Historical Characters
Double-ended deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850.
Daveluy was a talented craftsman who made playing cards for all budgets. The quality and variation of his work was much appreciated. The “Middle Ages” was a popular theme, which inspired the clothing, background landscapes and attributes of the court cards in many packs and suited 19th century taste. The king of clubs (Jean 1er) has tents in the background scenery on which are pennants with the text ‘Limbourg’, ‘Woeringen’ and ‘Brabant’ , referring to Jean's victory in the battle of Woeringen (1288) when he was Duke of Brabant.
Daveluy pioneered a type of “painterly chromolithography” in which colours are applied in a more fluid, painterly manner, without black outlines, imitating hand-painted effects. This was anticipating the Art Nouveau style of applied art which flourished towards the end of the 19th century. The aces are decorated with plants and shells.
Above: double-ended deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850. 52 cards, chromolithography, square corners. 54x83 mm. Back pattern of blue wavy lines and stars. Source gallica.bnf.fr
Q♣ Richilde holds a rose
J♣ Jester
Q♥ Marie de Bourgogne holding a falcon
J♥ Jester playing a tambourine
Q♠ Jeanne de Constantinople
J♠ Musician bowing
Q♦ Marguerite d’Autriche
J♦ Jester
Further References
Biebouw, Luc; Clays, Alex; Cremers, Filip; D'Hondt, Jan & Smet, Yvette: Daveluy, Brugge's Trots en Koninklijke Troef, Brussels Euro Joker Club, 2004.
Bibliothèque nationale de France: Jeu de cartes belge au portrait de fantaisie à deux têtes►
By Simon Wintle
Member since February 01, 1996
Founder and editor of the World of Playing Cards since 1996. He is a former committee member of the IPCS and was graphics editor of The Playing-Card journal for many years. He has lived at various times in Chile, England and Wales and is currently living in Extremadura, Spain. Simon's first limited edition pack of playing cards was a replica of a seventeenth century traditional English pack, which he produced from woodblocks and stencils.
Related Articles
Blake et Mortimer – La Marque Jaune
Blake and Mortimer comic strip characters created by Edgar P. Jacobs.
Santo Mexico playing cards
Santo Mexico playing cards designed by Cédric Volon with Mexico-associated symbols.
Gallia Belgica playing cards
Gallia Belgica playing cards by Cédric Volon presenting a view of Belgian culture and folklore.
Gibson’s History of England
History without tears for young and old, 1920s.
Historical Characters
Double-ended deck with historical characters and jacks as jesters by Daveluy, c.1850.
Mademoiselle Lenormand
XIX century ‘Mlle Lenormand’ cartomancy deck by Daveluy, Bruges.
Printing Presses
Antique printing presses from the Turnhout Playing Card Museum collection.
English cards from the reign of Charles II
This article explores a historic pack of English playing cards from circa 1675, likely used by King ...
Le Roi bridge
Reprint of a Piatnik (Budapest) pack of 1927 with Hungarian historical figures and scenic aces.
Club Soft Drinks
Promotional pack for Club soft drinks with amusing illustrations of different kinds of ‘club’.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
American teen film depicting students staging their last spring musical.
Sweden playing cards
Named characters from Swedish history.
Romania playing cards
Romanian voivodes and their wives from the 15th and 16th centuries.
Jeu Quatre Empereurs
Brazilian scenic aces with emperors of Brazil, Austria and France and other dignitaries on the court...
Postgeschichte
A celebration of different postal systems in Germany from 1630 to 1850, with designs by Volker Hartm...
Kings and Queens of Brazil & Portugal
Historical playing cards by C. L. Wüst depicting monarchs of Brazil and Portugal.
Trending Articles
Popular articles from the past 28 days
