Curse of Scotland excluded, making the 7, later called the "beer card", a "stop") but there is no direct relation with the 9. Gomme's book goes on to claim "At the game of Pope Joan, the nine of diamonds is Pope; therefore the nine of diamonds is the curse of Scotland". "The Spectator" review considered the claim "more cogent in form than in matter". A letter written in response to "The Spectator's" book review pointed out that the saying was established well before Culloden, and preferred the Pope Joan theory to other explanations. Other explanations given in the letter were: An 1864 book
United States Playing Card Company In October 2011, the United States Playing Card Company in a partnership with Encore Software announced that they are launching the 2012 Hoyle product line - Hoyle Card Games 2012, Hoyle Casino Games 2012 and Hoyle Puzzle & Board Games 2012. The company offers several card brands, including: Introduced in 1927 in commemoration of Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight in the "Spirit of St. Louis", Aviator playing cards (stock 914) feature a bordered, monochrome back design of predominantly circles. They are lower-quality and less expensive compared to Bee and Bicycle cards and are available in the same general assortment of back