Première Croisade
Deck evoking the ‘Première Croisade’ with single-ended courts by Daveluy, Bruges, c.1850.
‘Première Croisade’ by Daveluy, Bruges, c.1850
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Above: ‘Première Croisade’ with single-ended courts by Daveluy, Bruges, c.1850. The aces are embellished with decorative elements. Images courtesy Rex Pitts.
Evoking the time of the First Crusade, with the honour, adventure and traditional religious order associated with those days, this is probably one of Daveluy's earliest packs. The background scenery shows camps of tents or castle gardens. Some editions have gold borders with named court cards. The four Kings are: K♣ Philippe le Bon; K♠ Godefroid de Bouillon; K♦ François Premier; K♥ Baudoin de Constantinople. The Queens are: Q♣ Marie de Bourgogne; Q♠ Richilde; Q♦ L'infante Isabelle; Q♥ Marguerite d'Autriche.
Right: back design from ‘Première Croisade’ by Daveluy, Bruges, c.1850. The numeral cards are double-ended.
Note: some authors have questioned the title ‘Première Croisade’ so the real title may be different.
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By Rex Pitts (1940-2021)
Member since January 30, 2009
Rex's main interest was in card games, because, he said, they were cheap and easy to get hold of in his early days of collecting. He is well known for his extensive knowledge of Pepys games and his book is on the bookshelves of many.
His other interest was non-standard playing cards. He also had collections of sheet music, music CDs, models of London buses, London Transport timetables and maps and other objects that intrigued him.
Rex had a chequered career at school. He was expelled twice, on one occasion for smoking! Despite this he trained as a radio engineer and worked for the BBC in the World Service.
Later he moved into sales and worked for a firm that made all kinds of packaging, a job he enjoyed until his retirement. He became an expert on boxes and would always investigate those that held his cards. He could always recognize a box made for Pepys, which were the same as those of Alf Cooke’s Universal Playing Card Company, who printed the card games. This interest changed into an ability to make and mend boxes, which he did with great dexterity. He loved this kind of handicraft work.
His dexterity of hand and eye soon led to his making card games of his own design. He spent hours and hours carefully cutting them out and colouring them by hand.
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