deck-25-07


For a change there were a few decks to choose from this month, all antique ones except one. So why this deck? It wasn't the unused condition, with shining gold corners, nor the presence of the original wrapper, but the special, embellished pips tipped the scale here.		Of course the provenance played a role too. The deck came from the last part of the famous Dudley Ollis collection, that was offered at the Dominic Winter auction house. So a last chance to score some special decks from his wonderful collection.

I have always used a similar order of presentation here: first Spades, Hearts, aces, then Clubs and Diamonds. However, chronologically this deck requires a different order. It was printed and published as "Cartes Politiques" and "Jeu d'Actualité" by B.P. Grimaud in 1872. By that time the Third French Republic had just been established in 1870. So I have interpreted the "actualité" of the deck as the "republique" suit, the Hearts, in this deck. Even though the suit also shows references to the First French Republic.
Dudley Ollis notes in his description "the regimes under which France was ruled during the 19th century", with a reference to d'Allemagne 1, p. 165. Since I sold both volumes to a Swedish collector two years ago, I cannot check this reference. However........

The Spade suit shows Henri IV, the first King of France from the House of Bourbon. His coronation was on February 27, 1589. His wife, the Queen consort Marguerite de Valois, is queen in this suit. The jacks in all suits have no name, but probably represent servants of the rulers. The suit is described on the cards as "Legitimate Monarchy", which probably refers to the long line of French kings, in which Henri IV took his place. He was brought up in the Protestant belief and nearly escaped the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, but brought peace between the Catholic majority and the Protestants. For that he became Catholic.........
	"PARIS IS WELL WORTH A MASS"

PS: it's possible that Henri IV stands for the House of Bourbon, of which monarchs Louis XVIII and Charles X ruled France during the French Restoration (1814-1830), although their regime was no longer as absolute as Henri's.

Napoleon I is the emperor and his suit is described on the cards as "Empire". He is accompanied by his first spouse, Josephine de Beauharnais. Napoleon was Emperor of France from 1804 - 1814. But there has been a Second Empire, which lasted a little longer: from 1852 until 1870. Charles Louis Napoleon first became president of the Second Republic in 1848 before he was appointed Emperor Napoleon III in 1852.

The aces are embellished with symbols of the rulers. Spade ace with the royal crown, the scepters and the fleur de lis. The ace Diamonds with the Napoleonic eagle and bees. The ace of Clubs does't have an eagle on top of the royal crown, but a cockerel. The ace of Hearts has that mystic symbol, repeated on all pips, of which I couldn't find a reference or explanation anywhere. The only similar triangle I could find in a revolutionary context was on a painting by Antoine-Jean Gros depicting "Allegory of the First Republic". In another painting about the French revolution I found a more regular shaped triangle with their ideals, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, each painted on one leg of the triangle.
	Maybe a French collector can give an answer?

Louis Philippe I was the last king to reign in France, between 1830 and 1848 with the title "Constitutional King of the French". He came from the House of Orleans, a younger branch of the House of Bourbon. On the queen is his spouse, Maria Amalia of Bourbon. He established a parliamentary regime in order to pacify the nation, in which the bourgeoisie wanted more political and financial influence.
	NOT A KING OF FRANCE, BUT OF THE FRENCH.


The First French Republic, a result of the French Revolution of 1789, was proclaimed in 1792. It lasted until 1804, when Napoleon I proclaimed himself as Emperor. The Second French Republic was established in 1848, but lasted only 4 years and was dissolved in 1852, when Napoleon III proclaimed the Second French Empire. It lasted until 1870, when the tables had turned again and Léon Gambetta proclaimed the Third French Republic in Paris and Napoleon III took refuge in England. On the king Hercules as symbol of strength and power, Marianne as queen and the jack holds the fasces. All are dressed in tunica's, like Romans. A culture and mythology that had inspired the revolutionaries.
	"LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ"

the blue is almost a perfect match

So French politics in the first half of the 19th century and the different regimes that were scattered on the French people during that period..... in just 4 suits in one deck. CHAPEAU! But if there's one thing I've learned during the research it's that politics will always remain to be a snake pit, in which different political interests, lobbies, factions and personal interests will clash and the people will just have to wait and see what it brings. But Napoleon Bonaparte already understood the basic principle, that "la bonne politique est de faire croire aux peuples qu'ils sont libres", which can be translated as "good politics is to make the people believe that they are free".

Embellished pips on all cards.