Cardmaker

A cardmaker is a craftsman who produces playing cards. Under France’s Ancien Régime, the trade was organized into guilds and subject to taxes, which explains the name, town and sometimes date that appear on certain cards, such as the Two of Coins. The great cardmakers of Paris, Lyon and Marseille, such as Jean Noblet, Jean Dodal and Nicolas Conver, set the tarot patterns that still serve as a reference.