The joker's are technically an american creation. It's believed that their ancestral beginnings are from a card game called 'euchre' ... popular in the US, Canada, and Great Britian. Euchre itself derived from a 19th century Alsatian game called juckerspiel which had two top trump cards called 'Juckers' (which meant Jack). It's believed that the name 'Joker' was derived from 'Jucker' and 'Poker'. The cards initial use in america were tied to the game of Poker which used the joker as a wild card ... although that use has faded. Some believe the joker has some relation to the 'Fool' card in the Tarot deck ... although this connection is loose at best.
The variation on the Joker design is quite diverse as you'll be able to see below w/ the examples I've chosen to include ... and the links section highlights a few other sites w/ profiles on Jokers. The Joker card often serves as the most creative artistic outlet in the whole deck ... typically showing some humorous scene w/ some context of the maker or manufacturer. These 'extra' cards in the standard deck often find no purpose in life ... but they sure keep things interesting along the way.
In contempory decks there are typically two joker cards supplied w/ one being of a more elaborate design (design is typically dependent on the publisher) and the other being less dominant and typically includes some type of promotion or advertisement for the company making the cards. With some decks the jokers could be distinguished by color ... with one being black and white ... the other being in full color. It's also possible to see the two jokers ... one in black ... the other in red. Many jokers are depicted as a 'court jester'.
With the common Bicycle playing cards the first joker is a courtly type (a king) wearing a crown and riding a two wheeled bicycle. It shows him riding past a miletone marker labeled 808 which some believe represents some hidden meaning. The other joker card has a smaller image the same as the first one w/ a guarantee claim below and the address of the US Playing Card Co. in Cincinnatti, OH.
As I stated above ... this unique card often finds itself as the palate for the most creative output in the whole deck. It's clearly a case of different strokes for different folks ... maybe it's even a cultural thing. Who am I to judge?
The joker has a different meaning depending on the game it's used in. It's typically a wild card in Poker, Canasta, and Gin Rummy ... it's a card to be avoided in games like Hearts and Old Maid.
The range of designs for the Joker card is exhaustive and I've only shown a small sample here. A broader view of the range of Joker designs can be obtained by following the links below. You'll never look at the Joker the same way again.
And you probably thought I was crazy for having a seperate page for our little joker friends. Well here you have a consolidated list of all the other places on the net where they too have paid some special attention to the Jokers in their life.
This site has a nice Joker designs page w/ a ton of interesting Joker designs. This includes many different card brands that you've likely never heard of.
Here's the Joker card page from the World of Playing Cards site. A little bit of history ... a few historical card images ... and some links to some other designs.
This is a playing card collectors site w/ an original focus on Jokers which has been expanded to include all card collecting and it's related interests.
Not an intuitive connection between The Joker's Wild and a swing band ... but here it is. Looks like there in the Virginia and Washington, DC area.
Final Notes:
So the moral of the story is the title of the page. You can be funny, humorous, or witty ... but Don't Be Such a Joker ... especially one of the ones outlined here. As you can see by viewing the many varied designs for the Joker ... this card is clearly the creative pallete for the designer of the deck w/ what appears to be a wide open creative outlet for design.
If there's any inaccuracies, inconsitencies, or complete ommissions ... let me know the issue and I'll work to resolve it. Any input is appreciated.
