Author: Conseil d'Etat
Title: Arrest Du Conseil D'Estat Du Roy, Portant Defenses a Toutes Personnes, Autres Que Les Maitres Cartiers, de Debiter Aucunes Cartes a Jouer, Sans la Permission Par Ecrit de Jean-Baptiste Bocquillon, Prepose a la Regie Du Droit Etabli Sur Les Cartes. Du 19 Novembre 1748
Description: Poitiers, J. Faulcon l'aine, 1748. First edition presumed (OCLC lists only an undated, 2-page variant); 9 x 7 1/2; single, folded folio sheet, pp. [4]; large woodcut to upper margin of pp. 1; a few tiny, barely-visible punctures along spine (sewn/filed at an earlier time); thin, 2" strip of paper clipped from top edge, affecting only the upper right corner of the border of the woodcut; light creasing; overall in very good condition. A royal decree, reaffirming the 1746 law that authorized only maitres cartiers (playing cards makers) to manufacture the cards. It forbade all other people to create, sell, peddle, and copy legitimate playing cards, whether in Paris, or in any other city, even if maitres cartiers had not been present. Considering that it was in France, in the 15th century, where the icons for the four suits used today were developed and those suits were divided into two red and two black, the French dominance in playing cards was undisputed. Though, by the beginning of the 18th century myriad factors, including wars and plain old extravagance, had been draining France's finances at an alarming rate and to offset that, in 1701 a new duty was imposed on playing cards. In contemplation of collecting the taxes, the country was divided into 9 manufacturing regions and each manufacturer needed to submit a formal design template to the recettes generales in order to register his production and to pay his dues. One of the reasons for the current decree was the fact that the taxes kept climbing every year and more and more people began producing counterfeit and/or illegal playing cards - on the one side, to cash in on the profits and on the other side, to avoid paying taxes. Very good .

Keywords: California-Vbf, Playing Cards, France, Law


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