Obviously, we are only interested in one line in particular of the inventory, but even the nearby lines are very useful for identifying the context of the conservation of the playing cards, evidently among objects reserved for family use, all of which are of no particular value. The same line of greatest interest contains more useful information.1 cupboard cloth
2 pieces of cupboard cloths
12 pairs of old underwear and several fabric socks
3 mended napkins and 1 with holes
29 pillowcases of several sizes with nets and without nets
8 hand towels of several sizes
1 women's handkerchief
12 napkins of various sizes, both good and worn-out
1 children's shirt and 1 piece of linen fabric with several rags
1 little mattress for a small bed a bordo [near a wall or a big bed?]
1 pair of much-used naibi or playing cards [paio di naibi overo charte da giuchare tristi]
4 tin plates…
4 tin plates…
13 small tin bowls…
17 tin bowls…
3 tin plates…
1 pair of spurs
1 children's small harpsichord
That old naibi could be found in the company of objects of little value could no longer arouse a strong surprise to us. Here, however, we find a pack of triumphs next to holey linens and seven pairs of used underwear!
1 local hand towel . . . with holes
1 local hand towel with holes . . .
1 Parisian-style hand towel
1 white Neapolitan blanket with more holes
1 pair of triumphs in a bag
6 used shabby overcoats for men
7 pairs of used men's underwear
1 pillow covered with taffeta of Brano
1 Milanese knife with black handle
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 23 Mar 2024, 05:50
Of course, two dozen of cards can't just be 24 playing cards! These are, as in other cases of this kind, two dozen decks. Among other things, it often happened in those centuries that only a dozen decks had a price expressed in whole numbers, of florins or lire. Having a reserve of 24 decks of playing cards for the haberdashery indicates that the trade in such items was quite abundant at the time.1 chest with drawers at the guardian in Florence
6 pieces of silk fringe . . . of several colors
7 pieces of wide silk ribbon of several colors . . .
10 pieces of assorted wide silk ribbon of several colors
40 arm’s lengths [braccia] of silk cord of several colors
40 arm’s lengths of ribbon of several colors
40 arm’s lengths of yarn cord of several colors
6 oz of silk for sewing of several colors
30 arms’ lengths of fringe of thread and 30 of silk of several colors
12 pounds of yarn of several colors
4 new charnaiuoli [note 10] without straps
200 brass and silver eyelets?
2 dozen of playing cards [charte da giuchare]
1 dozen of parchments
2 dozen of mirrors in wood and 2 dozen dolls [note 11] out of the wood
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 22 Mar 2024, 11:18
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 22 Mar 2024, 09:19
Statistics: Posted by Huck — 21 Mar 2024, 08:43
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 15 Mar 2024, 10:09
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 10 Mar 2024, 14:16
Pratesi finds a tax payment record for Porri as a card maker and also states, after mentioning a card maker imprisoned for his debts: "Andrea PORRI was instead active as a concession holder from 1682 up to 1707, in last occasions in partnership with Giovanni Francesco Molinelli" (p. 5 of https://www.naibi.net/A/48-FLOMAK2-Z.pdf).Towards the end of the 17th century, a deck of minchiate finely engraved with an etching technique came to light. At least a dozen copies of this very beautiful deck are known. They are in more or less complete form and held in various museums and private collections. Some are hand coloured and some have been printed on yellow silk. At the British Museum there are four copies of this
type of minchiate of which perhaps the oldest example is a deck with 95 cards. It is not coloured and bears the stamp with the words “Andrea Porri Appaltatore” [9] on the trump XXX (Cancer), which was in force from 1682 to 1701. Other copies have early 18th century stamps. For example, in the BNF there is a deck with 66 cards out of 97, printed on silk and bearing the signature of Giovan Francesco Molinelli and his second type of stamp, which was in force from 1712 to 1721. This deck continued to be reprinted during the 18th century. A complete copy on two uncut sheets is kept at the BM, bearing the stamp and signature of Giò Domenico Molinelli on the XXXI (Pisces), therefore datable to the years 1736-1751.
_____________
9. Ref. 6. [6: Franco Pratesi: Florentine Cardmakers and Concession Holders IPCS Vol 21 no 4]
Here is the progression (from Monzali, fig. 46, fig. 55, with the last from http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks07/d05113/d05113.htm; although 1986, it is the same now): first, the tax stamp on Libra 1820-1862 and nothing on the Ace of Coins, then a circular stamp on the Ace of Coins 1863-1874, made octagonal 1874-1879, followed by the Ace of Coins of the Meneghello deck. Rather obviously, the Meneghello deck, if it was a complete deck and did not take cards from various decks, dates from 1863-1874. So both 1862 and 1850 are wrong. The "1850" probably comes from the BnF's dating of a partially complete deck, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b ... 0minchiate, to that year. However, that deck does not have a tax stamp on its Ace of Coins and does have the Hapsburg-Lorraine coat of arms on its Trumpets card. Its Libra card is missing. So it cannot be used to date the Meneghello. Probably that's why it says 1862 on the box. That is possible for the Trumpets, but not for the Ace of Coins (or Libra, I assume). And even 1863 is only the earliest possible year.An edict dated 20 March 1820 changes the card bearing the duty stamp, no longer the
XXX but the XXIIII (Libra).
. . .
The first stamp on the playing cards of the Kingdom of Italy, depicting Mercury seated, came into effect on 1 January 1863 and remained valid until 30 June 1874, when it was replaced by a new stamp. For decks with more than 52 cards, such as tarot and minchiate, this new stamp was octagonal in shape with Mercury’s head facing right inside Fig. 55. This second stamp remained in force until 31 December 1879.
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 09 Mar 2024, 13:51
Actually, Monzali has overextended himself a bit here. It is only that as far as he knows this assurance that the deck was made in Florence was instituted in 1781. It makes sense, since other important changes occurred then, including a change in the placement of the tax stamp, from Acqua to Aries. However, Franco Pratesi recently found some cards in the Cary Collection of Yale University that show that even during the previous period the early version of the stamp was put on Libra (I have translated the essay, which has colored reproductions of the twelve cards involved, at viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2733. This period started in 1752, but in my opinion, given the Hapsburg-Lorraine arms on the back, which I don't think went into effect until after the dynasty was established as part of a marriage contract in 1763, and that no other such stamps on Libra have been found, it went into effect late in that time period, 1765-1780. (See my post immediately following the one just given).The period of the Stampa delle Carte di Firenze (Florence’s Cards Printing) also begins, marked by a stamp on the trump XXIIII (Libra). There are two versions of this stamp. The first, more elaborate, has the monogram SCF intertwined and written in a mirror image in two semicircles surrounded by the words Stampa delle carte di Firenze. The later simplified version has the three letters FCS written in italics surmounted by the same initials written in small letters in block capitals Fig. 33.
Monzali's figure 37 is simply more Cancer cards with the same stamp as we have already seen.The last years of the century saw the entry on the European scene of Napoleon Bonaparte. For the Grand Duchy of Tuscany there was first the passage to the Bourbon-Parma family as compensation for their renunciation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza which was annexed by France. In consequence, the Grand Duchy was replaced by the creation of the Kingdom of Etruria on 21 March 1806. For the cards, the creation of the new kingdom did not involve immediate changes. It was only on 24 May 1806 that Maria Luisa, acting as queen regent of the Kingdom of Etruria, on behalf of her six-year-old son Carlo Lodovico I, signed the edict that modified the design of the stamp and the card on which to affix it. As can be seen from figure 37, the card on which to affix it becomes the trump XXX (Cancer) and the new stamp has an octagonal shape with the French and Medici party shield in the centre surmounted by a crown and with the inscription Regno di Etruria on the sides.
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 08 Mar 2024, 12:17
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 06 Mar 2024, 13:17
Unfortunately, on the Florentine side De Giorgio only claims this Florence skyline for the "late" and "neoclassical" forms, and with Yale's 14 cards we are presumably dealing with the "early" pattern. His example does not provide a dating. According to Giambattista Monzal (The Playing Card 50:1, July -Sept 2021, pp. 23-4) the British Museum has specimens, differing only in the tax stamps and signatures of the concessioner, from before 1751, perhaps even going back to the late 1600s. Looking at the BM's decks online, I see the signature of a Molinelli on the card of Cancer. See https://www.britishmuseum.org/collectio ... 96-0501-34. That could be any time between 1682 and 1720 in Florence, or 1736-1751 in Livorno, according to Monzal's chart. The stamp may say more, but I cannot read it. Another, online in Gallica, has a Molinelli stamp on its Cancer indicating 1712-1716: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b ... rk=64378;0. It is true that these are all engravings, and the Yale 14 are woodcuts, but perhaps there were woodcut versions we don't know about.Tra le caratteristiche delle carte dei mazzi di Minchiate spesso è stato rilevato che il profilo della città presente nel trionfo delle Trombe può solitamente identificare la città di produzione del mazzo stesso. Effettivamente, in diversi mazzi di
Minchiate su questa carta, in basso sotto la figura dell’Angelo, si identificano chiaramente le due torri (degli Asinelli e della Garisenda) caratteristiche della città di Bologna [Fig. 13] e in altri mazzi invece la cupola del Duomo, il campanile di Giotto
e il corso di un fiume Secondo la mia opinione, questo è vero per tutti i mazzi di Minchiate prodotti a Bologna, per i mazzi
di Minchiate di Firenze che l’IPCS identifica come forma tardiva e per la successiva forma “Neoclassica” da questa derivata nell’Ottocento, ma non per tutti i mazzi di Minchiate che l’I.P.C.S. identifica come forma precoce. [note 37: I.P.C.S.: Pattern Sheet n. 28 e n. 29].
Among the characteristics of the cards in Minchiate decks, it has often been noted that the profile of the city present in the Triumph of the Trumpets can usually identify the city of production of the deck itself. Indeed, in several Minchiate decks, at the bottom of this card under the figure of the Angel, the two towers (of the Asinelli and of the Garisenda) characteristic of the city of Bologna are clearly identified [Fig. 13] and in other decks the dome of the Duomo, Giotto's bell tower and the course of a river. In my opinion, this is true for all the Minchiate decks produced in Bologna, for the Minchiate decks of Florence which the IPCS identifies as a late form and for the subsequent “Neoclassical” form derived from this in the nineteenth century, but not for all the Minchiate decks that the I.P.C.S. identifies as an early form. [37].
In the article, the cards are overlaid onto one another so that they will fit on the page. In the case of the Bolognese 3 of Cups, I inadvertently cut off his caption. It is from a reproduction by the Museo Fournier, he says. (Online, it corresponds to an "Edicion del Prado," http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks07/d05114/d05114.htm.)Se si analizzano i diversi mazzi di Minchiate attribuibili rispettivamente a Firenze (FI) e a Bologna (BO), su alcune carte si notano anche altre differenze.
Sul 4 di Denari delle Minchiate prodotte a Bologna invece della caratteristica figura di un elefante, propria delle Minchiate di Firenze [Fig. 15 a], si trova un cartiglio con la scritta “carte fine” e il nome dell’insegna del fabbricante [Fig. 15b].
Sul 3 di Coppe delle Minchiate di Firenze vi è la figura di un probabile leone [Fig. 16a], su quelle di Bologna vi è ancora la scritta “CARTE FINE IN BOLOGNA” [Fig. 16b] o solo “CARTE FINE”.
Sul 4 di Coppe delle Minchiate di Firenze vi è la figura di una scimmietta che si guarda allo specchio [Fig. 17a], su quelle di Bologna vi è il disegno dell’insegna del fabbricante [Fig.17b].
If we analyze the different Minchiate decks attributable to Florence (FI) and Bologna (BO) respectively, other differences can also be seen on some cards.
On the 4 of Coins of the Minchiate produced in Bologna, instead of the characteristic figure of an elephant, typical of the Minchiate of Florence [Fig. 15a], there is a scroll with the writing “carte fine” and the name of the manufacturer's sign [Fig.
15b].
On the 3 of Cups of the Minchiate of Florence there is the figure of a probable lion [Fig. 16a], on those of Bologna there is still the writing “CARTE FINE IN BOLOGNA” [Fig. 16b] or just “CARTE FINE.”
On the 4 of Cups of the Minchiate in Florence there is the figure of a little monkey looking at himself in the mirror [Fig. 17a], on those of Bologna there is a drawing of the manufacturer's sign [Fig.17b].
He is concerned only with Tuscan decks in his article. The differences with Bologna remain untouched. Below are his figures 32 and 33, along with Yale's Libra card.While the stamp on the Yale Libra card is not very legible, it is reasonably of the same sort, and not a tax stamp, which would have been on Acqua, for a card of 1751-1781. (From 1781 to 1800. That stamp helps to confirm an at least Tuscan origin for the deck. And since at least one Libra in Florence with an Acqua stamp does not have the stamp, it seems to me that its presence confirms the 1765-1781 dating I proposed in my previous post, as a product close to the 1781 to which, except for these Yale cards, we would think the practice started.From 1 January 1781 the management of the stamp duty passed directly to the Amministrazione Generale (General Administration). The stamp becomes the fairly arabesque AG monogram surrounded by the inscription Bollo delle carte di Toscana (Stamp of Tuscany Cards) and is affixed to the trump XXVII (Aries) Fig. 32.
The period of the Stampa delle Carte di Firenze (Florence’s Cards Printing) also begins, marked by a stamp on the trump XXIIII (Libra). There are two versions of this stamp. The first, more elaborate, has the monogram SCF intertwined and written in a mirror image in two semicircles surrounded by the words Stampa delle carte di Firenze. The later simplified version has the three letter FCS written in italics surmounted by the same initials written in small letters in block capitals Fig. 33.
All of the decks found so far are woodcut decks of the EMP type, the differences in the iconography of the various decks are minimal and are essentially reduced to a different level of detail.
Statistics: Posted by mikeh — 03 Mar 2024, 01:04