Etteilla Timeline and Etteilla card Variants - background

kwaw

c. 1906. (Date is per http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/el-supremo-arte-de-echar-las-cartas/11605580.) Book in Spanish by “Dr. Moorne,” El supremo arte de echar las cartas, to accompany a Spanish version of the Grand Etteilla III, in which the pictures are on the right, and on the left a Hebrew letter and other symbols. The deck probably existed in the 19th century, and had Italian as well as Spanish examples (DDD p. 114f). The book’s expositions are in part derivative from the earlier French booklets. An odd feature is that Etteilla’s “days of creation” are applied to the cards in sequence, card 1 for the first day, card 2 for the second, and so on for the 7 days of creation (at least in the version at http://www.scribd.com/doc/51537364/El-supremo-arte-de-echar-las-Cartas). The result is that what is pictured on the card usually has little to do with the day of creation as Etteilla characterized it.

"Dr. Moorne' was a pseudonym of Francisco Moreno (full name Francisco Teodomiro Moreno Durán, b.30th July 1864, d.1933). Other of his pen-names were Dr. Morral, Mateo, Bachiller Francisco de Estepa (Sevilla). He also had a book published on the Tarot in 1903 (an earlier edition of the above?) :

Los maravillosos secretos de los naipes. Arte completo de echar las cartas. Segun el sistema egipcio de 78 Taros y los metodos mas usados y conocidos en Francia y en Espana. (The wonderful secrets of the cards. The complete art of laying the cards. According to the Egyptian system of 78 Tarot and the most used and known methods in France and Spain.) Madrid, 1903, 272p., 19.5cm. Published by Pueyo.

Source: Gregorio Pueyo (1860-1913): librero y editor by Miguel Angel Bull Pueyo. p.126

I don't see your 'odd feature'? In my (pdf) copy of El-supremo-arte-de-echar-las-Cartas, the First Day of Creation is the second card, attributed to Beth, (Osiris. La Gloria Fuego Celeste. Primer día De la Creación. La Aurora), the seventh is card 8. The illustrations are pretty small and low resolution, but they remind me of the Catalan Taroccos, c.1895? I haven't as yet compare them though to see if they are the same.
 

kwaw

The illustrations are pretty small and low resolution, but they remind me of the Catalan Taroccos, c.1895? I haven't as yet compare them though to see if they are the same.


I have compared several (about 15 of them) and they are very similar, enough to say I think that the illustrations in Moorne are the same as the Catalan Taroccos.

Some date the Catalan as early as 1890, for reasons I am unaware of, and say it was manufactured by the card manufacturer Guarro (Barcelona). The reason for suggesting Guarro is because the Catalan style suit inserts in the top left hand box of the pip & court cards are the same as those produced by Guarro.
 

kwaw

re: 1867 the Grand Dames deck -- the accompanying was book was by Lemarchand (a Parsien based fortune-teller), not by Julia Orsini. (Though no doubt it used material from Orsini.)

An advert from 1867

LE GRAND JEU DE L’ORACLE DES DAMES
78 cartes-tarots,imprimées en chromo-lithographie a l’imitation des miniatures du quinzième siècle, refermées dans un etui et accompagnées du livret explicatif, par Mlle LEMARCHAND......10-00

78 tarot cards, printed in chromo-lithography, imitation of miniatures of the fifteenth century, closed in a hard case and accompanied by explanatory booklet by Miss LEMARCHAND ...... 10-00

Also the date may be earlier.

According to the BnF general catalogue there was a booklet printed in 1867:

Type : texte imprimé, monographie
Auteur(s) : Lemarchand, Melle
Titre(s) : Les Récréations de la cartomancie, ou Description pittoresque de chacune des cartes du grand jeu de l'oracle des dames, avec des combinaisons pour expliquer le présent, le passé, l'avenir, par Mlle Lemarchant ["sic"] [Texte imprimé]
Publication : Paris : tous les marchands de nouveautés, (1867.)
Description matérielle : In-18, 90 p., fig.

Note(s) : Le titre porte : "par Mlle Lemarchand"

However they also catalogue another one printed in 1856:

Type : texte imprimé, monographie
Auteur(s) : Lemarchand, Melle
Titre(s) : Les Récréations de la cartomancie, ou Description pittoresque de chacune des cartes du grand jeu de l'oracle des dames, avec des combinaisons pour expliquer le présent, le passé, l'avenir, par Mlle Lemarchant ["sic"] [Texte imprimé]
Publication : Paris : tous les marchands de nouveautés, (1856)
Description matérielle : In-16, 90 p., fig.
Sujet(s) : Cartes à jouer, Règles, 1856

There is another listed without a date but by a different publisher:

Type : texte imprimé, monographie
Auteur(s) : Lemarchand, Mademoiselle
Titre(s) : Les Récréations de la cartomancie, ou description pittoresque de chacune des cartes du grand jeu de l'oracle des dames, avec des combinaisons pour expliquer le présent, le passé, l'avenir [Texte imprimé] / par Mlle Lemarchand
Publication : Paris : Impr. J. Dumoulin, [s.d.]
Description matérielle : 90 p. : fig. ; in-16

The same advert as above also appears in 'LivreAcadémie des jeux, contenant la règle des jeux de calcul et de hasard' published in 1865. (Along with 'Le Grand Etteilla" by Orsini, 5 Francs, and another 'Egyptian' tarot, Le Grand Jeu, for 6 Francs, l'Orace des Dames the most expensive at 10 Francs.)

Also in 'Almanach-Manuel du chasseur' by Robert Duchêne, 1863

Also in 'Le grand Oracle des Dames et des Demoiselles' 1859

It is also listed, along with others from the Delarue library in the weekly edition of "Feuilleton du Journal de la Librairie", dated Samedi (No. 27) 5 Juillet 1856

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6441685r/f381.item.r="grand jeu de l'oracle des dames".zoom
 

kwaw

1838 Grand livre de Thot deck published by Simon Blocquel -- a variation on the Etteilla deck with a book by Julia Orsini called Le Grand Etteilla ou L’Art de Tirer les Cartes. (see 1800).

NOTE: Lismon Etteilla stamped 1890 comes with book by Julia Orsini later...

1838-1840. Simon Blocquel publishes a new version of Etteilla’s deck, with the title “Grand livre de Thot.” In the current classification of Etteilla decks, this style is the “Grand Etteilla II.” Titles are printed on both sides of the picture frame. Some images and keywords are different from Etteilla’s original deck. The Ace of Batons puts Etteilla’s reversed keyword on top and vice versa. There is also a 212 page book, Le Grand Etteilla. Art de tirer les cartes et de dire la bonne aventure, attributed to one “Julia Orsini,” with illustrations of all the cards. Place of publication is “chez Delarue, Libraire, Quai des Augustins, 11” in Paris, and “chez Blocquel-Castiaux, editeur” in Lille. A Delarue at some point became Blocquel’s son-in law. Blocquel and Castiaux habitually used "anagrammatic synonyms such as Blismon, Z. Lismon, Zlismon, Buccellos, Milbons and Monblis" (DDD p. 147). “Julia Orsini” is likely a pseudonym, too, since Pope Alexander VI’s mistress was a woman by that name. DDD (p. 147) say the "Orsini's" date of publication is “1838 or a trifle earlier.” Booksellers at the Abe Books website give c. 1840. That date is consistent with one of the works in the book’s bibliography, estimated on Worldcat to have been published c. 1840 (details in a previous post in this thread). The book (an original is at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas) contains explications of all the cards, four ways of doing readings, a list of typical questions that the cards will answer, an account of the game of tarot (not a reprint of the 1659 rules, but something even harder to follow), and a long section of “synonyms and alternative meanings,” presumably derived from de La Sallette or D’Odoucet. It uses the term “Questionnant” rather than “Consultante.”

According to several 19th century sources Julia Orsini and Simon Blocquel are one and the same, for example:

La littérature française contemporaine... : XIXe siècle. T. 5 LEB-PEZ / par J. M. Querad [puis] MM. Charles Louandre et Felix Bourquelot : 1843 - 1857

quote:
ORSINI [Julia], pseudonyme de Simon Blocquel – Le Grand Etteilla, ou l’Art de tirer les cartes, contenant, etc.; le tout ‘ecueilli et mis dans un nouvel ordre et corrige par Julia Orsini, sibylle du du faubourg Saint-Germain, Lille, impr. de Blocquel, 1838,* in–12 et in-18 [3 fr].


http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k2093931/f565.item.r=Etteilla.zoom

The Dictionnaire des Pseudoymes, 1869:

Orsini Julia, l'un des nombreux pseudonymes du libraire Simon Blocquel, né en 1780, et qui a édité , en les arrangeant lui même à la portée de tout le monde, une série de petits ouvrages d'éducation et d'instruction qui ont eu une vogue prodigieuse. Il les signait encore Buqcellos, Blismon, etc. Une Histoire de Jeanne d Arc était signée Monblis, un Manuel du Jeu d Êchecs, Milbons, etc.

Ces divers noms étaient fabriqués par anagramme, et à ce sujet il prit même une fois comme signature celle de Ana Gramme.

"Julia Orsini, one of many aliases of Bookseller Simon BLOCQUEL, born in 1780, and who published, by arranging them himself within the reach of everyone, a series of small books and educational instruction that had a tremendous vogue. He also signed himself Buqcellos, Blismon, etc. A Story of Joan of Arc was signed Monblis, a chess Game Manual, Milbons, etc.

"These various names were manufactured by anagram, and in this regard he even took once to sign himself as Ana Gramme."**

Blocquel includes the introduction from 'Orsini's' 1838 book in his book 'La Magie Rouge' 1843. He wrote La Magie Rouge under another of his pseudonyms, the hellenist Aaron. He humbly writes of Orsini's (i.e., his) book :

"To give an idea of the merit of these characters we will simply report a section that serves as introduction to a highly regarded book, which is titled "The Great Etteilla, or the art of laying cards' by Julia Orsini. This book is accompanied with 78 plates and is the pearl of the books on cartomancy."

In a note he says the deck is manufactured by 'Zlismon' (i.e., himself) :

"Le grand jeu des 78 tarots Egyptiens, ou livre de Thot, fabriqué et vérifié par Zlismon pour servir au grand Etteilla, art de tirer les cartes et de dire la bonne aventure, 78 grandes planches coloriées, se trouve chez les principaux libraires; il se paie cinq francs dans toutes les parties de là France."


Kwaw

*Additional confirmation of 1838 date for Orsini, it is listed in the Repertorium der gersammten deutschen literatur, published in 1838, Leipzig. p.199:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=M2oDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=Orsini&f=false

(The date of Repertorium publication is on front covers.)

**More than once, he published several works under the name of Ana-Gramme Blismon.
 

coredil

Thanks a lot kwaw for these very interesting informations :)
 

MikeH

Yes indeed. I will update the timeline I posted earlier accordingly: "1838 or earlier", as opposed to "1838-1840" for the "Julia Orsini" first edition, and "1856 or earlier" for the "Oracle des Dames". [Added an hour later: for the revised timeline, see http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=2802254&postcount=122.)

Google Books has "1850" for the copy of "Les Récréations de la cartomancie" (the booklet to the "Oracle des Dames", i.e. Grand Etteilla III) which they have photocopied. However the photocopy itself gives no date, and they seem not to have noticed an advert at the end for an instructional book on how to write petitions to the Emperor, the ministers, the legislative body, and the prefects. The Emperor is presumably Napoleon III, who took power in Dec. 1852. I would imagine that he would have had to have ruled for a while for a protocol to have developed, even informally, for petitions to his government.

Also, the content of "Oracles des Dames", compared to that of Orsini, suggests that certain concessions to the Church have been made, consistent with the tightening of censorship under the new regime. For card 10 Orsini's keywords "Temperance/Pretre" have been changed to "Temperance/Sage" and card 18's "Faux Dévot" (false devout) to "Fausseté" and the title "traitre" removed (as are all the titles, admittedly). And in card 73, "Amant ou Amante" (not a proper topic for ladies!) has been changed to "Futur". Also, the introduction emphasizes that no one can predict the future, it is simply a an amusing recreation, a point that had not been made so emphatically since Etteilla's first book in 1770, under the old regime. (For the exact words see in Google Books, "Les Récréations de la cartomancie".)

Oddly, however, the "Oracle des Dames" cards themselves, if Dusserre's current reproductions reproduce the originals, use Orsini's keywords, which are the same as Etteilla's.

Kwaw wrote,
I don't see your 'odd feature'? In my (pdf) copy of El-supremo-arte-de-echar-las-Cartas, the First Day of Creation is the second card, attributed to Beth, (Osiris. La Gloria Fuego Celeste. Primer día De la Creación. La Aurora), the seventh is card 8.
"Odd feature" was perhaps not the best choice of words. I meant that Moorne's list, which goes in order, is different from Etteilla's, which goes:

Card 2 gets the 1st day of creation,
card 3 gets the 3rd day of creation,
card 4 gets the 2nd day of creation,
card 5 gets the 6th day of creation,
card 6 gets the 4th day of creation,
card 7 gets the 5th day of creation,
card 8 gets the 7th day of creation.

This shows that Moorne based his cards on the "Marchand" book, as opposed to Orsini or (we may wonder if "Marchand" or "Marchant", too, is not a pseudonym), which only mentions that cards 2-8 correspond to the 7 days of creation, without elaboration.

Looking at the BnF database (and WorldCat, too), I notice that Grimaud (established 1851 with two partners) may not have been the first to re-issue, now using chromo-lithography, the old "Grand Etteilla I" in near-original form (original save for the sunburst on card 1 and clothing on the small devils of card 14, since the time of Etteilla, Hisler, and D'Odoucet. A publisher named Delorme (whom I don't know) is listed for one deck, dated "1850-1890"; and Pussey (which I've seen before) for another deck, "1880-1890". Grimaud is given only for a deck listed as "c. 1890" with the publisher as "Grimaud et Chartier".

So any additional information pertaining to this reissuing, sometime from 1850 on with the new chromo-lithography technology (invented 1837, per Wikipedia), would be appreciated.
 

kwaw

Looking at the BnF database (and WorldCat, too), I notice that Grimaud (established 1851 with two partners) may not have been the first to re-issue, now using chromo-lithography, the old "Grand Etteilla I" in near-original form (original save for the sunburst on card 1) since the time of Etteilla, Hisler, and D'Odoucet. A publisher named Delorme (whom I don't know) is listed for one deck, dated "1850-1890"; and Pussey (which I've seen before) for another deck, "1880-1890". Grimaud is given only for a deck listed as "c. 1890" with the publisher as "Grimaud et Chartier".

The Delorme 1850-1890 (woodcut and stencil coloured), doesn't have the sunburst, but not sure how near original it is to Type 1. It doesn't include the zodiac signs 1 - 12, and more significantly the bottoms of the pip cards are very different?

I think it is similar to one in the British Museum, colours slightly different and sizes are different, but picture styles are the same. It is dated 1800-1875 (the old library stamp shows it was acquired between those dates).

http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...tId=1&searchText=Etteilla&object=21018&page=1

Or the ZLismon here:

http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...tId=1&searchText=Etteilla&object=21018&page=1

(In which case I wonder if it should be Delarue, rather than Delorme.)

Though they date the Zlismon from 1800-1850, the booklet with it advertises the L'Oracle des Dames, so wouldn't that date it post '56?
 

kwaw

The british museum has an Etteilla Piquet pack by H. Pussey (H. Pussey appears on all the court cards), which they date c.1820 (surely erroneously), which they acquired in 1896.

They also have a H. Pussey Le Grand Etteilla acquired in 1904 which they date simply and unhelpfully to 19th century - however, they note there is a duty stamp on the 2 of swords dated 12 Avril 1890.

(This stamp was in use in France from 1890 to 1917, and from 1922 to 1940.
The text is 'RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE' and 'DÉCRET DU 12 AVRIL 1890'.)

http://www.britishmuseum.org/resear...object_details.aspx?objectId=3353228&partId=1

The booklet has "Cartes A Jouer, H. Pussey, 20, Rue de la Banque, Paris". Lettered on the back of the booklet "Paris - Impr. Paul Dupont" and "L. et M. Paris, 74, Rue Saint-Maur." This is different to the BnF booklet, which also has H. Pussey but the printer is impr. LEVEBVRE PASS DU CAIRE 87.

Here is a Jeton with his name/adress and french card suits symbols:

1%20(10).jpg


There was also online details of :

Jeu de cartomancie pour l'amusement des dames : Joly, Paris, 1890, eau-forte, impr. noire, 36/36 c., 75 x 54 mm ; dos : écossais bleu : boîte carton recouvert de papier fantaisie doré avec étiquette : Bibliothèque commode | Jeu de cartomancie pour l'amusement des dames | Joly | 19, Quai St Michel | paris ; livret à couverture papier verte, même titre (46 p. ; 16° ; la page de titre manque) ; sur la couv. étiquette de revendeur en partie arrachée. + boîte d° (démantelée mais complète), sans le jeu de cartes mais avec livret complet de sa page de titre : Jeu de cartomancie pour l'amusement des dames, composé de gravures en taille-douce avec l'explication | [ ] Joly | 19, Quai St Michel. | 1890 ; sur la couv. étiquette de revendeur : "Cartes à jouer H. Pussey / 20, Rue de la Banque / Paris" (Keller 1981, FRA 228). Ces charmantes images ont été gravées à la fin du XVIIIe s. comme en témoigne une pl. coloriée de la coll. Depaulis (Depaulis 1989, n° 100).

Fortune-telling game for the amusement of ladies Joly, Paris, 1890, etching, impr. black, 36/36 c 75 x 54 mm. Back: blue plaid: cardboard box covered with paper with fancy golden label: convenient Library | Fortune-telling game for fun ladies | Joly | 19 Quai St Michel | Paris ; booklet cover green paper, the same way (46 p.; 16 °; the title page missing); on cover. dealer tag partly cut away. + Box ° (dismantled but complete) without the card game but with complete booklet of his title page: fortune-telling game for fun ladies, comprising intaglio prints with the explanation | [] Joly | 19 Quai St Michel. | 1890 on cover. Dealer label: "Playing cards Pussey H. / 20, Rue de la Banque / Paris" (Keller 1981 FRA 228). These charming images were engraved in the late eighteenth century. as evidenced by a pl. the colored al. Depaulis (Depaulis 1989, No. 100).
 

kwaw

Re: chromo-lithography, the 1856 L'Oracle des Dames was produced using chromo-lithography.

Simon Francis BLOCQUEL (1780-1863), as an orphan was apprenticed to his uncle, a printer and bookseller in Lille. In 1809, he joined the printer Jean-Baptiste Castiaux (1768-1855). He is registered as printer in 1811, as a bookseller in 1818 as a printer lithographer in 1819. His commercial success (in 1848 his workshop included twelve men, twelve women and two children) led to a certain amount of civic importance. He was City Councillor from 1820, he was to become a member of the charity office and Chairman of the Committee for cash donations, and was a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

His family was intimately linked to his professional life: his partners become relatives. His brother-in-law Marie-François Delarue (1783-1848), a bookseller in Paris, was a very close collaborator. In 1836 he married his third wife Constance-Amie-Patrie Castiaux, the daughter of his partner. His brother-in-law Louis Joseph Marie Castiaux (1805-1864) also participated as a member of the family team.

The chapbooks published by BLOCQUEL spread almost everywhere in France and Belgium. As well as being a printer/publisher/bookseller Bloquel also wrote many of the books the family firm produced under a number of pseudonyms, including that of Julia Orsini. The Blocquel - Castiaux - Delarue network seem to a have played quite a role in adaping and disseminated Etteilla style books and decks on a commercial basis.
 

MikeH

Thanks for directing our attention to the BnF and BM cards, Kwaw. My computer won't let me see them, for some reason. But your observations sent me to the library's computers, which do show the images on the BnF site. The Delorme looks to me like a Grand Etteilla II, a colored version of the images that are in the 1838 book. And yes, Delorme sounds like a variation on Delarue. Good catch on noticing the Grand Jeu de Dames advert on the Zlismon booklet, suggesting post-1856.

There remains the issue of who did the Grand Etteilla I first, Pussey or Grimaud. Interestingly, these cards, in both BnF decks, do have the double numbers on cards 13-17, unlike the 1969 Grimaud, which it otherwise resembles. I will have to check other Grimauds.

The BnF Pussey has a green body of water on card 3, which to that extent is similar to a deck that is in Vitali's collection and which they once dated, on unclear grounds, to early 19th century. The BM Pussey has a blue body of water, very similar to the BNF Grimaud, also similar in that regard to current Grimauds. I will look further when I have a chance.

Added later: it might be fruitful to compare with Sumada's, https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/collections/72157631580712992/