The Human Deck of Cards
A society spectacle at the Armory features 52 people dressed as playing cards in a meticulously choreographed dance that ended in a 'living' game of whist.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Hundreds of people attended the living whist game at the Armory on Tuesday night, finding it one of the prettiest spectacles witnessed in the city. The entire deck of fifty-two cards was represented by men and women in color-coded costumes: red for clubs, cream for hearts, blue for diamonds, and yellow for spades. Kings wore crowns and fourteenth-century mantles, while the Jacks—played by Mr. Noble, Mr. E. L. Sanford, Mr. F. W. Hawkins, and Dr. W. J. Baird—wore tights and bells and provided a comic performance. Under the direction of Miss Harris, the 'cards' marched to the minuet and waltzes, performing complex movements representing a shuffle, a cut, and the deal. The performance concluded with a 'skirt dance' by the Jacks, who donned cheese-cloth dresses for the occasion, much to the amusement of the crowd. The event was under the direction of the Woman’s Alliance of the First Unitarian Church.
“The cards danced hither and thither in wildest disorder, except the Kings and queens, who, with dignified and disdainful mien, walked slowly about.”
In an era before motion pictures, elaborate 'living' tableaux were a primary form of mass entertainment. While the Armory building has long since been lost to time and development, the obsession with elaborate, choreographed civic spectacle remains a feature of Seattle's social and artistic life.
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