DECK OF THE MONTH

Just like the "Joker of the Month" in the Jokers section we will select a "Deck of the Month" from all the decks that we could add to our collection during that month. It will be what we consider our best find. We've started this section in April 2007 and without any doubt we can say here that over the years there will be antique, vintage and modern decks shown on these pages. Age, design and value of the chosen decks may be very different each time.

Early May I was outbid (by far) on a nice Daveluy deck and had been waiting anxiously for a few weeks to find a suitable deck for my collection and this spot.
This month's deck was bought on the French eBay on May 20 and it was send out a few days later. Usually it takes about 7 - 10 days for mail from France to arrive here. So I thought it would be a close call and didn't really expect it to be delivered in time to get to this spot. But I was pleasantly surprised by the postman on the 27th and there was plenty of time to make the page.
So I'm relieved to be able to present you.......

The fourth deck in my collection of the "Cartes Parisiennes", as Jean Verâme has baptized them. This deck is known as "Costumes Historiques" and was printed and published by Gibert from Paris around 1853 (WOPC). According to that same site around 1856 a highly similar deck was published as "Jeu de Costumes Historiques Anglais" and shows historical English figures. There too the kings and queens are named, while the jacks are unnamed. That deck is still on my wish list. So maybe one day it will be shown here too.

For this deck French historical figures are presented in fine etching, hand coloured against a grayish background scene.
ENJOY!

Comte de Brissac: Charles de Gossé, who lived in the first half of the 16th century, was a member of the nobility of Anjou. He also was a member of the House of the King, a general in the French army and later appointed as Marshal of France (a military distinction rather than a rank). He died in 1563. Diane de Poitiers: a noblewoman, also from the first half of the 16th century, who had a prominent place at the French court as royal mistress and advisor of king Henry II. She died in 1566.

Chevalier d'Éon: By far the most intriguing figure in this deck. His full name was Charles-Geneviève-Louis- Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont. Born in Tonnerre in 1728 and deceased in London in 1810, he was a French spy, diplomat and soldier. Although born as a man, he started dressing and living as a woman in the second part of his life. Comtesse de Rochefort: There have been several countesses of Rochefort over the decennia. Two families were main suppliers, the Garlande and the Silly. Hard to say which countess is represented here.

The aces have the same embellishments as in other Gibert decks. See our Deck of the Month July in 2020.

Bussy d'Amboise: His full name was Louis de Clermont d'Amboise (1549-1579) and he was a nobleman at the court of Henry II. Dame de Monsoreau: Is the title of a historical novel from 1846 by Alexandre Dumas, in which a tragic love is described between the Dame de Monsoreau and the count de Bussy, who is in fact the Bussy d'Amboise from here above.

Cinq Mars: Henri Coiffier de Ruzé (1620 - 1642) was the Marquis of Cinq-Mars and a good friend of king Louis XIII of France. He conspired against the infamous Cardinal Richelieu and was imprisoned and beheaded when the conspiracy failed. Marion Delorme: A French courtesan who had relations with important men at the court of king Louis XIII. In 1828 Victor Hugo wrote a play titled Marion de Lorme about her.