Grimaud‘s Danish Experiment

Danish style playing cards designed by Edouard Jean Dambourgez for export to Denmark, printed by Grimaud, chromolithography, rounded corners, no indices, c.1899. Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France

Grimaud had a deliberate policy of designing packs for particular regional markets, including England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Denmark [1]. Compared with the Dambourgez pack (above), this second 'Danish' pack suggests a broader commercial approach, a cheaper or more conventional alternative, relying less on distinctive design than on availability, price and established distribution [3]. The floral back design also fits with European fashion trends [4].

Cards for export to Denmark made by Grimaud, Paris. 52 cards, round corners, lithography, printed by Grimaud, c.1899. Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France

There was even a version with a generic back design, small corner indices, rounded corners and the joker with international exposition medals, designed by Félix Simon.

Grimaud's Danish patterns (jeux au portrait danois) never became Denmark's national playing cards. Yet they document the moment when Europe's leading manufacturers realised that even national traditions could be designed, packaged and marketed for export.

Grimaud produced several packs described as jeux au portrait danois, although these varied considerably in character [5]. The more refined examples, such as the design by Édouard Jean Dambourgez, drew upon the fashionable international style popularised by firms such as Wüst and Dondorf. Others employed more conventional continental courts with little specifically Danish imagery. In such cases, Danish pattern seems to have indicated the market for which the cards were intended rather than reflecting a national design. These packs did not continue the evolution of the Danish Holmblad pattern, but instead reflect the increasingly international character of the European playing-card trade and the growing foreign competition.

References

1. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Baptiste-Paul Grimaud (1817-1899) - Œuvres iconographiques de cet auteur ►

2. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Jeu de whist au portrait danois édité pour le Danemark ►

3. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Jeu de cartes au portrait danois à deux têtes ►

4. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Jeu de cartes au portrait danois à deux têtes ►

5. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Épreuves du bois de gravure de cartes de tête au portrait danois à deux têtes ►