the sequence of suits, from top to bottom, differs from that of Raffaele's first sheet). They measure 49.5 x 41 cm (19½ x 16 in) and 52 x 41.5 cm (20¼ x 16 in); the slight differences are due to the amount of extra space along the edges. Their backs are standard, but while one of them has a generic black '+' texture, the other one has a much more attractive self-advertising label (above right).

4 of Coins

In Pignalosa's edition of the Trevigiane pattern the blank central space of the 4 of Coins is filled with a rose; today's editions traditionally feature the firm's logo in this space, but up to the mid 1900s many makers still lacked a logo, and Pignalosa was among them.

As mentioned in the introduction, there are some interesting differences between the design of Raffaele's edition and that of his son.

king of Batons from the two editions: the older
of the two (left) features Treviso's crest

The most evident one is the king of Batons (above right), which appears completely different, especially due to the presence of the city crest of Treviso in the older of the two versions. Some other courts too clearly mismatch (below), besides having uncoloured faces in the older edition and pink ones in the newer one.

cavalier and knave of Swords from the two editions; the one by Raffaele P. carries a slight misprint:
one arm is uncoloured; also note how only in the same edition the faces are uncoloured
But even pip cards are not identical, as their shape and the decorative details they feature slightly change. The same address of the maker's workshop (see opening picture), mentioned on the ace of Coins, is different.

a comparison of the pips belonging to the suit of Cups, Swords (below left) and Batons

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