Playing Cards from France
French Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Some of the oldest cards still in existence come from France. During the 16th and 17th centuries France was the major supplier of playing cards in Europe.
Gambling and Vice in the Middle Ages
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by Simon Wintle
Gambling and Vice in the Hours of Charles V: card-playing in the local tavern
Geneviève Lirola
Stylish modern designs by the painter, decorator and ceramist Geneviève Lirola, featuring unity of colours in each suit.
Genoese pattern
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by Simon Wintle
The design is purely 'Parisian' but the colouring is green, red, yellow and black. Belgium has taken this pattern for general use.
Gibert Jeune
Publicity pack for Gibert Jeune, the famous Parisian bookshop, with designs by James Hodges.
Grand Jeu Lenormand
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by Simon Wintle
A pack of 54 playing-cards for fortune-telling each card containing a number of zodiacal, classical and modern images with a miniature card of the conventional type at top left and a letter of the alphabet at top right.
History of Court Cards
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by Simon Wintle
The court cards in English packs of playing cards derive from models produced by Pierre Marechal in Rouen around 1565. A pack of such cards is preserved in the museum at Rouen.
Hôtels-Grils Campanile
Publicity pack for the Campanile hotel and restaurant chain featuring French provincial costumes, with designs by James Hodges.
Instructive and Educational Playing Cards
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by Simon Wintle
Playing cards with an educational and instructive purpose first trended in mid-17th century France, inspiring imitations on a growing number of topics such as Arithmetic, Fortification and Military Science, Geometry, Grammar, Heraldry, Cartography, Biographies, Mythology, History, Political Satire, and so on.
Jacques Branger designs for Miro Company
Luxury packs published by Miro Company (Paris) featuring designs by Jacques Branger, c.1940s.
Jean Noblet Tarot de Marseille
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by Simon Wintle
Jean Noblet: the oldest known ‘Tarot de Marseille’ deck, Paris, c.1650.