The Makers

In 1870, Heraclio Fournier González founded a print shop in Vitoria in northern Spain, where seven years later he published his first deck of cards, designed by Emilio Sobrier and Díaz de Olano. Investing in the latest machinery, Fournier published award-winning twelve-colour lithographic decks. After Fournier's death in 1916, the firm continued to work at the leading edge of Spain's playing card production, becoming the official supplier of decks to various royal families around the world. In 2020, Fournier was acquired by Cartamundi but continues to publish their own decks.

The Cards

The Cadiz pattern of playing cards is almost identical to the Castilian pattern, using the Spanish suits of Clubs, Coins, Cups and Swords, and is distinguished only by a few small details: the Knight of Coins has a whip, and the King of Cups holds his sceptre in his left hand. Its 40 cards are comprised of Ace to Seven pip cards, with three court cards, the sota (knave), caballo (knight) and rey (king). Some of the cards have inscriptions, including the publisher's imprint on the Five of Spades, "Made in Spain" on the Four of Clubs, and "ahi vá" on the Caballo of Cups. Strangely, the accent has been put over the wrong letter; it should read "ahí va", a Spanish phrase used in a variety of situations that can loosely be translated as 'there you go!'.