Historical French Playing Cards

[variantventures]

This is a nice resource for all you Francophile card lovers.  These two volumes are chock-a-block with illustrations of French playing cards from the 14th Century (although I've only found 15th Century cards in them) to the 20th Century.  It's like having a little museum on your computer.

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2676956;view=1up;seq=9

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2676955;view=1up;seq=11

[Cryptocard27]

This is a nice resource for all you Francophile card lovers.  These two volumes are chock-a-block with illustrations of French playing cards from the 14th Century (although I've only found 15th Century cards in them) to the 20th Century.  It's like having a little museum on your computer.

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2676956;view=1up;seq=9

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.c2676955;view=1up;seq=11

It is not only about french cards but effectively, these volumes are extremely precious for some serious collectors and a real reference for the historians. I possess both original paper works (Hachette, 1906) for some time and the content is absolutely exceptional. Even if the price seems a bit expensive (2000€-3500€), it's entirely justified!

However, the reprint edition of the two volumes costs a lot less and it was for sale on the Potter auction :
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/26607825_dallemagne-henry-ren-les-gartes-a-jouer-du-xiv-au

Actually, It's the most precise and richly illustrated work about the playing cards of the world which I know.

"504 and 640 pages for the two volumes.
reproductions of 3200 cards with 956 in colors, 12 plates outside the texts coloured in the watercolor, 25 collotypes, 116 illustrated envelopes for playing card decks and 340 labels and variety of views.

A spectacular demonstration of the art of book production, and a valuable source of information on the history of the playing card. This exhaustive treatise covers the origins and evolution of the playing card from the earliest known examples in the Middle Ages, describing their evolution and the changing techniques employed in their manufacture, and offering notes on those involved in their trade. Also covered are the social aspects which surrounded playing cards and games of chance and skill that developed, and towards the end of volume II is a valuable Bibliography of the works on the playing cards.

The period covered in this beautiful and erudite work is from the fourteenth to the beginning of the twentieth centuries."

http://www.latourinfernal.com/les-cartes-jouer-xiv-eme-siecle-p-17.html

http://www.donaldheald.com/pages/books/22748/henry-rene-dallemagne/les-cartes-a-jouer-du-xive-au-xxe-siecle

http://www.livresanciens.eu/shop/anciens/process/locale/fr_FR/page/19790.html

The author Henri René d'Allemagne, on the picture below, was an archivist paleographer, and librarian in the library of the Arsenal in France.

[52plusjoker]

Attendees at the 52 Plus Joker convention in Charleston in October were given the opportunity to purchase the original two volumes in very nice condition during the Saturday auction. The ultimate purchaser got a very good bargain paying only $1000 [€800] for the two volume set. 

[Cryptocard27]

Attendees at the 52 Plus Joker convention in Charleston in October were given the opportunity to purchase the original two volumes in very nice condition during the Saturday auction. The ultimate purchaser got a very good bargain paying only $1000 [€800] for the two volume set.

Yes, it's a nice opportunity and a very good price at the convention. I paid mine 1200€ in six monthly payments and I was also very lucky because my seller had them in double with an inheritance. The condition is very nice too and the leather binding of these copies with the little playing cards is really beautiful. I attached some pics below.

[variantventures]

Wow.  The internet available version suddenly feels less like a treasure trove. 

 

Some of you might be interested in the work being done by this lady: http://ladyheatherhall.com/

She's doing some fantastic work re-creating early decks of cards.  I don't know if she's selling her cards yet, but I've been trying to convince her to do so for a couple of months.

[Cryptocard27]

Wow.  The internet available version suddenly feels less like a treasure trove. 

 

Some of you might be interested in the work being done by this lady: http://ladyheatherhall.com/

She's doing some fantastic work re-creating early decks of cards.  I don't know if she's selling her cards yet, but I've been trying to convince her to do so for a couple of months.

I looked a little at this website and it seems interesting. There is also a section dedicated to the calligrpahy (my second hobby) and the pictures of the manuscript illumination article are beautiful.. Thank you for the link, it's a great find!
Do you collect antique playing cards ?

Concerning the french book of H.R. d'Allemagne on the internet, are you sure that it's possible to consult the work even with an user name ? The website appears to be saying that the content is not available due to copyright restrictions.

[variantventures]

I wish my budget extended to collecting actual antique decks, but it doesn't.  I dabble in recreating and selling playing card decks from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.  These are mostly for my own amusement, but print-on-demand technology means I can offer the designs to other people without having to invest money in a print-run.  I'm a little fascinated with the early history of playing cards.

I've done a set of German/Swiss suits.  Up until a week ago I let people choose their own combination of suits and backs.  That got too time-consuming so I had to stop.  I added Latin (Spanish) suits because someone asked me to.  I kind of regret doing it now.  You can see the suits, less the clubs and cubs, in this image.



My favorite deck is the simplified Topkapi/De Unger deck.  I've been working on doing a deck in this style for a while and this black and white layout set was strangely compelling.  I've had to alter size and proportions to fit modern cards but these are very true to the originals and I like them a lot.  The full color/detail version is coming along very slowly.



My second favorite deck is the Barcelona/Moorish/Wintle deck.  I know these were almost certainly a European deck done with European courts, but I imagined the deck as an actual Moorish deck and completed it with Islamic style courts.  This is my third iteration of the deck and despite all the mistakes I've made I still love this deck.  I'm currently re-doing this as a Spanish style deck.



I've done several others and I've got about eight more in various stages of completion.  My research into French cards brought these volumes to my attention and I thought I'd share with anyone who wasn't aware of them.  I haven't had any issues opening these documents up.  Are you perhaps located outside the United States?  You can try searching by going to the Haithi Digital Trust homepage and searching on the author.  Searching on Cartes a Jouer will return an even large list of sources, of course.

[Cryptocard27]

I wish my budget extended to collecting actual antique decks, but it doesn't.  I dabble in recreating and selling playing card decks from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.  These are mostly for my own amusement, but print-on-demand technology means I can offer the designs to other people without having to invest money in a print-run.  I'm a little fascinated with the early history of playing cards.

I've done a set of German/Swiss suits.  Up until a week ago I let people choose their own combination of suits and backs.  That got too time-consuming so I had to stop.  I added Latin (Spanish) suits because someone asked me to.  I kind of regret doing it now.  You can see the suits, less the clubs and cubs, in this image.



My favorite deck is the simplified Topkapi/De Unger deck.  I've been working on doing a deck in this style for a while and this black and white layout set was strangely compelling.  I've had to alter size and proportions to fit modern cards but these are very true to the originals and I like them a lot.  The full color/detail version is coming along very slowly.



My second favorite deck is the Barcelona/Moorish/Wintle deck.  I know these were almost certainly a European deck done with European courts, but I imagined the deck as an actual Moorish deck and completed it with Islamic style courts.  This is my third iteration of the deck and despite all the mistakes I've made I still love this deck.  I'm currently re-doing this as a Spanish style deck.



I've done several others and I've got about eight more in various stages of completion.  My research into French cards brought these volumes to my attention and I thought I'd share with anyone who wasn't aware of them.  I haven't had any issues opening these documents up.  Are you perhaps located outside the United States?  You can try searching by going to the Haithi Digital Trust homepage and searching on the author.  Searching on Cartes a Jouer will return an even large list of sources, of course.

Thank you for this very detailed message concerning your interest for the playing cards. The attached pictures of these decks are really nice!

I agree that the antique playing cards are sometimes more expensive than the new decks but with the patience, you can maybe acquire copies at a very good price, according to your likings and your chance.
I have no big budget too and a few years ago, I did not think of having one day any rare antique american decks in my collection. But with patience and motivation, I finally obtained some interesting copies of various manufacturers at very reasonable prices.
In spite of your budget, if you are interested to collect antique playing cards, you can maybe consider joining the 52PlusJoker club which proposes each year, interesting auctions and articles for the antique decks.

The members of this club are very welcoming and several are registered on this forum with the 52PlusJoker logo. I think that the experts will answer you with pleasure if you want to discuss with them about this fascinating subject.