Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications

Arguably, the more interesting of Henri Simoni’s designs for this pack appear on the jacks (different postmen and postal messengers) and the aces (different means of transporting mail, including balloon post). The kings represent directors of postal services together with the creator of the first system of postal relays (relais de poste) in France, Louis XI (KS). The queens are portrayed with elegance as historically significant women linked to communication and related societal roles of their times. The Postal Museum in Paris provided the documents from which the designs were taken. Simoni’s name appears at the foot of each Joker. The extra card provides a who’s who of the characters on the court cards. The back design is adapted from the badge of the mail section of the French despatch service (Service des dépêches, i.e., the Post Office), c1850. • See the box

Above: Ministère des Postes et Télécommunications playing cards made by Boéchat Frères, Bordeaux, for Ed. J.C. Dusserre, Paris, France, c1980. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm.