Playing cards.- Della Bella (Stefano) Jeux Historiques
Playing cards.- Della Bella (Stefano) Jeux Historiques des Rois de France, Reines renommees, Geographie et Metamorphose, complete series of 4 sets of educational playing cards in 1 vol., 12pp. preliminaries comprising printed title, playing instructions and privilege (dated 1644), 4 complete sets of engraved playing cards comprising title and 52 plates, except for Rois de France which has title and 39 plates (as issued), a few plates loose and a couple misbound, but generally clean and with full margins, minor light foxing and finger-soiling, title of Queens with slight water-stain to corner, contemporary calf, worn, upper joint repaired, 12mo, Paris, Chez Nicolas le Clerc et Florent le Comte, 1698.
⁂ Very rare to find complete and in such good condition. The complete series of four educational playing card sets commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin for the instruction of Louis XIV, who ascended to the throne in 1643 under the regency of his mother. They were prepared by Jean Desmarests, a member of the French Academy, and first printed in 1644 under the Paris imprint of Henri Le Gras and Florentin Lambert. After Lambert's death the plates were sold to Florent le Comte who added suit-marks of spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, and reprinted them in book form in 1698. It is curious that in this copy the imprint "F. Le Conte" [sic] occurs on the engraved title leaf for the Mythology series but the three other series of playing cards still retain the original "Henri le Gras" imprint [from 1644).
The Kings begin with Pharamond and Clodion and end with young Louis (King of Hearts); in some instances, as many as five kings of France are featured on one card, each numbered and listing the length of his reign. The Queens begin with Martesie, queen of the Amazons, and end with Anne of Austria, the mother of King Louis - a single adjective is given at the upper right corner describing each one: pious, cruel, unfortunate, saintly, wise, brave, etc. Geography has a title card showing a twin-hemisphere map and the cards themselves comprise emblems of individual countries (divided into four sections, each a different continent): the Americas are represented by Peru, Mexico, Canada [Nouvelle France], Virginia, Florida, Yucatan, Nicaragua, Quivira [in Wichita, Kansas], Chile, Brazil, Popaian [Columbia], and Castile d'or [i.e. Panama]. Mythology ("jeu des fables") represent the Greek myths, including the stories of the nine Muses, Mercury, Neptune, Pygmalion, Hercules, Jason, Apollo, Narcissus, and Medusa.
"They are all extremely interesting and of much rarity, and from an artistic standpoint are of value as the work of the famous Florentine engraver Stefano della Bella" (Hargrave, History of Playing Cards, pp. 58-59).
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Playing cards.- Della Bella (Stefano) Jeux Historiques des Rois de France, Reines renommees, Geographie et Metamorphose, complete series of 4 sets of educational playing cards in 1 vol., 12pp. preliminaries comprising printed title, playing instructions and privilege (dated 1644), 4 complete sets of engraved playing cards comprising title and 52 plates, except for Rois de France which has title and 39 plates (as issued), a few plates loose and a couple misbound, but generally clean and with full margins, minor light foxing and finger-soiling, title of Queens with slight water-stain to corner, contemporary calf, worn, upper joint repaired, 12mo, Paris, Chez Nicolas le Clerc et Florent le Comte, 1698.
⁂ Very rare to find complete and in such good condition. The complete series of four educational playing card sets commissioned by Cardinal Mazarin for the instruction of Louis XIV, who ascended to the throne in 1643 under the regency of his mother. They were prepared by Jean Desmarests, a member of the French Academy, and first printed in 1644 under the Paris imprint of Henri Le Gras and Florentin Lambert. After Lambert's death the plates were sold to Florent le Comte who added suit-marks of spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, and reprinted them in book form in 1698. It is curious that in this copy the imprint "F. Le Conte" [sic] occurs on the engraved title leaf for the Mythology series but the three other series of playing cards still retain the original "Henri le Gras" imprint [from 1644).
The Kings begin with Pharamond and Clodion and end with young Louis (King of Hearts); in some instances, as many as five kings of France are featured on one card, each numbered and listing the length of his reign. The Queens begin with Martesie, queen of the Amazons, and end with Anne of Austria, the mother of King Louis - a single adjective is given at the upper right corner describing each one: pious, cruel, unfortunate, saintly, wise, brave, etc. Geography has a title card showing a twin-hemisphere map and the cards themselves comprise emblems of individual countries (divided into four sections, each a different continent): the Americas are represented by Peru, Mexico, Canada [Nouvelle France], Virginia, Florida, Yucatan, Nicaragua, Quivira [in Wichita, Kansas], Chile, Brazil, Popaian [Columbia], and Castile d'or [i.e. Panama]. Mythology ("jeu des fables") represent the Greek myths, including the stories of the nine Muses, Mercury, Neptune, Pygmalion, Hercules, Jason, Apollo, Narcissus, and Medusa.
"They are all extremely interesting and of much rarity, and from an artistic standpoint are of value as the work of the famous Florentine engraver Stefano della Bella" (Hargrave, History of Playing Cards, pp. 58-59).
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