Franco Pratesi

Franco Pratesi (born 1940) is a retired professor of materials science and games researcher from Florence, Italy. He has contributed to the history of chess, draughts, playing cards (including Tarot games, Gemini-Minchiate) and Go. Pratesi spent years studying the archives in Florence and other towns to uncover the earliest references to playing cards. He is a Honorary Fellow of the International Playing Card Society and has written extensively in ''The Playing-Card''. Provided by Wikipedia