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Carsten Niebuhr visited Bombay in 1763 and reported that:A[p. ]
They know nothing of our cards; but at Bombay, I met with four Arabian merchants, who played with Chinese cards, so large and thick, that not one of the four but had enough to do with both hands.
The original reads:B[p. 173]
Man nennet dies Spiel in der arabischen Sprache Laͤb el kamar.This is probably لعب القمار laeib al-qimar, meaning simply ‘gambling’. Zu Bombay spielten alte arabische Kaufleute mit chinesischen Karten. Diese sind sher dick und unbequem. Ich erinnere mich, vier Personen spielen gesehen zu haben, wovon jede zu ihrem Anteil so viel erhielt, daß sie sie kaum in beiden Händen halten konnte.
England, 1671, the Wits Interpreter, the English Parnassus is published containing rules for “The Noble Spanish Game, called L’Ombre” (Ombre), “Picket” (Piquet), Gleek, and “Cribbidge” (Cribbage).
#References
Niebuhr, M. (, originally published 1774). Travels through Arabia, and other countries in the East, performed by M. Niebuhr volume 1, translated by Robert Heron. R. Morison and Son: Edinburgh, Scotland.
Niebuhr, Carsten (). Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und andern umliegenden Ländern volume 1. Nicolaus Moͤller: Copenhagen.
Cragge, John (). Wits Interpreter, the English Parnassus (2nd edition). N. Brook: London.