So-called "Jeu révolutionnaire"

Philippe

More engravings today, by Desrais :

Louis JR D by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

MA JR D by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

La justice2 by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr La Raison Desrais Carré graveur2 by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

Louis-Claude DESRAIS (already seen in my 8th post-the manchon and the little child with a bird) 1746-1816 worked for Basset a famous printer with the logo A Sainte Geneviève or A l'image Saint Geneviève situated at 670 then 64 Rue Saint Jacques at the corner of the rue des Mathurins. It's the same place but there had been two systems for numbering the buildings during the revolution. Basset had the "Approbation & Privilège du Roi", maybe the letters A.P.R. that we can see in the card la victoire

La victoire by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

Desrais had been the pupil of Francesco CASANOVA, Giacomo's brother as already said elsewhere. From him I will post the Grand Vizir giving audience to the Comte de Saint-Priest, french ambassador, on March 18, 1779 :

196247 by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

So Dorgez & Janet at the 36 Rue St. Jacques, Desrais & Basset at the 64 same street, we're beginning to circumscribe the field of research.
 

Philippe

When I discussed the card 62 Sémiramis in my first post, I didn't pay enough attention to the coat of arms on the upper right of the card. In ancient french heraldry this open gate symbolises Russia.
Rather than an opera character, the card depicts Catherine II the Great whom Voltaire called famously "la Sémiramis du Nord" the Semiramis of the North.

Sémiramis by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr
BlaRu by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

"De sable, à un portail ouvert ayant deux portes et deux degrés (marches) d'or. D'aucuns disent, un porche ouvert de deux pièces"
 

Philippe

We find other coats of arms in cards :

-60 César (antique roman empire)
-63 Jason
-64 Achille (Brandebourg)
-65 Ulysse

and references to other french writers through at least two cards :

-40 L'Agnès Molière (L'école des femmes)
-51 Le médecin "tan(t) pis tan(t) mieux" La Fontaine

How to reconcile all these disparate elements ? In the next post I'll put forward an hypothesis.
 

Huck

When I discussed the card 62 Sémiramis in my first post, I didn't pay enough attention to the coat of arms on the upper right of the card. In ancient french heraldry this open gate symbolises Russia.
Rather than an opera character, the card depicts Catherine II the Great whom Voltaire called famously "la Sémiramis du Nord" the Semiramis of the North.

This looks like the better idea and fits with Guignard's personal style.

Still I think, that the Moscow deck type (42 cards) is the older version.
 

RavenDarkWind

Another interesting card, albeit insignificant in itself :

Calomnie caquets by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

Caquets, commérages, calomnies. We'll find it again as the 7♢ of the Grandville's sybille des salons 1827 :

20 (2) by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

The bird is alone and in a cage now. But in the British Museum's deck that card is associated with the 10♠.

AN1613053868_l by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr
Card n°27 in the last row

So, 7♦ or 10♠ ?
In another parlour deck of the early Restauration we can note that the cards are very similar :

aei by PhilBeDaN, sur Flickr

Birds in both cards, only the meanings differ (caution or the night for 10♠)

Could Pourparlers from the Oracle de Belline derive from this card?

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