Ross G. R. Caldwell wrote: 23 Apr 2008, 19:51
A further point about the 2 of Deniers is that the name Chosson has smaller and thicker letters than name François. Also, the name "Chosson" does not curve properly in relation to the curve of the banner, unlike the elegant and properly-fitted "François."
I guess that the name "François" is the original 1672 name, and that "Chosson" was added later (old name cut out, new name glued in). The old name then must have been "Sellon". Two of the Sellon family have the middle name "François" - Jean-François and Claude-François. Since a tradition among French families is to give the son(s) the middle name of the father, I imagine that "François Sellon" was the founder of the house and his presumed son Guillaume is the engraver.
Ross
The recent publication of the G S Chosson tarot reproduction by Tarot Sheet Revival [Sullivan Hismans] reflects the increasing acceptance of the 1672 dating for Chosson's woodblocks and the probable identity of the initials "G S" with Guillaume Sellon. Since the last posting in this thread from 2011, public access to increasing amounts of digitized archives has allowed us to trace in far greater detail the generations & relations of cardmaking families from many regions through notary and parish records.
In the case of the Sellon family of cardmakers, we now know that the Sellon generations were active in Marseille from prior to the 16th century and continued into the 18th. From the beginning of the 17th century we have:
Maitre Cartier Guillaume Sellon I marries Anne Auphant in 1605;
birth of their son Jean Sellon c1606 [Guillaume Sellon marries Anne Lieutaud in 1607, so presumably Anne Auphant died shortly after the birth of Jean];
[with Anne Lieutaud, Guillaume has a daughter Marguerite Sellon who marries the Maitre Cartier Philippe Vachier in 1632, she dies young [without children?] & widower Philippe Vachier marries Marguerite Torcaty in 1637]
- Jean Sellon marries Anne Artufel in 1632 with whom he has two sons,
---- Guillaume Sellon II [b1632], marries Marguerite Fabre in 1651, and they have two sons
------ Francoise Sellon, marries Anne Juge in 1681, & Anne Billon in 1720
------ Simon Sellon [d1740], marries Elizabeth Audibert in 1699, and they have a son
-------- Claude Francois Sellon [b1705] marries Marianne Vachier [1702-1740], the granddaughter of Phillipe Vachier by by his 2nd marriage, in 1737
---- Jean Sellon II, marries Marguerite Barthalot in 1662, they have a son
------ Guillaume Sellon III, marries Anne Feraud in 1694.
The Phillipe Vachier Tarot de Marseille Type I deck of 1637 [if genuine], and the Guillaume/Francoise Sellon Tarot de Marseille Type II deck of 1672, both from Marseille, are the earliest surviving complete decks of their types currently known.