Domino en kaert spel / Jeu de domino et de cartes 1833 - 1900

This print shows a set of dominoes alongside playing cards and was made by Glenisson & Zonen, a firm based in Brussels. The duality of the image, split between dominoes and cards, points towards the relationship between games, chance, and society. Consider the social rituals around card games and dominoes. These activities involve participants in turn-taking, strategizing, and often, wagering. They are cultural forms with their own rules and institutions. This image, printed in Belgium, captures a moment of leisure and perhaps commerce. You can tell that this image was made during a time when social status and class were very important. Card games were a favourite pastime of the upper classes and their depiction might be an indirect reference to the elitism of social structures. As historians, we can delve into archival records, game manuals, and social histories to understand better the cultural significance of dominoes and cards. We can reflect on how games, like art, reflect and shape the values of a society.