Items

• The Art of Fortune Telling, by Cards
  A chapbook on fortune telling printed in Bideford, Devon, around 1840. It has eye‑catching blue paper covers, with the title on the front and an image of Mother Shipton, a fortune‑teller popular in folklore, on the back. Inside, it describes the prophetic meanings of cards in a standard deck, from the ace of clubs promising wealth and prosperity to the deuce of spades signifying a coffin. The chapbook reflects the period’s fascination with prophecies and fortune‑telling, and with learning to practise them oneself.