A souvenir of the World Expo 1855

Not your ordinary video game

The Maker

The imprint ‘A. Thomas Ft. Paris Déposé’ is found on the Jack of Clubs, but we have been unable to trace any further evidence of a card-maker operating in the city under this name during the nineteenth century.

The Cards

A souvenir of the Exposition Universelle of 1855, an international exhibition held on Paris’ iconic Champs-Élysées. Emperor Napoleon III was determined to secure the city’s position as the cultural capital of Europe by hosting an exhibition that would surpass that held at London’s Crystal Palace four years earlier. Each Ace bears two images of Paris’ most and iconic buildings, specifically:

Clubs – Colonne Vendôme & Arc de Triomphe

Diamonds – Hotel de Ville & Chateau de Versailles

Hearts – Place de la Concorde & Palais de l’Industrie Spades – Palais du Louvre & Palais des Tuileries

As part of the preparation, the emperor had commissioned the construction of the Palais de l’Industrie, an immense structure almost 300 metres in length and over 100 in width. Despite its vast scale, the building was still not large enough to house the thousands of exhibitors at the show. 43 years later, the Palais de l’Industrie was demolished and replaced by the Grand Palais, which would go on to become the central building at the Exposition Universelle of 1900.

The double-figure court cards shown the sumptuously dressed royal characters, with the suit marks in the upper left- and lower right-hand corners.

JEGEL, Conrad Johann [Crimean War playing cards].

Publication [Frankfurt, C. L. Wüst, post-1856].

Description

52 engraved playing cards with fine original hand-colour, two stamps to one, blue printed haxagonal pattern to versos.

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

References

Guiard 14; van den Bergh pp.112-113.

The Maker

Although his imprint is not found on any of the cards, the present deck is thought to be the work of Conrad Johann Jegel. For a description of Jegel, please see item 67.

The Cards

Just like the Napoleonic battles, the Crimean War inspired many nineteenth century card makers to publish decks commemorating the conflict. The war broke out in October 1853 when Russisa attempted to expand into the Turkish-controlled Danube region. Over the course of the following three years, an alliance of the Ottoman, British, Sardinian, French and Austrian Empires fought against the Russian Empire, supported by Greece, eventually winning a victory in March 1856. The present cards form the most successful deck produced in the aftermath of the conflict. Each Ace card depicts two battle-scenes on land and at sea, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the Battle of Balaklava, shown on the Ace of Hearts. This conflict was immortalised by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’. The double-figured court cards represent the monarchs and military leaders from the warring empires:

King, Queen, Jack:

Clubs – Russia: Tsar Alexander II/Tsar Nicolas I, Alexandrovna, Marechal St Arnaud/Prince Gortschakoff

Diamonds – England and Sardinia: Victor Emanuel of Sardinia, Queen Victoria, Lord Raglan/Admiral Sir E. Lyons

Hearts – France: Napoleon III, Eugenie, imperatrice des Francais, Marechal Pelissier/Marechal Canrobert

Spades – Turkey: Sultan Abdul Medschid, the Sultana, Schamil/Omer Pascha

GILBERT, O.

Cartes Parisiennes.

Publication

Paris, O. Gilbert, 1857.

Description

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

Dimensions

84 by 55mm (3.25 by 2.25 inches).

References Van den Bergh pp.242-243.

The Maker

The Jack of Clubs bears an imprint showing the maker’s name. For a description of O. Gilbert, see item 70.

The Cards

Gilbert sold a number of decks under the title ‘Cartes Parisiennes’, with several different editions made, among them a more exlusive deck with gold print. These cards have come to be known as “costume decks” for the obvious reason of their characters’ wonderful clothing.

Here, the Jack and King of Hearts are dressed ready for the hunt, with dogs in tow, while the other male court figures are all in clothing typical of the aristocratic upper classes from the nineteenth century. The Queens are dressed in huge dresses, and the Queens of Hearts and Clubs look ready to take a stroll.

The pip cards are presented simply with the number of suit marks shown corresponding to the value of each card, while the Ace cards have their pip surrounded by elaborate framework.