In 1978 the AGM AGMüller playing card factory in Neuhausen am Rheinfall celebrated its 150th anniversary. This jubilee was the reason for a large playing card exhibition and catalog in the Museum of Applied Arts in Zurich, but also a reason for the International Playing Card Society to hold its annual meeting in Zurich in autumn 1978.
In order to facilitate the organization of this meeting, those responsible decided to set up a supporting association. This society also had the purpose of gaining people as members who were collecting or scientifically involved with playing cards. On August 31, 1978 in Neuhausen, Dr. Peter F. Kopp, Kurt Lehner, Max Ruh and Kurt Scheffmacher launched Cartophilia Helvetica.
This new association was deliberately given a Latin name. This should not favor any of the four official national languages of Switzerland. At the same time, they wanted to document the internationality and cosmopolitanism.
On the occasion of the first annual meeting in Lausanne in 1979, the then President Dr. Peter F. Kopp informed that 40 people have already acquired membership. In the years that followed, the number of members from Switzerland and other countries increased steadily. From 1986 onwards, the members received the “Bulletin” quarterly, which provided information on current research results, events and new card games.
The International Playing Card Society has since visited Switzerland twice more: in 1987 in Friborg and in 2004 in Schaffhausen. Cartophilia Helvetica always took this as an opportunity to issue a publication. In 1987, the Musée d’art et d’histoire Friborg published a detailed work by Balz Eberhard on card manufacture in Fribourg: “Les cartiers fribourgeois”.
In 2004, the catalog for the large special exhibition “Tarock – Tarot. Card Game and Prophecy” was produced in the Museum zu Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen.
In 1998, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Cartophilia Helvetica, the association together with the Museum zu Allerheiligen published an overview of the earliest Swiss playing cards written by Detlef Hoffmann.
In 2012 Balz Eberhard’s research on playing card taxes in Switzerland. “Die Spielkartensteuer in der Schweiz. La taxe sur les cartes à jouer” was published posthumously.
Cartophilia Helvetica enables people from Switzerland who are interested in playing cards to get in touch with each other and to exchange ideas with international like-minded people.
With the articles in the “Bulletin” and the publication of its books, Cartophilia Helvetica was able to make a significant contribution to research into the history of the playing card.
Due to declining membership numbers, the association became almost obsolete in the 21st century. As a result, starting in 2013, serious consideration was given to dissolving Cartophilia Helvetica. Fortunately, this crisis could be overcome and new strength has given Cartophilia Helvetica new impetus. In 2018, for example, Ruedi Manser was supported to make the publication of the magnificent catalog “Die Deutschschweizer Jasskarten vom 19. bis 21. Jahrhundert”.
If you are in any way interested in playing cards and are willing to share in this momentum, we cordially invite you to apply for membership in Cartophilia Helvetica.
Annual meetings of Cartophilia Helvetica
| 19./20. Mai 1979 | Lausanne |
| 26./27. April 1980 | Schaffhausen |
| 16./17. Mai 1981 | Bern |
| 24./25. April 1982 | Baden |
| 16./17. April 1983 | La Tour-de-Peilz |
| 19./20. Mai 1984 | Stans |
| 18./19. Mai 1985 | Yverdon-les-Bains |
| 24./25. Mai 1986 | Frauenfeld |
| 9.-11. Oktober 1987 | Fribourg |
| 23./24. April 1988 | Schaffhausen |
| 22./23. April 1989 | Murten |
| 21./22. April 1990 | St. Gallen/Appenzell |
| 20./21. April 1991 | Lugano |
| 25./26. April 1992 | Luzern |
| 15./16. Mai 1993 | Neuchâtel |
| 30.April /1.Mai 1994 | Burgdorf |
| 13./14. Mai 1995 | Solothurn |
| 27./28. April 1996 | Chur |
| 26./27. April 1997 | Basel |
| 9./10. Mai 1998 | Schaffhausen |
| 8./9. Mai 1999 | Sion / Sitten |
| 6./7. Mai 2000 | Winterthur |
| 28./29. April 2001 | Zug |
| 27./28. April 2002 | Lausanne |
| 26./27. April 2003 | Bern |
| 16.-19. Sept. 2004 | Schaffhausen |
| 23./24. April 2005 | Porrentruy |
| 22./23. April 2006 | Schwyz |
| 28./29. April 2007 | La Tour-de-Peilz |
| 19./20. April 2008 | Zürich |
| 16. Mai 2009 | Biel |
| 24./25. April 2010 | Flüelen |
| 30. April 2011 | Basel |
| 28. April 2012 | Näfels |
| 13./14. April 2013 | Schaffhausen /Diessenhofen |
| 10./11. Mai 2014 | Stans |
| 7. November 2015 | Solothurn |
| 9. Juli 2016 | Schaffhausen |
| 2017 | keine Jahresversammlung |
| 1. Dezember 2018 | Schaffhausen |
| 15. Juni 2019 | Schaffhausen |
| 2020 | wegen Pandemie auf dem Schriftweg |
| 30. Oktober 2021 | Pontenet |
| 14. Mai 2022 | Tafers |
| 6. Mai 2023 | Bischofszell |
| 4. Mai 2024 | Willisau |
Presidents of Cartophilia Helvetica
Dr. Peter F. Kopp 1978 – 1987 honorary member since 1987
Friedrich Salzmann 1987 – 1991
Prof. Dr. Walter Haas 1991 – 1996
Dr. Balz Eberhard 1996 – 2001
Max Ruh 2001 – 2004 ad interim as vice president
Otto Spalinger 2004 – 2014
Prof. Dr. Walter Haas 2014 – 2016 honorary member since 2016
Daniel Grütter 2016 –