French playing cards
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1820
French playing cards. Erotic deck, unknown maker, circa 1820, a complete piquet deck of 32 uncoloured engraved playing cards (French suits), each card illustrates two or more figures in explicitly depicted sexual scenes, miniature playing card to upper left (single-figure Paris pattern type courts), some light toning and minor marks or spots, 7D with few stronger brown spots, AC with brown stain to right blank area, square corners, plain white versos, each card 77 x 49 mm, all cards mounted with photo corners onto a display board (40 x 54.5 cm), encapsulated in clear plastic (not examined out of board) QTY: (1) NOTE: Provenance: Collection of Dudley Ollis.
In that case, each card had a caption in French and Spanish to the upper right. Our pack appears to be more finely engraved and so perhaps published earlier.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Material (listing wording)
- uncoloured engraved playing cards
- Dimensions or weight (listing wording)
- each card 77 x 49 mm
Identification
- Source note
- Auction-house description published on Invaluable. Attribution and measurements are the auction house’s statements about the photographed example; independent type authentication remains research required.
- Listing object ID
- 189609271
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Independent confirmation of type attribution and auction-house statements remains research required.