Vieux gréements

Old sailing ships and barques hold an eternal fascination for many people, evoking, as they do, life in days gone by. An international gathering of such vessels takes place every four years in Brest, the event in 2004 being the fourth edition of the Brest Maritime Festival. Yannick Pennanguer’s illustrations represent large three-masted ships, coastal fishing boats and other boats with sails. The most famous among them is probably the ‘Belem’ (Ace of Hearts), the French sail training ship which started life as a cargo ship in 1896. A monochrome version of ‘La Recouvrance’ (Ace of Clubs) has been used in the background on all the pip cards. On the back of the cards and on the box is a reproduction of a painting from 1858 depicting the arrival by boat of Queen Victoria at the harbour of Cherbourg. See the box►

Above: ‘Vieux gréements’ sailing ships playing cards published by Editions Face&Dos, Paris, France, 2004. Maker unknown. 52 cards + 2 Jokers + 1 extra card (double-sided with text in French) in tuck box. Size: 63 x 88 mm.

NOTE: ‘gréement’ = rigging; ‘vieux gréements’ = old sailing ships.