Manuscript Dutch street characters: Kees, Bloem/Snujif and Flip

The Maker

[Dutch

street character playing cards].

Publication [Netherlands, c1800].

Description

52 manuscript playing cards executed in ink with watercolour, star pattern printed in red to versos.

Dimensions 87 by 60mm (3.5 by 2.25 inches).

References Van den Bergh pp.28-29.

We have been unable to trace any information about the maker and origins of the present deck, although the style of the characters indicates that it was likely designed and produced in the Netherlands.

The Cards

A series of Dutch street characters, who were probably familiar figures to the contemporary audience, appear on the present cards. They range from women selling flowers to beggars at the roadside; similar types of characters appear on other Dutch prints from the same period. The King of each suit is represented by a standing man, the Queen by a woman, and the Jack by a seated man. Each of the court cards is labelled, although the significance of the names remains a mystery. They may perhaps refer to stock characters from Dutch popular culture:

Clubs – Kees, Bloem/Snuijf, Flip Diamonds – August, Therees, Bestebeentje Hearts – Fluijtje, Hob Za, Sijme Spades – Arij, Lulla, Flaas

[ANONYMOUS]

The Maker

[Collection

of original Transformation cards].

Publication [England, c1804].

Description

17 manuscript playing cards with original hand-colour.

Dimensions 92 by 67mm (3.5 by 2.75 inches).

References Van den Bergh pp.154-155.

The artist behind the present cards is unknown, but he may have taken inspiration from the contemporary work of John Nixon, who was the first Briton to experiment with transformation cards.

The Cards

These hand-drawn cards represent a preliminary study for the production of a deck of transformation cards. These early sketches highlight the difficulties of convincingly incorporating suit marks into an image. It may be for this reason that a complete deck was never made from the present designs, as it is too difficult to quickly identify the value of each card.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of these drawings, however, appears on the Five of Spades. The image shows a game of chess being played by the ‘Chess Automaton’. This was a “machine” developed in the second half of the eighteenth century that seemed capable of playing the perfect game of chess, an apparent forerunner of artificial intelligence. The whole thing was a trick, however, as a highly skilled player would be stationed inside the machine, controlling its movements.

The device was first exhibited at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna in 1770, where it was said to have challenged Napoleon to a game. Accordingly, the text on the Five of Spades reads: “I believe Bonaparte stands his chance”.

[JENNISON-WALWORTH, Countess von] [attributed to]

[Cotta

1805].

Publication

Tübingen, J. G. Cotta, 1805.

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand-colour, here together with printed almanack.

Dimensions 97 by 68mm (3.75 by 2.75 inches).

References

Hargrave p.145; van den Bergh pp.132-135.

The Maker

On the ace of clubs the name of the maker appears: ‘À Tubinge chez J.G. Cotta libraire’.

The Cotta family were famous German publishers, closely connected with the history of their country’s literature. The firm was established by Johann Georg Cotta in the 1660s, before passing it on to his son, also named Johann George, in 1692. After him, it was taken over by his son, another Johann Georg, and upon his death, his eldest son, this time Christoph Friedrich, became the head of the publishing house.

Under Christoph Friedrich, the Cotta firm was moved to the court at Stuttgart, where the business slowly went into decline. It was eventually rescued by the efforts of his son, Johann Friedrich, and became the publisher for the likes of Goethe, Jean Paul and Hegel. The firm remained in the family until 1889.

The Cards

The Cotta publishing house made its first foray into the field of playing cards with the present deck. They use the standard French system, and are centred around the theme of French history. The court cards are a reminder of the firm’s literary connections, with depictions of figures from Schiller’s 1801 ‘Die Jungfrau von Orleans’ (‘The Maid of Orleans’), a tragedy about Joan of Arc:

Club – René d’Anjou, la couronne de Sicile à ses pieds; Louison, Soeur de Jeanne d’Arc; Montgomeri Diamond – Philippe de Bourgogne; Agnes Sorel; Raimont, villageois Heart – Charles VII; Isabeau de Bavière; La Hire Spade – Talbot, mourant; Jeanne d’Arc; Lionel, enlevant l’épée de Jeanne d’Arc

The pip and the Ace cards are of particular interest due to the novel way in which the suit marks have been incorporated into the design. This style emerged in the early nineteenth century, with the decks becoming known as “transformation playing cards”. Here, heart symbols become cupids’ wings, diamonds books, spades windowframes and clubs part of a beetle’s carapace.

Although often attributed to a Countess Charlotte von JennisonWalworth, the present cards seem to have been designed and drawn by Countess Mary Day von Jennison-Walworth, the illegitimate daughter of an artistocratic artist mother, who proceeded to evoke huge public scandal by embarking on an incestuous affair with her half-brother.

[JENNISON-WALWORTH, Countess von] [attributed to]

[Greek Myths and Legends

playing cards].

Publication

Tübingen, J. G. Cotta, 1806.

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand-colour, here together with printed almanack.

Dimensions 98 by 70mm (3.75 by 2.75 inches).

References Hargrave p.145; van den Bergh pp.136-139.

The Maker

For a description of the Cotta publishing firm, please see item 19.

The Cards

The Cotta firm followed up its successful first edition of transformation cards with the present deck, focused on the theme Greek and Roman mythology. The court cards show caracters from the ancient Epic Cycle:

Club – Pirrhus, Ester, Arcas

Diamond – Agamemnon, Agripine, Oreste Heart – Ulisse, Iphigenie, Mardochee Spade – Assuerus, Andromaque, Burrhus

Just as in the deck published the previous year, the Ace and pip cards are distinguished by the way in which the suit marks blend into the background image. Some new designs appear here, with spade symbols forming jugs, diamonds dogs’ collars, inverted hearts as hats and clubs as the base of a wagon.

FABER DU FAUR, Christian Wilhelm von

[History of the Thirty Years’ War playing cards].

Publication

Tübingen, J. G. Cotta, 1806.

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand-colour, versos plain, with almanac.

Dimensions 97 by 68mm (3.75 by 2.75 inches).

References

Hargrave p.145; Guiard 217, van den Bergh pp.140 -143; Yale 2905/GER503.

The Maker

The Ten of Clubs gives the name of the designer as Christian Wilhelm von Faber du Faur, while the Ace of Clubs bears the publisher’s imprint. For a description of the Cotta publishing firm, please see item 19.

The Cards

The third deck published by the Cotta firm in the early nineteenth century, like the first, revolves around the drama of Friedrich Schiller, this time a triology of plays collectively entitled ‘Wallenstein’. The plays trace the decline of the famous German general Albrecht von Wallenstein, and effectively serve as a history of the Thirty Years’ War. The court cards show characters from the trilogy:

Club – Octavio Piccolomini, Fräulein Neubrunn, Deveroux Diamond – Max Piccolomini, Theckla, v. Rosenberg Heart – Wallenstein Herzog zu Friedland, Herzogin zu Friedland, Seni Spade – Illo, Grafin Terzky, Neumann

As was becoming a trademark of Cotta playing cards, the pip and Ace cards have the suit marks as a key part of their design. On this deck, club symbols come to represent balloons, diamonds books, spades a rotund belly and inverted hearts a pig’s head!

The deck is accompanied by an almanac made up of 16 pages, which include a fictional letter of an unknown Adolf C. to an even lesser-known Julie.

NIXON, John

[Collection of four proof playing cards].

Publication [London], 1808 [and] 1811.

Description

4 engraved playing cards with text, fine original hand-colour.

Dimensions

73 by 116mm (2.75 by 4.5 inches)and smaller.

References Van den Bergh pp.150-151.