Kris Hadar's reply to Ross G Caldwell (English translation)
Cher Monsieur,
Thank you very much indeed for the interest you show in my tarot, and also the trouble you took to reply to me.
To begin with, I admit humbly that although I am indeed a tarot specialist, of its foundations, its mathematical and cultural structure which presided over its birth, as well as the knowledge it conveys, I am not an erudite of the tarot.
Let me explain : I do not possess the knowledge and perfect history of the tarot decks of the period spanning the 18th century. If you spoke to me of the XIIth century, there I am able to debate and defend matters with great assurance. And this for a reason. For the last 7 years, I have been writing a book which will explain the birth of the tarot deck and its earliest history. I admit that its evolution over time interests me less, for this is a cultural evolution.
I admit that I am sensitive to this word « culture », knowing that the cards in general have been the witnesses of the culture of peoples for centuries and that they can be found in all levels of society. But unfortunately, historians are rather reticent to study them in order to explain the history of civilisations.
However, even if I do not have the in-depth culture of this period such as a Flornoy, a Bocher or a Kaplan, etc. do... this does not mean that my research is not based on serious foundations and that I do avoid talking nonsense, as this... would not be serious.
If at present, I cannot devote sufficient time to reply to you, I can tell you that I work a lot with documents from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. As an author, and contrary to the general public, I have the privilege to have access to rare books, and furthermore, in ther originality. I also have a very good friend who has an official mandate to be my eyes in France, while I am in Canada.
All this to tell you that I have in front of me a document received from France by one of my friends of which I have only the référence : RCA 9199 Introduction 1 Chronologie sommaire de l’histoire de la carte à jouer en France de 1381 to 1945. I do not think it is of Henri-René d’Allemagne. Here is what I read :
1594, 31 March. Drawing up of the first statutes of the master cardmakers of Paris, the number of which is eight. These statutes, authorised on 12 July 1594, are confirmed by the king in October. The corporation groups also paper-makers, disunited in April 1597, and then re-united on 15 October 1399, under certain conditions, to prevent excessive competition.
1605, 14 January. The production of cards is authorised only in the seven towns where there is mastery and visitation of the said merchandise.
1609, 9 May. Decision of the Council, which suspends the collection of the taxes.
1613, February. The cardmakers add 4 articles to their statutes. The first makes provision for (read the names, nicknames, ensigns and mottos of the masters which much appear on the Page of Clubs of each deck).
1622, 22 March. Decree of the Council, re-establishing taxes on the cards. The stamps (marques) must be printed on special paper, given free of charge by the farmer-general.
1631, 31 May. The manufacture of cards is authorised in eleven towns, instead of seven (1605).
1636, 4 April. Declaration of the king, ordering the cardmakers to take their moulds, patterns, figures, stamps, colours and stencils to a place which is « clean and practical to work in » designated by the farmer-general and supplied free of charge by him.
1650, approx. Paris, creation of a characteristic pattern, or portrait. The names used for the people depicted are still in use.
1661, September. By letters of patent, the king hands over to the General Hospital of Paris the profits of the duties on the cards. In the eleven towns where the manufacture is authorised, the moulds and the working tools must be transported to a « special place » where the cardmakers are expected to work. The wrappings must carry a control band with the king’s arms (obligation provisionally abolished in 1701).
1664, August. Decree of the Court of the Parliament, ratifying an agreement between the directors of the General Hospital and the Parisian master cardmakers, whereby, in particular, the cardmakers must be grouped in the Hotel de Nemours.
1671. 1st April. The General Hospital renounces the sterile endowment that it was given. The Council suspends the raising of taxes and gives back to the the cardmakers the liberty to decorate the wrappings as they please. The Parisian cardmakers leave the Hotel of Nemours.
1681, 22 February. Decree of the Parliament, specifying that the « Cardmakers, Tarotiers, Papermakers and Cardboard makers have the right and ownernship to buy and sell all sorts of paper ». This decree will be confirmed by the sentences of the Châtelet de Paris, the 7th January and the 30th December 1735 and 15th June 1736.
1701, 19 October. Re-establishment of the tax, fixed at eighteen deniers. The old moulds must be destroyed. The cardmakers loose the right to carve their moulds.
1703, 17 March. The tax is reduced to twelve deniers. Individuals are no longer allowed to use cards with the old portrait.
1719. Once again, the tax is abolished. The cardmakers regain the right to carve their moulds. Their number rises considerably.
1745, 16 February. Re-establishment of the tax, required by the « new expenses » of the finances.
1746, 21 October. A Declaration of the king specifies the methods of application of the 16 Feburary 1745 declaration. The sheets of cardmaker paper must be stamped at the office of the farmer general, who prints and sells the wrappings and who is in possession of the moulds of the new pattern. The cards that are exported are also subject to this tax.
1750. A memorandum drawn up by the steward (régisseur) of the taxes records the presence of cardmakers in one hundred and fifteen towns and requests that this number be brought down to sixty.
1751, 13 January. Endowment of a perpetual and irrevocable tax on the cards of the Royal Military School, which has just been founded. 9 November. Decree of the Council, regulating in detail the manufacture and sale of cards. The cardmakers are obliged to use only watermarked paper, with the state stamp, sold by the steward (régisseur), who prints it in his office. The manufacture of the cards is allowed only in sixty-three towns. The cardmakers are allowed to mark their wrappings themselves, but these have to be closed in the office of the steward (régisseur) and sealed with official control bands.
1752. Moulds engraved in taille douce start to be used.
1776. The number of the towns where cardmakers can set up is increased to sixty-six.
1778, 26 November. Decree abolishing the privilege of the Military School. A general stewart (régissuer) is in charge of collecting the taxes.
1779, 6 March. Declaration of the king ordering the reunion of the communities (the card-paper makers and the paper-press-binders (papetiers-colleurs-relieurs), who are then called papermakers-cardmakers-binders (papetiers-cartiers-relieurs).
1780, approx. The portrait of Paris asserts itself everywhere in France.
In this document, I see some very interesting details concerning the evolution of card games.
On another level, I will not contest your sources. I will just say that it is sufficient to look very closely at the Tarot of Conver to discover, with many details, that the Conver was very much inspired by the Payen, and in the same manner, if I had the time, I could enumerate many elements common to the Payen and the Dodal. Just as it is possible that the Dodal and the Payen were inspired by another tarot and that therefore it is normal to find similitudes. You are right, Avignon was not under French jurisdiction, and there was no authority there (at least, as far as I know) who asked Payen to destroy his moulds. However, knowing the fierce competition between the carkmakers in order to take over the market, you will understand (just as with the automobile market) that the French revolution, when it comes to the graphics on the cards, necessarily influenced the other cardmakers who, in order to increase their part of the market (this is a supposition) did not hesitate to innovate to bring them in line with the fashion of the day. It is pleasant to think that Payen himself also redesigned his moulds in order to face up to a more and more efficient competition, because in fact, Conver won the battle, to the detriment of Dodal, and obviously also of Payen. Allow me please to make a remark. If Payen was so popular, why do we not find any trace of it before the deck that we find in the playing card museum ?... deck that dates back to 1713... more or less. Where are the other Payen tarot cards ?
But between you and me, it is of little importance. What is important, as I highlighted in my previous message, is that we possess three decks (and I put aside deliberately the Vieville and the Noblet) which will allow an attentive observer to find the elements that suggest what must have been the tarot that they used as their example. It goes without saying that no-one in the world can know what the first canon of the 12th Century was, but we can discover (and I am busy doing just this) what was used to draw it !
On another level, you are right. It is appalling that such a great master card-maker, such as Payen, has not had his deck republished. Fortunately, I have a coloured copy of some of the cards. It is a deck that is essential for any researcher of that period !
Thank you for your message.