Le Jeu de Marseille Surrealist playing card deck, 1983
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1983
This set is the 1983 edition of the Jeu de Marseille, a deck of surrealist playing cards originally conceived in the early 1940s by André Breton and fellow surrealists at the Villa Air-Bel, Marseille.
Published by André Dimanche and manufactured by Maitre-Cartier Grimaud, this artistic deck features designs by prominent figures including Victor Brauner, Andre Breton, Oscar Dominguez, Max Ernst, Jacques Herold, Wifredo Lam, Jacqueline Lamba, and Andre Masson. The deck replaces traditional playing card suits with surrealist themes: black Locks representing Knowledge, red Wheels representing Revolution, black Stars representing Dreams, and red Flames representing Love and Desire.
The two jokers feature the character Ubu Roi based on Alfred Jarry's designs. This specific assembly contains 52 of the original 54 cards, missing two cards (Locks No. 2 and Wheels No. 5), and includes a colophon card featuring text by André Breton. The set is housed in an illustrated box measuring 9 x 6 x 2 cm.
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
- Count
- 52 out of 54 cards
- Dimensions
- 9 x 6 x 2 cm
Technical characteristics
- Manufacturer
- Maitre-Cartier Grimaud
Design
- Jokers
- Ubu Roi
- Suit names
- Locks, Wheels, Stars, Flames
Identification
- Source note
- Described from a single auction-house listing published on Invaluable (reproduced with Invaluable's permission). Details apply to that one example; other examples of the type may differ, and the listing is supplementary evidence, not authentication.
- Maker named in listing
- André Dimanche
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.