Above: unbranded French style pack by Catel & Farcy. The court cards are not named. Images courtesy Matt Probert.
Above: Peugeot publicity deck by Catel & Farcy. Images courtesy Matt Probert.
By Matt Probert
Member since March 02, 2012
View ArticlesI have adored playing cards since before I was seven years old, and was brought up on packs of Waddington's No 1. As a child I was fascinated by the pictures of the court cards.
Over the next fifty years I was seduced by the artwork in Piatnik's packs and became a collector of playing cards.
Seeking more information about various unidentified packs I discovered the World of Playing Cards website and became an enthusiastic contributor researching and documenting different packs of cards.
I describe my self as a playing card archaeologist, using detective work to identify and date obscure packs of cards discovered in old houses, flea markets and car boot sales.
Leave a Reply
Recommended
Jeu de Tarot Pocket Fantasy/Science-Fiction
Tarot game pack with fantasy sci-fi artwork on the trumps published by Pocket SF, France.
Jeu de 54 cartes
Jeu de 54 cartes, completely anonymous, designed to resemble locally produced French packs.
Alphonse Arnoult Spanish-suited pack
Luxurious Spanish-suited pack made by Alphonse Arnoult, Paris, France, c.1850.
Martinique
Original designs from the French overseas department of Martinique by local artist Martine Porry.
Cartes Illustrées
Standard French designs adapted for children. Made by France Cartes for La Grande Récré, c.2016.
Beaujolais je t’aime …
Pack promoting Beaujolais wine published by Editions du Nuton, France.
Ergomia
Complete re-design of traditional pack into what the publishers considered to be ergonomically efficient.
A. Camoin & Cie
This deck was inherited from ancestors, it has has a family history surrounding it. Details of the lives of previous owners make it all so fascinating.
Bone Playing Cards
My late mother found these miniature cards in a skip around 50 years ago.
La Sibylle des Salons
La Sibylle des Salons facsimile of 19th century deck published by J M Simon, 1979.
Eurotrotter
Eurotrotter by La Ducale, c.1980s.
Tout Est Bien Qui Finit Bien
‘Tout Est Bien Qui Finit Bien’ family card game by Dondorf.
El Gato con Botas
Puss in Boots card game manufactured by H. Fournier, 1981.
Bass & Bass Jeu des Familles
Bass & Bass ‘Jeu des Familles’ made by Franz-Josef Holler, Münich, 1989.
Gambling and Vice in the Middle Ages
Gambling and Vice in the Hours of Charles V: card-playing in the local tavern
Jeu de Quaternes ‘Rizá’
Jeu de Quaternes ‘Rizá’
“Deck with French suits”
A facsimile of an early 19th century French-suited deck from the collection of F.X. Schmid.
Le Destin Antique
Le Jeu du Destin Antique, originally published by Grimaud in XIX c., republished many times since...
Eroticartes
Eroticartes with drawings by Pino Zac, 1983.
La Belle au bois dormant
Sleeping Beauty card game published in France, c.1980s.
Benedicte Morand-Bail
Benedicte Morand-Bail’s striking and colourful abstract poker deck with French named courts
Bretagne
Bretagne (Brittany) playing cards, Grimaud, c.1970.
Jeu “Gerente”
Jeu “Gerente” - published by Moncar in 1983 in the “Cartes de Fantasie” series.
French Revolution
Bicentenaire de la Révolution Française 1789–1989 created by Christian Offroy.
Jeu du Moulin
Jeu du Moulin by Watilliaux, Paris.
Playtex
Playtex - le jeu de la beauté et du destin, Grimaud, 1971.
Jeu de Memoire
Jeu de Memoire card game promoting Véritable Chaumes cheese from the village of St Antoines in south west France.
Le Jeu de la Guerre
Facsimile of “Le Jeu de la Guerre” designed by Gilles de la Boissière in 1698.
La Mariée du Mardi-Gras
La Mariée du Mardi-Gras, published by Jeux et Jouets Français. Paris, early 1900s.
Parisian style Spanish deck by Grimaud
Parisian style Spanish deck by Grimaud for export to Uruguay.
Jeu des 7 Familles
Jeu des 7 Familles © K.F.S. Opera Mundi c.1960.
Chocolat du Planteur
Chocolat du Planteur cards (reproduction) by French artist Louis Bourgeois-Borgex, c.1900.
Les Géants d’un Mythe
Les Géants d'un Mythe created by François Poulain and manufactured by Grimaud, 1983.
Atouts de la Vie
“Atouts de la Vie” wartime card game created by Madame Lucien Willemetz, c.1940.
Prisoners of War
Hand-made playing cards by French prisoners of war in Porchester Castle, Hampshire, c.1796.
64: The descendants of the French regional patterns: 2
A continuation of the development of the off-spring of the Paris patterns and a few examples of how the French regional figures have inspired modern designers.
63: The descendants of the French regional patterns: 1
A great many regional patterns were exported from France and subsequently copied elsewhere. Some of them became local standards in their own right.
62: French regional patterns: the queens and jacks
Continuing our look at the figures from the regional patterns of France.
61: French regional patterns: the kings
On page 11 I illustrated several examples of the regional French patterns from Sylvia Mann's collection; this is a more in-depth look at the figures of these patterns ("portraits" in French).
Les Grandes Figures de L’Histoire Bretonne
Les Grandes Figures de L’Histoire Bretonne