As I recently made some extended studies to the Minchiate Francesi (also called Poilly decks) it became of interest to know a little more about the development of these other names.
With some luck I found the oldest known use of the Germini name ... for the current moment.
Germini 1517/18
The author is Giovanni Cambi (1459-1535).
http://www.storiadifirenze.org/?storici=cambi-giovanni
The used text is from 1785.
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Germini in 1517
http://books.google.de/books?id=p0pDAAA ... co&f=false
The mentioned Filippo Strozzi is the grandfather of Filippo di Piero Strozzi, from whom I assume, that he participated in the production of the Tarot de Paris in the year 1559.
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Germini in 1518
http://books.google.de/books?ei=fKhsT_b ... ni&f=false
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Ganellini 1613
http://books.google.de/books?id=dHI-AAA ... ni&f=false
The author Bonifacio Vannozzo (1540-1621) worked as a cardinal's secretary, at least in the 1590's. The cardinal had been then from the Caetani family, actually a great-uncle from Francesco Caetani, duke of Sermoneta, who is said to have introduced the Sicilian Tarocco to Sicily in 1662.
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For both texts I've my difficulties to understand fully the circumstances. The passages of Germini might demand, that one studies the original editions to get the context.
About the Germini passages I assume, that they are the oldest momentary known (not counting Minchiate and Sminchiate). Franco Pratesi knew an earlier oldest passage from 1529.
About the Ganellini passage: it's just the oldest, that I found. I've no information about the currently oldest notes ... but I finally found ...
http://i-p-c-s.org/problist.htmlThe version of Minchiate played in Genoa presumably continued to be played there until the very early 1930s, when the last packs were manufactured by Solesio. It was probably imported there from Sicily; if so, it was probably known as ‘Gallerini’. Is it possible to find out the rules under which it was played? Can the function of the additional unnumbered trump to be found in some Genoese packs be determined?
[February 2012: Thierry Depaulis comments that Ganellini was played in Genoa as early as 1600 before the game became known in Sicily. Also, tarot cards were made in Palermo as early as 1630, much earlier than Villabianca assumed.]
So my passage isn't the oldest.