Jeu de Cavagnole. (Paris), c. 1765.

Very rare French manuscript game of Cavagnole from c. 1765.

Set of 48 cards – watercolor drawings mounted on thin, green cardboard. Size: ca. 12,5 x 10,5 cm. Within a contemporary wooden box. Some of the cards slightly stained, corners slightly rubbed, otherwise in very good condition.

Cavagnole, or Biribi/Biribissi, a game which originated in Genova (from the Italian „cavagnola“), gained popularity in Parisian aristocratic salons, particularly among noble ladies, after its arrival around 1735. Maria Leszczynska, wife of King Louis XV, was known to be an avid player and to have lost substantial sums of money to it.

Known as the game of Parisian street criers, it incorporated trades and proverbs common in the 18th century. The game’s rules were simple: players used individual betting cards-featuring five numbers in France and nine in Italy-and wagered on a chosen number. A bag containing small wooden tubes with numbered tickets was passed around, and a number was drawn. If it matched a player’s selection, they won the stakes of the losing players. There was no fixed banker, as players took turns holding the bank. The cards were often adorned with charming painted scenes inspired by songs, vaudevilles, proverbs, or professions. By the 1770s, Cavagnole fell out of fashion, possibly due to shifting gambling trends or increasing restrictions on games of chance.

The present version of Cavagnole is a more extensive one, with a wider artistic and thematic variation, possibly reflecting the game’s social and cultural influences of the time.

This game of 48 Cavagnole cards features a variety of illustrated scenes, each paired with a number. The artwork is delicate and handmade in the Rococo style by a skilled artist, reflecting themes commonly found in 18th-century aristocratic pastimes. The illustrations commonly depict: professions and street criers or performers (various merchants, milkmaids, a painter, Ottoman sultans, a postman, a Hussar general, a baker, etc.), scenes of life (couples, mothers with their children, a naval combat, children playing, etc.), costumes from different parts of Europe, animals (lion, elephant, birds, rats, monkey, butterfly, wolf, etc.), mythological characters (Neptune, Jupiter, Juno, Ulysses, Aeneas, Telemachus, Minerva, Bacchus, Amor & Psyche, etc.), proverbial or allegorical themes (fables by La Fontaine are illustrated – „The Fox and the Grapes“ and „The Fox and the Stork“; an allegory of the winter season; an illustration of the fountain of youth); festivities and costumed figures (Arlequin; the women who took part in the Venice carnival); botanical elements (roses, flower bouquet, artichokes, plums, etc.); even an autoreferential image of the Cavagnole game itself (Nr. 168); antropomorphic scenes (a rat is carrying a dead goose – Nr. 84; a council of rats is illustrated – Nr. 63), even a magic lantern (Laterna Magica) is depicted (Nr. 41).

The equestrian statue of Louis XV by Edme Bouchardon (erected in 1763), depicted in illustration number 8, is a key piece for dating this game, as it ties the artwork to a specific period before the statue was destroyed during the French Revolution. We therefore estimate the game to have been made around 1765 (also taking into consideration that by 1770 the game fell out of fashion).

Based on the design of the cards, a possible maker of this present Cavagnole could be the Parisian game-maker Aufrere, who around 1770 produced a similar hand colored printed Cavagnole game, with illustrations of some of the same motifs and with a very similar design of the cards themselves. The large number of cards in this set is rather unusual – most games contained around 24 cards or less. A great possibility is that this version of the French Cavagnole was published in a rather limited edition, by a skilled 18th century game-maker such as Aufrere, in order to sell it as a fully handmade collector’s item. Furthermore, the craftmanship of the maker, together with the rather aristocratic undertone of the depicted scenes (the costumes in the various scenes are almost always those of the bourgeoisie rather than those of the common people), we can assume it was rather aimed at the nobility of the time, hence the scarcity as well.

The cards are illustrated as follows: 1. Le Debaucher, 2. Les fumeurs, 3. Le lyon, 4. Le Pice de Boeuf, 5. La Balancoire, 6. Le Tems, 7. La Guitarre, 8. La Place de Louis XV, 9. Minerve, 10. Jeux d’enfans, 11. Belle recontre, 12. La Moisson, 13. Le Coche vole, 14. Le Viseur, 15. Les fraises, 16. La M.de de Chataignes (marchande), 17. La M.de de Maquereaux (marchande), 18. La Chifoniere, 19. Les Volailles, 20. Le M.d de Balets, 21. Je ne le ferai plus, Ma mere, 22. Le Grand Golas, 23. Le Boeuf Gras, 24. Le Peintre, 25. A la Barque, 26. La Bergere, 27. La Ruche, 28. La Musette, 29. Le forgeroy, 30. Huitres a l’ecaille, 31. Le bal champetre, 32. Le chasfeur, 33. Arlequin, 34. La danse, 35. L’amane heureux, 36. Le danseur, 37. Les foutteurge (??), 38. La Cornemuse, 39. La Mere aux chats, 40. L’oublieux, 41. La Lanterne magique, 42. La muler charge, 43. Le Semeur, 44. L’hyver, 45. Bacchus, 46. La Pie, 47. Le Papillon, 48. Le Duel, 49. Mercure, 50. Diane, 51. La Sultane, 52. Le Sultan, 53. Le Jeu d’eau, 54. Le Diable Boiteux, 55. Le Parasol, 56. La Cruche cassee, 57. La flamande, 58. Les Roses, 59. La chasseuse, 60. Les Bouteilles, 61. Le Moulin a vent, 62. L’ecrevisse, 63. Le Conseil des Rats, 64. Le Decroteur, 65. La Revendeuse, 66. Danae, 67. La Conversation, 68. La fortune, 69. Le Venus perdu, 70. Les fluteurs, 71. Le farceur, 72. Hanneton vole, vole, 73. La Peintresse, 74. Achetez les cruches, 75. Les Gourmands, 76. La rendez vous, 77. Les pelerins, 78. Les chanteurs, 79. La bonne avanture, 80. La declaration d’amour, 81. Les Marionettes, 82. Le fauconnier, 83. Le Gagne petit, 84. Le rat porteur, 85. A qui l’aura, 86. L’embrocheur, 87. La Pourvoieuse, 88. La noce, 89. Le Bouquet, 90. Le singe verd, 91. L’Amour et Psiché, 92. L’Amour percepteur, 93. Le Caffe, 94. Ulisse retrouve, 95. Cesar, 96. Le Bel Age, 97. Le Passe passe, 98. Le quadrille, 99. Le chateau de cartes, 100. La Fileuse, 101. La justice, 102. La connemuse, 103. L’ile d’Amour, 104. La Chymie, 105. L’italien, 106. Romulus, 107. L’Abreuvoiv, 108. Le Plaisir roial, 109. Le siege, 110. La M.de de racines (marchande), 111. Le Coq, 112. Le perroques, 113. Le Paon, 114. Le Canard, 115. Pieride, 116. Le Manege, 117. Les sauteurs, 118. L’Academie, 119. La Commerce, 120. Le Danseur de corde, 121. L’infante bischette, 122. Croquignoles, 123. La petite poste, 124. Le Vivandier, 125. La Vivandiere, 126. Le Colombier, 127. L’Aigle, 128. Le fiacre, 129. Le vaisseau, 130. Le cigne, 131. Le Berger, 132. L’autrichaud, 133. La basse cour, 134. Le grosselier, 135. La vinagrette, 136. Le General des hussards, 137. Belle Marchandise, 138. La Belle Nourrice, 139. La reveuse, 140. Le Bon Vales, 141. Vertumne et Pomone, 142. Les Lorgneuses, 143. Le Port, 144. Le Cartare, 145. La Peche, 146. Le Monde, 147. Le poirier, 148. La Curiosite, 149. Le Glorieux, 150. La fierté, 151. Pandour d’Esclavonie, 152. L’Organiste, 153. Tu te tairas, 154. La Boete aux Lettres, 155. Le Loup, 156. Fleuve Numicius, 157. La Vestale Rhea, 158. Le Char, 159. Les Dames Venitiennes, 160. Le Doge, 161. Le fleuve du mars, 162. La filleuse, 163. La m.tresse d’Ecole, 164. Telemaque et Tairmesiris (?), 165. Agripine, 166. Dame Guillemotte, 167. M.d L’Embarras, 168. Le Cavagnol, 169. Le Chevalier de la Carte, 170. M.de Oltopo, 171. Le Balancier, 172. Le Veau qui tete, 173. A mes desirs, 174. Le Dejeuner, 175. Tolpatch a pied, 176. L’Aveugle, 177. Le Bouc, 178. Le Combat naval, 179. Les Prunes, 180. Le Moulin a eau, 181. L’homme charge de malice, 182. Le Boulanger, 183. L’Avare, 184. La porteuse d’eau, 185. Le fendeur des bois, 186. Le predicateur, 187. Le fauconnier, 188. Andromede, 189. Le hibou, 190. Le corps de chasse, 191. Les Graces, 192. La laitiere hollandoise, 193. La devote, 194. La servante, 195. Les Bigareaux, 196. M.d lauripette, 197. M.de de rencontre, 198. Le Sultan, 199. M.d de la Fervindallerie, 200. Le Vicomte de la petite patte, 201. La Renommee, 202. Le Palmier, 203. L’enlevement d’Europe, 204. Neptune, 205. Le Gras Thomas, 206. La fontaine de jouvence, 207. Nous sommes quatre, 208. Le Soleil, 209. Aujourdhui et toujours, 210. Gare la Culotte, 211. Le Repos, 212. La bonne Maman, 213. La Folie, 214. Clitie, 215. La sagesse, 216. Ceres, 217. Flore, 218. La Laitiere, 219. Venus, 220. Junon, 221. Dames romaines, 222. Consul romain, 223. Jupiter, 224. Les Gladiateurs, 225. Numitor, 226. Les moulins a vent, 227. Le Renard et raisins (Fontaine), 228. La chaise a porteurs, 229. Le cigogne et le renard, 230. L’ananas, 231. La marmotte, 232. Le volard, 233. Le chateau, 234. L’elephant, 235. Le Rhinoceros, 236. Le pommier, 237. Maison de roses, 238. Je vise au coeur, 239. Le concert, 240. Dame Ragonde.

This rare set of Cavagnole cards is a significant collector’s item, offering a glimpse into the sophisticated leisure of 18th-century French aristocracy. Favored by figures like Maria Leszczynska or even Casanova, the game reflects the era’s artistic and social trends, with its detailed depictions of professions, mythological scenes, and allegorical themes. Its rarity, large card count, and fine craftsmanship make it a valuable piece of historical gaming culture, ideal for collectors and connoisseurs of French heritage.

EUR 24.500,-