It's not préfat but prélat = prelate in english, high-ranking clergyman
I've difficulties with the handwriting, I cannot read all. If you think, that it is a prelate ...
Does it make sense to rank a simple prélat between the row 56-65 Destine, Hercules, Liberte, Soliman (Osman ruler), Cesar, Prelat, Semiramis, Jason, Achill, Ulysses? Possibly in relation to one of the pre-1790-wars near Moldavia?
Generally it would helpful, if somebody makes a list with all written notes for all figures presented on the cards. I would do it myself, but my French is not so good and not reliable ...
The prelate wears the blue cordon of the "Ordre du Saint-Esprit", so it's undoubtedly before 1791. It could be the Cardinal de Rohan or Loménie de Brienne. I don't understand to what refer "il surpassera nos espérances"
Louis René Édouard de Rohan known as Cardinal de Rohan (25 September 1734 – 16 February 1803), prince de Rohan-Guéméné, was a French bishop of Strasbourg, politician, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, and cadet of the Rohan family (which traced its origin to the kings of Brittany). His parents were Hercule Mériadec, Prince of Guéméné and Louise Gabrielle Julie de Rohan. He was born in Paris.
Rohan had such a decoration (see picture). He even looks similar to the card. And he was bishop in Strassbourg, which was a rather innovative location for playing cards. Rohan makes sense, my congratulation.
It's possible, that he made the deck for himself.
from Wiki ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_de_Rohan
Louis de Rohan was a member of the palace cabal opposed to the Austrian alliance. This party was headed by the Duc d'Aiguillon who, in 1771, sent Rohan on a special embassy to find out what was being done in Vienna with regard to the partition of Poland. Rohan arrived at Vienna in January 1772, and made a great spectacle of himself with his lavish entertainments. Empress Maria Theresa was hostile to his intrigues; not only did he attempt to thwart her alliance with France, but as a vicar of the Church, he made little secret of his venal lifestyle.[1]
On the death of Louis XV in 1774, Rohan was recalled from Vienna, and coldly received in Paris; ...
"lavish entertainments" sounds, as if he might have had done something with cards.
The card 66 is the most interesting and gives the key of the deck I think
It's a map of the battles during the 6th war between Russia and Turkey (1768-1774)
Chotczim = Khotin 1769
Kaminice = Kamenets podol'sk 1769
Iessi = Jassy 1769
Bender = Bender 1770
The appearance of this distant and rather neglected conflict in a french deck reveals the man and the family for whom the deck was created, as the only ones able to understand this card 66.
I'll give the name of this man in a next post if no one finds it. A clue : he's represented by a card and it's not Louis XVI.
Well, this earlier war runs parallel to Rohan's stay in Vienna. Possibly he even had some function in it? But it is not mentioned in the English biography.
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Following the key "59 Soliman" for the Ottoman ruler, Suleiman I (1520-1566) attacked Vienna and Austria in his early period, and Suleiman II (1687-1691) became a loser and died soon.
Louis XIV used in late 17th century the momentary weakness of Austria (Ottoman attack on Vienna in 1683) to annect Strasbourg for a long period.
There's a longer list of archbishops in Strasbourg of the Rohan family ...
Armand Gaston Maximilien de Rohan (1704-1749)
... cardinal in 1712
François-Armand de Rohan (1749-1756)
... cardinal in 1447
Charles-Louis-Constantin, prince de Rohan-Guéméné (1756-1779)
... cardinal in 1761
Louis René Édouard de Rohan-Guéméné (1779 - November 29, 1801, † 1803)
... cardinal in 1781
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There was a bankrupty in the family in 1781 and in 1785 the cardinal was involved in the necklace affair and became prisoner in the Bastille for some time.
But I don't see any involvement of Rohan in the wars on the Balkan. An involvement in Polish problems is mentioned.
There's a longer biography from 2006, but not online:
https://books.google.de/books?id=9K...ved=0ahUKEwi_6ozHw-HJAhWCBSwKHScLAcAQ6AEIJzAB
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Anyway, these were interesting suggestions, thanks.