August Knoop, German
Mortimer Had the Annoying Habit of Refusing To Look at His Cards Until After He’d Tried To Read Them Telepathically, 1894
Oil on wood
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Info, or perhaps links that point to more info, about this artist can be found at his German Wikipedia page (Google translated, if necessary).
/// Albrecht loves Playing Cards with his friends,
and enjoys every minute he spends.
But before each game ends,
Friedrich loudly contends
that he’s rarely paid back what he lends.
/// “It’s a friendly game,” Albrecht declares.
“And all debts have been paid,” each man swears.
Friedrich acts like a grump
due to pains in his rump
Caused by sprawling on such tiny chairs.
/// Friedrich tried, but could not learn to bid.
His side lost every time that he did.
Partner gave him a thump
when he called out “no trump;”
slowly under the table he slid.
/// Karl likes throwing cards forcefully down.
It’s a habit on which others frown.
They all think only fools
don’t abide by house rules,
but Karl’s rich, so they say, “Go to town!”
/// Dieter claims that he feels “too confined”
when he sits in seats as they’re designed.
So he pushes his chest
up against the backrest
and he straddles the chair from behind.
/// Doppelkopf is the game they prefer.
The four suits of their German cards were
Acorns, Bells, Hearts and Leaves,
and each player believes
that the pot is a fun thing to stir.
/// They’re a quartet of middle-aged pals
who play cards in rotating locales.
Boring, settled, and staid,
now the games that they played
don’t include any lovely young gals.
/// Jack had misheard the dealer’s wry quip,
who’d suggested that losers must sip
(from a tall glass of schnapps).
Later they called the cops
when Jack busted and stood to unzip.