Jeu Louis XV
| Macro-category | Playing Cards and Tarot |
| Subcategory | Historical Playing Cards |
| Author | Anonymous |
| Provenance | Paris |
| Publisher / Maker | Gatteaux |
| Year | 1895 |
A near mint example of a French “Costume Cards” deck
with his attractive design, set in the court of Louis XV
complete with its original box.
Jeu Louis XV, NO.1502. Paris, B-P-Grimaud, 1895.
55 playing cards (63 x 51 mm), a complete deck of 52 plus joker and blank chromolithographed playing cards with French suits, indices, double ended courts, gilt edges, rounded corners, a rich and colourful floral design on verso, original slip case, blue, yellow, gold: Jeu Louis XV. / No. 1502 / B-P. GRIMAUD / Paris / 53 Cartes WHIST, Court Cards identified R-Roi (king); D-Dame (queen); V-Valet (jack).
Nice deck, whose figures are inspired by the aristocracy under Louis XV while the joker is a falconer.
This deck is present in the Collection of the Museum Fournier, Spain, and in the Cary Collection, at Yale University Library.
Conditions: amazing conditions.
Provenance: I. Dudley Ollis’ collection: Dudley Ollis was member of the International Playing Card Society and his collection is considered the most important English private collection of playing cards. Ollis formed his collection over more than 50 years, and it includes rarities such as a set of English cards printed with the musical notation and lyrics from The Beggar’s Opera. II. Tax stamp on ace of clubs, “Avril 12 1890 République Français”, used in France from 1890 to 1917; Playing Card stamps showed the tax was paid on playing cards, where placed when the deck was marketed, not printed, and in the country of use, not in the country of printing.
References: ALFARO FOURNIER, FÉLIX. Los Naipes, Museo Fournier, Vitoria, Heraclio Fournier S.A., 1982, FRA 325 ; Yale University Library, The Art of the Playing Card, the Cary Collection, Yale University Library, 1973, FRA 371; Catherine Perry Hargrave, A History of playing cards, Dover publications, 2021, p. 73.
