The caption reads: “italian nobleman of the fifteenth century. From a playing-card engraved on copper about 1460 (cabinet des estampes, national library of paris). ” project gutenberg text 10940. — this is a free reproduction of engraving no. 5 from the e-series of the so-called mantegna tarocchi; the reproduction misses the ornamental margin and the original caption of the engraving, reading e --- zintilomo · v · --- 5 (“zintilomo” is venetian dialect for gentleman). Today, the mantegna tarocchi are no longer regarded as playing cards; they may have had some educational purpose and were probably made around 1465 by an unknown artist in ferrara.
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