Elegant Card and Games Table Restoration - A Glimpse into Austro-Hungarian Past!
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2023
- In this video, I restore an antique envelope playing cards table, most likely made during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. I bought the table from a website in Poland and worked on it with great pleasure for about 300 hours.
The table was in a state of disrepair when I got it. The veneer was loose and broken, and someone had sprayed pink paint.
The restoration process was challenging but rewarding. I learned much about furniture restoration and am very proud of the finished product.
If you want to learn more about antique envelope card tables or furniture restoration, I encourage you to watch this video.
More about the restoration/transformation process:
I bought this card table from a website in Poland. I had to drive a few miles to get it. The table cost quite a lot, but that didn't matter, especially as it came with all these wonderful old playing cards plus other games.
The process of restoring the table went well. I used various types of stain, made my shellac, and replaced the damaged veneer.
I hope I have caught everything, but if you have any questions, you can comment, and I'll get back to you!
A short history of envelope cards table:
The history of antique envelope card tables dates back to the 18th century. The first envelope card tables were made in England, quickly becoming popular throughout Europe. These tables were designed to be portable and easy to set up, making them ideal for gaming parties and social gatherings.
Envelope card tables get their name from the way their tops fold down. The top of the table is divided into four sections, which can be folded down and nested together. This creates a compact, envelope-shaped package that can easily store or transport.
The earliest envelope card tables were made of wood but often decorated with brass or silver mounts. In the 19th century, envelope card tables began to be made of more exotic materials, such as marble and ivory.
Envelope card tables reached the height of their popularity in the Victorian era. They were often used as a centerpiece in the drawing room or parlor during this time. They were also popular wedding gifts, seen as a symbol of good luck and prosperity.
The popularity of envelope card tables declined in the early 20th century. This was partly due to the rise of new card games, such as Bridge, which required larger tables. However, envelope card tables remain popular among collectors and antique enthusiasts.
Here are some of the most notable features of antique envelope card tables:
They are made of high-quality materials like wood, marble, or ivory.
They are often decorated with brass or silver mounts.
They are portable and easy to set up.
They have a distinctive "envelope" shape when the top is folded down.
They are a symbol of good luck and prosperity.
What games I found in the drawer:
The most interesting are the two decks by Ferdinand Piatnik & Söhne Wien. It is an Austrian playing card company founded in 1824 by Ferdinand Piatnik. The company is based in Vienna and is one of the world's oldest and largest playing card companies.
Piatnik began his career as a painter of playing cards. In 1843 he bought the playing card company of Anton Moser and founded his own company. The company was successful from the beginning and quickly expanded into new markets. In the 1850s, Piatnik was already exporting its products to the United States and Great Britain.
In 1891, the company was taken over by the sons of Ferdinand Piatnik. The Sons modernized production and made the company one of the leading playing card manufacturers in the world. Today, Piatnik produces a variety of playing cards, including poker cards, skat cards, bridge cards, and playing cards for children.
The company exports its products to over 70 countries and is one of the market leaders in Europe. Piatnik is also a significant sponsor of cultural events and sporting events. The company is an integral part of Austrian culture and helps to make Austrian culture known abroad.
A Domino game from 1972, many sets of cards made in Austria from the 70s, and a deck of vintage pin-up girls made probably around the 40s - 50s.
In addition, a complete pocket chess board was made in the 50s, and many chips and jetons.
Please ask me if you have any questions about what I used and why! I answer them all!
And remember to hit the like and subscribe button!
Cheers! Johnny.
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#restoration #howto #furniturerestoration #restorationvideos #woodworking
*Hi folks! Here it is, one of the most beautiful antiques that ever passed my shop door! I enjoyed a lot working on it, even though I spent over 300 hours on it! I hope you'll enjoy the video and find it interesting! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask, I'm always responding! Cheers! Johnny*
1:25 the not "Bielsko-biala" is City in Poland :)wow - nice find
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrie_und_Gl%C3%BCck
No, those are NOT tarot cards. They're old fashioned playing cards. If you notice they have the same Ace through King setup and the same Heart, Diamond, Spade, Club suits as any other deck. They just have the numbers in Roman Numerals, and are missing the number and letter designations in the corners, this is typical of antique decks of cards.
Those small plastic discs are Tiddlywinks. They're a game played by using a larger disc (the shooter) to press down on the edge of a smaller disc (a wink), and send it flying through the air. It can be played either by trying to "shoot" your wink the farthest, or by setting up a target and trying to be the one to get closest to it. We always color coordinated our winks so it was easy to tell who's wink was who's..... It saved a lot of arguing.
I agree...wonderful!
Magyar kartya Wow. Hungarian card games. Thank you for taking on this project. This is bringing me back all the Saturdays and Sundays watching my father his father and my uncle playing it either outside the yard in warm weather or the hallways in our Gerendasi farm where I was born. I was struggling with grieving my father’s death but this upload gave me this picture how they are playing in heaven now. Maybe it’s just a dream and it’s something I wanna believe but it brought peace to my heart and a smile. Thank you so much. This is amazing.
I'm so glad that I could bring back those beautiful memories to you! 🙂
Those tarot cards look to be Industrie und Glück patterned cards used to play Tarock, a card game popular in the Austro-Hungarian empire (and still played today). The cards are actually not very suitable for tarot fortune-telling due to the lack of images on the suit cards. The pin-up cards look to be in remarkable condition for their likely age. If they're not reproductions, they're from the '50's-60's. likely produced in Hungary.
I would love to know how Tarock is played. I hope to find the rules, and I also hope to have all the cards in the deck. Thank you for the info!
@rustyshadesrestoration Here’s an English wiki article that may help you:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_card_games?wprov=sfti1
And a short list of “Tarock”-related wiki articles (including the above article) that may help:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarock?wprov=sfti1
I think the art on the pin-up cards may be by Alberto Vargas, it feels like his style:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Vargas
Thank you 😊
Is Tarock the same as what we in Balkan call Bela? Or what the French call Belote?
Remarkable! I loved all the old cards!
I'm happy to know that!
What a wonderful job you did on this game table! Thank you for sharing your work! Beautiful job!
I had a friend who passed away years ago who collected playing cards. I’m sure he would have loved these decks.
I'm sorry for your loss!
Wow. That is gorgeous. What a shame they don’t make tables like this any more. I’d love one. It would be especially great to have one for holidays and other big family get togethers. We love to play games of all sorts like this when the family is all together.
I totally agree!
I know, right?
At the very least, any carpenter or wood smith can reproduce something similar if one had all the parts.
Plenty of us woodworkers that make these several times a year. Made to order though. And they can be pretty pricey
300 hours?!?! Goodness.
That is a good job bring that piece back to life!
Yes, I had even more time spent on some items that I restored. The videos are some sort of a glimpse of the critical points and final decisions; otherwise, they'll be too long, and nobody will watch them fully.
“Only a table!”😂 Unique piece and beautiful restoration!
😀
The 'Ferdinand Piatnik & Söhne Wien' card deck is used for playing Tarock (not Tarot!). The front pictures haven't been changed, they are actually still looking the same. Piatnik is one of the largest card manufacturers worldwide and still a family run business, located in Vienna.
The second Tarock card deck is also from a Viennese company, Franz Adametz , theme 'Industrie und Glück'.
That's a lovely piece of information! I would love to know how the game is played, and I hope to have all the cards.
Is it possible that Tarot can somehow come because of these cards? The name is so similar...
@@rustyshadesrestoration Tarot is a completley different sort of cards, it is used by fortune tellers and has symbols like The Death, The Sun, The Priest a.s.o. and consits of 22 cards.
There are different variations of theTarock games which are played with 40-54 cards or even more. In Austria we are playing "Königrufen" (54 cards) or "Zwanzigerrufen" (40 cards) and is played by 4 persons.
Wikipedia says that Königrufen is also played in Poland. Ask your family, maybe someone of them is familiar with it.
@@rustyshadesrestoration Yes, they are also used for tarot (divination). In French the divination method with these cards is known as cartes à jouer or tarot à jouer, and if you search by those names you should find as much information as you like. There is also a CZcamsr named "Hyena - Soul Shadow" who uses them frequently and also wrote a small book about how to use them. If you start there it should give you more information you can use to search further. (Look for a video she did on July 1 2022 called "Lire les cartes avec le tarot à jouer Mon livre est disponible !" to see her flip through the book and talk about her method, use the captions to translate from French if needed.)
I've seen several draws using these cards and find them intriguing, but they are very difficult to get in the US, they have to be purchased from Europe and shipped. You're very lucky to get all these vintage decks! Great job restoring the table too. Hope this information helps.
EDITED TO ADD There is also a wonderful web site called The World of Playing Cards in the UK that has a very extensive historical collection of vintage decks along with clear photos and well-researched history. It is associated with The English Playing Card Society, so searching for either should get you to the WOPC site where you can research your own vintage decks. You can find more information on most, if not all, the wonderful decks you now own on that site just by searching for the publisher and putting in as much detail as you can, including the cartes à jouer decks. Have fun and good luck!
@@manuela_kral498322 cards for the major arcana. 56 cards for the rest of it. Total of 78.
Is Taros the German name for the French name Tarot? Or is there a difference? Because they very much look like a French tarot card deck with 21 trump cards, an excuse, king, queen, knight, and jack cards with 4 suits.
Love the cards! The table is beautiful ❤️
It’s beautiful those cards
omg first time being early haha i’m gonna watch it now and can already tell you did an amazing job keep it up ❣️
Enjoy watching! 🫠
What a wonderful find!
The cards are all beautiful decks. Very envious. 😅 Naturally your work is beautiful as well.
Thank you 😊
Wow, another amazing job. Thank you.
Thank you too!
A couple tips for working with felt- spray adhesive, small sections, stretch it tight.
Lovely. Those cards were interesting too. Great job ❤
Thank you! 🙂
Esta fue una muy hermosa restauración. Simplemente es una preciosa mesa de juego.
Какая прекрасная работа! Красивый столик. И очень красивые карты, я очень люблю их, собираю. Но таких никогда не видела. Вы молодец, золотые руки.
Спасибо большое за ваши добрые слова! Я очень рад, что вам нравится столик и карты. Я старался сделать все аккуратно и красиво. Карты я сам собирал много лет, и мне было очень приятно найти такие редкие экземпляры.
My dad’s desk which I inherited converts to a card table; the top flips open and slides around. This set up is cool, and you got some cool prizes as well! Fantastic restoration.....this is my favorite Rusty Shades project so far!
I'm so glad to know that! 🙂 Can you send me some photos of your table? I have an Instagram account, and we can chat there. Have a great day!
That is a most fantastic job of restoration! Some lucky family will have many hours of fun and fellowship around this game table!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm thrilled that you appreciate the restoration work done on the game table.
Loved looking at old csrds👍
I'm glad you enjoyed the cards. 🙂
This is nothing short of a 'Masterpiece'! Thank you for sharing.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Willie! Cheers!
Потрясающая работа! И отличный видео формат.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Johnny this is one of the most beautiful unique gaming tables I have ever seen. You truly gave this unique gem an entirely new life.
Beautifully done 😊
Thank you! I'm happy to know that you enjoyed the restoration process. 🙂
wow, that turned out so beautiful!!
I'm glad you think so! Thank you for watching my work! 🙂
This is your best one yet!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! Your positive feedback means a lot to me and motivates me to keep improving.
Absolutely Magnificent 👏!
You "Take Me Back to the 60's" when everyone had a Beautiful Elegant "Card ♦️♠️ Table" made of "Real Wood" not this cheap "Chinese Balsa/particle not Wood".
It was a "Status"of Great Wealth.
Thank You for Saving a Piece of History.
Sincerely Yours 🤠 Mr Severance,
"The Cake 😋 🍰🎂 🥳🎉 🎊 Man".
I could have spent the entire day going through the playing cards with a magnifier, the details look amazing. Oh yeah, the table is lovely.
I did that, so I feel you!
That is awesome 😉👍💡
Thank you! Cheers!
Csodalatos Munka!! The cut throat razor was used to trim any card with frayed edges. No cheating!!
what a great gaming table!
I'm glad you like it! 🙂
Just beautiful
I'm glad you like it!
those old cards 😍
🫠
Stunning
I love the art work of the cards!!
Me too!!
What a fun project!!!
Indeed! Thanks for watching! 🙂
Beautiful craftsmanship before and after
Thank you 🙂
If that table could talk....the stories it could tell!! What a card collection!! What are the differences between a laser blasting & sand blasting?? Fantastic work 👏🏼 👍🏼
Beautiful innovative card table restored
Thank you for your comment! It's wonderful to hear that you appreciate the beauty and innovation of the restored card table. The process of restoring furniture can be a labor of love, involving careful attention to detail and craftsmanship. It's always rewarding to see a piece brought back to its former glory.
@@rustyshadesrestoration yes every small detail has to be attended.
Świetny stolik.
Your channel appeared in my feed so of course I subscribed; I love this sort of thing.
I have a similar table: it was brought to Canada from England by my paternal grandfather in the very early 20th century, and it was old then. Knowledgeable people here tell me it's probably Regency. Mine is smaller and in much better shape, but some of the joint glue is a bit loose and I do need to replace the baize. It was a lot of trouble to find proper baize cloth in the right colour!
What a unique piece.
I'm glad you like it! 🙂
From aaaaaaaaachchch! to WoooooooooW!
:)
OMG, I would give my eye teeth to have a piece like this for restoration. Beautifully done!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad you like the restoration work I did on this piece. It was a lot of fun to work on, and I'm really proud of how it turned out.
I know what you mean about giving your eye teeth for a piece like this. It's a really special piece, and I'm honored that you think it's beautiful.
I love gaming so much! We have a very old (not antique yet) coffee table with two huge basket drawers underneath filled with all kinds of cards and board games. Seeing you pull out all those well loved games made me think of mine and what it would look like in 50 years. Very very cool. One of my favorite restorations ever.
I'm so glad you think so! For sure your table will be so attractive for the next generations. Thank you for watching my work!
You did amazing job
Thank you!
Beautiful restoration! Loved the old cards that were found inside..
Thank you so much! Greetings from Poland!
Amazing, you could even see the penciled guidelines of the craftsman who once made this table. It is fascinating how long the work of a craftsman can last. Hopefully your traces will remain preserved for as long as possible, for someone who will then restore this piece of jewelry decades later. ^^
I'm so glad you enjoyed the restoration process 🙌 🙂
I have a small table, not half as beautyfull, 1920 perhaps, no carving, but also with a drawer and a beautyfull brass handle. I have no felt, only everthing wood. I can swing open the table like a book, and it's surface is twice as large! This kind of furniture is wonderful! But you table is amazing. You have incredible skilled hands and a lot of patience ! ❤
I'm so glad you enjoyed the table! 🙂 I would love to see yours too. You can send me some photos on Instagram or by email. Have a wonderful day!
Super job, really detailed.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video! 🙂
Спасибо за работу! Потрясающе!❤
❤️🔥🙌
Simply superb, amazing before and after. Love these videos 👍
Thank you! 🙂
I collect playing cards and wished I had those in my collection.
Which one did you like the most?
The third pack after the book for me, they are really beautiful.
That's my favourite too! 😍
nice old cards. i live in vienna (born in germany), nice to see these old cards. greetings from vienna / gruß aus wien :)
Hi there!
Thank you for your kind words about the old cards. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing them.
I'm a bit jealous that you live in Vienna! It's such a beautiful city, and I've always wanted to visit. I'm sure you're enjoying all the culture and history that Vienna has to offer.
Thank you again for your comment. It was nice to hear from you!
Gruß aus, Krakow :)
Yes, yes. These are not tarot cards. It is from the time when Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy existed. I am Hungarian, I love watching your videos and loved played with these cards in my childhood.
Beautiful!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Not too bad for a hobbyist. Certainly looks better now.
Absolutely. I enjoy playing cards on it almost every weekend 😌
Beautiful furniture ❤ You did amazing job. Now time to play some cards 😊
Thank you! 🙂
God bless your hands ur work is fabulous ❤
Thank you so much! 🙂
Great job and cool item!
Thank you! Cheers!
Very nice work.
Thank you! 🙂
Absolutely gorgeous!!! And what a find those old cards are
I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Nice work as always.
Thank you! 🙂
This is such a cool piece!!!
Awesome job!!! ❤️❤️❤️👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it.
Very cool piece, bit of Polish gaming history here. Cool card table, great restoration
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video! 🙂
beautiful work and spending over 300 hours on that beautiful furniture is alot you did an amazing job!
Thank you! 🙂
Hi there, new to your channel, watching from Canada....Beautiful restoration, interesting table....Take care...cheers !!!
Thank you! 🙂 Greetings from Poland!
I remember visiting my gran in Germany in 196 very different style playing cards .
I'm glad that I could bring back those beautiful memories to you! :)
What a journey! You gave this game table a new lease of life. Awesome!
I'm so happy to hear that. I put a lot of work into it, and it's great to see that it's appreciated.
Is a masterpiece, excelent job, thank you, I see you from Buenos Aires,Argentina
Thank you so much! 🙂
@@rustyshadesrestoration my Best wishes
This was an awesome restoration, Rusty/Johnny. I loved that you covered it in the emerald green cloth at the end, it looked beautiful. I would love to know the actual age of the card table, but realise that you aren't sure yourself. Still, it is an antique, and now that you've restored it, a stunning antique. A lot of hours of loving TLC went into it, and it's turned out to be a masterpiece of perfection. Thank you for sharing the video. :)
I'm so happy that you enjoyed the video. The age it is not very clear but there are many sign that was made in Austro-Hungarian empire, so maybe 100+ years. 🙂
What a cool table!
Once again your talent is amazing, I would like to nominate you for the woodworker’s absolute legend prize. I don’t know if such a prize exists but if it does, you deserve to win.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad that you appreciate my work. I'm not sure if there is such a prize as the woodworker's absolute legend prize, but I would be honored to be nominated. I've always loved woodworking, and it's so rewarding to see people enjoy the pieces that I restore. I'll keep working hard to improve my skills, and hopefully one day I'll be worthy of such an award.
Beauty!!!! thank you!
Thank you for your kind comment!
You can really tell you love what you do!!!! What a beautiful restoration!!!! This was wonderful to watch. You always do great work!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch my video and leave a comment. It means a lot to me to know that you enjoy my work.
I do love what I do, and I'm so glad that it shows in my restorations. I love being able to take a piece of furniture that has been neglected or damaged and bring it back to life. It's so satisfying to see the transformation from start to finish.
Excellent!! I love the look and design of that old gaming table, and you did a fantastic restoration job on it! Looks good as new! I really enjoyed seeing all the old card decks in the drawers. Thank you for sharing the video!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm so glad you liked the look of the gaming table and the restoration job. I put a lot of time and effort into it, so it's really rewarding to hear that you appreciate it.
I'm also glad you enjoyed seeing the old card decks in the drawers. They're all from different eras, and it's fun to imagine the people who played with them.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I had a lot of fun making it, and I'm always happy to share my restoration projects with others.
Thanks again for your comment!
What a wonderful piece and a great job of restoration! I have such appreciation for those who do this kind of work. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
This was so much fun to watch! What a cool piece, great job!
Thank you 😊
Don’t know if anyone has answered yet, but I’m pretty sure those are just regular playing cards & not tarot cards! Those decks are absolutely stunning-I love how much time they put in to designing those! And, they’re probably worth some moolah, too!!
You are right ✅️ Someone explained to me that they are regular cards. They used to play in Hungary a game called Tarock. I'm so glad that you enjoyed them and the video! Cheers
Nice⭐️An interesting object
Thank you! Cheers!
Astounding 👏👏👏 !!! Well done that man!!! 😎
Thank you! Cheers!
Awsome work !
Thank you so much! 🙂
I need something like that for GKR😍
Great job sir. Good to see you mixing it up with your restorations. Variety is the spice of life.
That's right! ✅️ Thank you so much! 🙂
What an absolute treasure! Well worth restoring.
Thank you! I'm so glad you think so! :)
Wow what a wonderful table I really enjoy this one .Even before you restoration I just loved this one it's amazing ❤
B-E-A UTIFUL 💓💗👏🏻👏🏻🥰💕💞💛❤️😍💖
I'm so happy you like it! I love finding unique pieces of furniture and bringing them back to life.
So much work! Beautiful.
Thank you so much for your kind words! It means a lot to me. If you have any specific feedback or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Your support and encouragement are incredibly motivating, and it inspires me to continue creating beautiful restoration videos. Thanks again for taking the time to acknowledge my efforts!
Superbe travail
Merci beaucoup! 🙂
Excellent work friend, you really did a good hand there, have a nice day !!!.😀😀😀👍👍👍.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you think so. I put a lot of effort into it.
You did a superb job on that beautiful old table. That must have taken a lot of time and effort, but the result was worth it.❤️🤗🐝
I'm glad you enjoyed the restoration process. Indeed, I put a lot of effort into this project, but it is nice to see that people appreciate it. 🙂
@@rustyshadesrestoration Oh we do! It’s easy to tell how much work it must have been. ❤️🤗🐝
@@rustyshadesrestorationabbiamo un tavolo da biliardo, saresti disposto ad effettuare il restauro?
That is gorgeous, good professional job 😊
Thank you so much Killy!
Boa noite show de restauração
Wspaniałe dzieło. Super robota.
Dziękuję!
That looks amazing! I bet @ChrisRamsay52 would know about those cards and would love them for his collection if you don't want them. Either way, keep up the great work, it is interesting to watch!
That would be cool!
Beautiful restoration with the table❣️
Thank you so much! Your kind words mean a lot to me ❤️ I put a lot of effort and love into the restoration process, and I'm thrilled that you appreciate the result. If you have any questions about the process or anything else, feel free to ask!
That looked like a massive undertaking . Amazing to watch it slowly come back to a think of beauty 👍 brilliant work
Thank you so much for your kind words and appreciation! It was indeed a massive undertaking, and I'm thrilled to see that you enjoyed witnessing the transformation. Your encouragement means a lot to me. Cheers!!!
Well done.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Чудесная работа была проведена, вы молодец!)
Thank you! 🙂
Это варварство! Склейка на ПВА, удаление полностью старого шпона ИТ.п.