Napoleon meets his Waterloo

The Maker

On the Queen of Clubs appear the words “Industrie Comptoir in Leipzig”, identifying the manufacturer of the deck. For a description of Baumgartner and the Industrie Comptoir, see Item 29.

The Cards

Published under the title ‘Kongress Karten’, the key players are engaged in the defeat of Napoleon in 1815. On June 18, the French forces met with the armies of the Seventh Coalition at the battlefield of Waterloo in Belgium, and after a full day’s fighting, were defeated by the combined strength of the United Kingdom, Netherlands, the German states, Russia and Sweden. Following the battle, the leader of the Prussian army, Field Marshal Blücher, proposed that the conflict should go down in history as the ‘La Belle Alliance’, while the Duke of Wellington preferred the ‘Battle of Waterloo’. Both men appear as Jacks of the suits representing their native countries, alongside their monarchs:

King, Queen, Jack:

Clubs – Russia: Tsar Alexander I, Elizabeth Alexeievna, Field Marshall Prince Barclay de Tolly

Diamonds – Prussia: Wilhelm I, Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Field Marshall Blücher

Hearts – Great Britain: King George III, Charlotte of MecklenburgStrelitz, Duke of Wellington

Spades – Austria: Emperor Francis I, Maria Ludovika of Austria– Este, Field Marshall Schwarzenberg

The pip cards and Aces in the present deck are simply represented by the number of suit marks shown on each card.

‘Napoleon’, or ‘Nap’ was a popular English card game in the nineteenth century. With ‘Nap, ‘Wellington’, and ‘Blücher’ all appearing as ‘bids’. It was famously played by Jerome K. Jerome’s heroes in ‘Three Men in a Boat’.

HOUBIGANT, Armand-Gustave [Cartes historiques].

Publication Paris, Veuve Danbrin, 1817.

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand colour, versos white.

Dimensions 80 by 53mm (3.25 by 2 inches).

References Guiard 135; van den Bergh pp.120-121; Yale 2593/FRA293.

The Makers

Armand-Gustave Houbigant (1790-1863) was the son of famous French perfumer Jean-Francois Houbigant, supplier to the court of Napoleon. Armand-Gustave trained in the arts from a young age, and produced his first series of scenic engravings while still in his teens. His sense of aesthetic refinement led him to strike a deal with his friends, declaring that “he would play them with cards other than those used and that everyone found hideous”. Perhaps finding none to his liking, Houbigant proceeded to make his own playing cards, producing several decks during the early nineteenth century.

Nicolas Dabrin was a card-maker with a workshop on the Rue Saint-Avoye, Paris. After he died, his widow continued to produce cards, but appears to have moved the firm to No. 27, Rue Michelle Comte.

The Cards

A range of historical figures, mainly European monarchs, appear on the court cards in this deck.

King, Queen, Jack: Clubs – François I, Marguerite de Valois, Bayard Diamonds – Saint Loys, Blanche de Castille, Jean de Joinville Hearts – Henry IV, Jeanne D’Albret Spades – Charlemagne, Hildegard, Roland

The personages shown on the Jacks are among the most interesting. Pierre Terrail le Vieux was a French knight of the sixteenth century who came to be known as Chevalier de Bayard. His exceptional bravery distinguished him in many battles across Europe. His motto, “sans peur et sans reproche” (“without fear or blame”) appears on the column beside him.

The Jack of Diamonds is Jean de Joinville, one of the great chroniclers of medieval France. He became famous for his biography of Louis IX, which recounted his participation in the Seventh Crusade. He is shown holding this book, entitled ‘Chronique de St. Louis’ in his hand, and wearing the costume of a crusader.

The Ace and pip cards in the present deck are simply presented, with the number of suit marks indicating their value.

Between 1815 and 1818, three versions of this deck were published, of which this is the second one.