| The Playing Cards | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
First Appearance |
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) |
|
Original Publisher |
Macmillan |
|
Created by |
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (as "Lewis Carroll") |
Origin
They are playing cards with human heads, arms and legs. They are loyal servants as well as guards for the Queen of Hearts. They mainly carry spears with the tip shaped as a heart. Alice first meets three cards at the Queen's castle painting white roses red. One of them explains that they accidentally planted white roses, and because the Queen hates white roses they have to paint them red or the Queen will behead them. After the Queen arrives, she finds white roses and beheads all three of them. When Alice joins a game of croquet with the Queen and the other playing cards, the card soldiers act as arches. They have to leave being arches every time the Queen has an executioner drag the victim away. They also appear in the trial where the Knave of Hearts is accused for stealing the Queen's tarts.
Public Domain Appearances
Book:
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- A New Alice in the Old Wonderland
Film:
- Alice in Wonderland (1903)
- Alice in Wonderland (1915)
Notes
While the original characters are in public domain, the versions of the characters used by Disney and other later adaptations published after 1923 are NOT.