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Historical Characters

Published September 19, 2024 Updated September 20, 2024

Double-ended deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850.

1850 Belgium Daveluy Art Nouveau & Jugendstil Chromolithography Historical

Daveluy was a talented craftsman who made playing cards for all budgets. The quality and variation of his work was much appreciated. The “Middle Ages” was a popular theme, which inspired the clothing, background landscapes and attributes of the court cards in many packs and suited 19th century taste. The king of clubs (Jean 1er) has tents in the background scenery on which are pennants with the text ‘Limbourg’, ‘Woeringen’ and ‘Brabant’ , referring to Jean's victory in the battle of Woeringen (1288) when he was Duke of Brabant.

Daveluy pioneered a type of “painterly chromolithography” in which colours are applied in a more fluid, painterly manner, without black outlines, imitating hand-painted effects. This was anticipating the Art Nouveau style of applied art which flourished towards the end of the 19th century. The aces are decorated with plants and shells.

deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850. Source gallica.bnf.fr deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850. Source gallica.bnf.fr

Above: double-ended deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850. 52 cards, chromolithography, square corners. 54x83 mm. Back pattern of blue wavy lines and stars. Source gallica.bnf.fr

K♣ Jean 1er holding a sword
Q♣ Richilde holds a rose
J♣ Jester
K♥ Godefroid de Bouillon with sword & orb
Q♥ Marie de Bourgogne holding a falcon
J♥ Jester playing a tambourine
K♠ Baudouin de Constantinople with orb & sceptre
Q♠ Jeanne de Constantinople
J♠ Musician bowing
K♦ Charles Quint
Q♦ Marguerite d’Autriche
J♦ Jester

Further References

Biebouw, Luc; Clays, Alex; Cremers, Filip; D'Hondt, Jan & Smet, Yvette: Daveluy, Brugge's Trots en Koninklijke Troef, Brussels Euro Joker Club, 2004.

Bibliothèque nationale de France: Jeu de cartes belge au portrait de fantaisie à deux têtes

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By Simon Wintle

Member since February 01, 1996

Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.

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