Vieux gréements
Illustrations by Yannick Pennanguer of old sailing ships for Brest 2004, a maritime festival.
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►
NOTE: ‘gréement’ = rigging; ‘vieux gréements’ = old sailing ships.
By Roddy Somerville
Member since May 31, 2022
Roddy started collecting stamps on his 8th birthday. In 1977 he joined the newly formed playing-card department at Stanley Gibbons in London before setting up his own business in Edinburgh four years later. His collecting interests include playing cards, postcards, stamps (especially playing cards on stamps) and sugar wrappers. He is a Past President of the Scottish Philatelic Society, a former Chairman of the IPCS, a Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards and Curator of the WCMPC’s collection of playing cards. He lives near Toulouse in France.
Leave a Reply
Your Name
Just nowRelated Articles
Les Jeux de Pastor
Striking designs by Edouard Pastor focusing on the heads of figures from the medieval period.
Le Jeu des Personnages de l’Antiquité et du Moyen-Age
Edouard Pastor’s designs in black and gold inspired by Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Covered bridges playing cards
Historical covered bridges with photography by Bill Miller, 2006.
Rouen Pattern - Portrait Rouennais
An attractive XV century French-suited design from Rouen became the standard English & Anglo-America...
Archaic Spanish proof sheets
2 x uncoloured proof sheets of archaic Spanish-suited playing cards produced for “New Spain”, possib...
English Pattern by B.P. Grimaud
Standard English pattern published by B.P. Grimaud with engraving by F. Simon, c.1880.
Jeu de Tarot (Catel & Farcy)
Colourful version of a standard French (‘Bourgeois’) Tarot.
Smith-Corona Marchant
Simplified yet colourful court card designs by Avoine for Smith-Corona Marchant.
Redrawn French pattern (Héron)
Redrawn French pattern retaining traditional elements.
7 Familles Le Manège Enchanté
The Magic Roundabout characters on a jeu de 7 familles designed by James Hodges.
Paris 2024 Olympics 3
Paris Games mascot Phryge engaged in different sports in a Happy Families-type game.
Paris 2024 Olympics 2
A standard French Tarot game pack with passing references to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.
Paris 2024 Olympics 1
Modern Paris pattern courts, special ace and jokers for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Tarot – Images du Pays Basque
Seventy-eight photographic images of the French Basque Country on a pack for playing the game of Tar...
Classification of Numeral Card Designs in French-suited packs
The classification of numeral cards in French-suited packs, covering various pip designs in over 400...
Holidays – les côtes françaises
Holiday destinations around the French coast as depicted by Pauline Launay.
Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here. Your comment here.