This is considered as an advancing list with entries of Tarot/Tarock etc. evidence from Germany / Austrian / Switzerland. It first started as a collection of Austria alone ..., but then it was considered, that Germany should be included and also now Switzerland. So it will develop and be updated occasionally.

********************
Starting point:

Thierry Depaulis wrote in 2010 an article "When (and how) Tarot reached Germany" (IPSC 39/2, starting p. 64). The article is excellent, it helps here to develop a basic line of German/Austrian Tarock development.

As German language forms Depaulis identifies Taroc, Tarok, Daroque, Darock, Tarroque etc. No occurrence of these words is known in Germany before 1752 (says Depaulis) ... Depaulis refers to Sigmar Radau, "Tiertarock" (1989), who had listed some playing card tax laws and some other research.
Meanwhile there are many own findings, between them also the oldest Tarock in a German language printed work in 1750/51.

******************

1687: A cardmaker Antoine Joly, originally born in Lyons, who had worked in Montbeliard (earlier Mömpelgard) arrived 6 years after the French occupation of Strassburg (so 1687 ?) in Strassburg. Then, so says Depaulis, no cardmaker had been in the town or a longer time. "There is no evidence of any cardmaker in other places [in Alsace], even in Colmar, before the mid 18th century."
More: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=821&p=11900&hilit= ... eis#p11900

Since 1707: Louis de Laboisse (from Paris) since 1707, Pierre Lachapelle (from Lyons) (1714-44), David Benoist (1717-1761) appear as cardmakers in Strassburg. Depaulis declared, that in this development Tarot decks with so-called Besancon-style, appeared.

"Indeed we have at least one pack from each of the aforementioned masters .... They are all, save one, of the 'Besancon' variant of the Tarot de Marseille, with Juno and Jupiter. The one exception is a Tarot pack made by Louis de Laboisse, 'A la la Perle Orientale', where the two problematic cards ... have been replaced by 'Le Printemps' and 'L'Hyver'".

Depaulis suggests, that the decks called "Tarot de Besancon" actually are Tarots from Strasbourg. He suggests a dating for the deck with "Le Printemps' and 'L'Hyver' instead of Pope and Popess of c. 1710.
More: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=821&p=11900&hilit= ... eis#p11900

Added later: Depaulis had described a similar deck in "Tarot, jeu et magie : [exposition], Bibliothèque nationale, [Paris, 17 octobre] 1984-[6 janvier 1985] / [catalogue par Thierry Depaulis] -Bibliothèque nationale (Paris)-1984" [ http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6 ... ate.langEN ]

The deck was then estimated to be produced c. 1780 ...

"L'Hyver" (= Winter) ... replacement for Pope

"Printemps" (= Spring) ... replacement for Popess

produced by Black and Tschann in Colmar

1713: Francois Isnard (engraver) arrives in Strasbourg.
The engraver sign of this possibly earliest deck with Pope-Popess changes signs with "J.N." - different to "F.I.", which stands for Francois Isnard, who is called by Depaulis ... well, Depaulis himself explains it better:
More: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=821&p=11900&hilit= ... eis#p11900

1720-35: Radau takes the SEBASTIAN IOIA deck in Besancon style (Kaplan II, p. 324) as from 1720/25. IN VERLAG BEY SEBASTIAN HEINRICH IOIA IN AUGSPURG WUNHAFFT BEY DER SCHWAHL MYHL. Depaulis notes, that Sebastian Heinrich Joja is documented from 1720-33, referring to S. Radau & G. Matthes, Deutsche Spielkarten 1650-1900, Nuremberg, GNM, 2001, no. 18.
Kaplan has the cardmaker Sebastian IOIA as active from 1720 - 1785 (father and son ?).

1720-1750: Pelagius Mayer was born in Kempten - in contrast to earlier ideas - in 1690 and was active since 1720 in Constance. According Kaplan II p. 320 the latest documentary evidence of him is from 1737. The deck is at Kaplan II p. 325, again in Besancon style.

1729-1762: Franco Pratesi detected 2013 a resource about the export of Minchiate decks from Tuscany to other countries. Some of the decks went to "Northern countries".
http://trionfi.com/evx-minchiate-export-tuscany

German Empire
Vienna 1720/24 1731/4 1748/33 1749/24 1752/6 1756/144 1761/48 (totally 238)
Colonia 1731/40 1761/12 (totally 52)
Germania 1747/34 (totally 34)
Dresda 1741/12 (totally 12)

France
Marsilia 1732/48 (totally 48)
Francia 1760/24 (totally 24)
Parigi 1734/12 (totally 12)

England
Londra 1753/4 (totally 4)

totally 424 for all mentioned

For comparison:
Genova, a city with some documented interest for Minchiate had totally 656 between 1732-1751. Most exports went to Roma - 45140. Totally 62517 Minchiate decks were exported from Toscana in c. 33 years.

1735 or later: Radau takes a deck of Johann Wolfgang Weber, Ulm, Besancon style, as from c. 1735. TAROS FIN DE IEAN WOLFGANG WEBER A VLME. Depaulis notes, that the cardmaker was active from c. 1735 - 1787, so the relevant deck might be of a much later time.

A family painting with Tarock scene, treated in "D. Strehl: Spielerische Bemerkungen zur Tarockrunde auf dem Ahnenbild der Familie von Zobel aus 1735 bis 1750." [This is probably the family "von Zobel in Giebelstadt"]
From Heft 6, (1992) on this list: http://www.spielkartensammler.de/bdk/das-blatt.html
The same painting is mentioned by Depaulis, but he doesn't repeat the dating.

1739: likely TITLE ERROR (?); books.google.com offers this book

"Palamedes redivivus, das ist: nothwendiger Unterricht, wie heutiges Tages gebräuchliche Spiele, als das Stein- oder Schach-Spiel, das Picquet-Hoick-Thurn-und L'ombre-Spiel ... nach künstlicher Wissenschafft recht und wohl zu spielen, aus denen übgründlichen Spiel-Gesetzen herfür gesucht, und ausführlich beschrieben; auch bey dieser neuen Auflage abermahl vermehrt mit dem Trifett-und Taroc-Spiel

A. Martini, 1739

https://books.google.de/books?id=8wFeAA ... navlinks_s
The content "Taroc-Spiei" could't be confirmed.

1746: Baierische Kriegs-Artikel 1746 (prohibition) in text of 1771
http://books.google.de/books?id=tqpDAAA ... &q&f=false

1748: End of the Austrian Succession war 1740-48
It seems rather obvious, that this war and the following "Peace of Aachen" in October 1748 caused the rapid and explosive distribution of the Tarock game in the following years. A key element of the quick distribution might have been the installment of Swiss Guards at the courts of Austria and in Holland after the war (Tarock had been well installed in Switzerland long before).
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=821&p=11699&hilit= ... rds#p11699
Another factor might have been the installment of scientific societies, the general use of coffee-houses and the increasing German interests in theater-plays.
The development of Cartomancy in Germany followed soon (known first in 1763) in this generally developing society.
http://trionfi.eu/village/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1390

1748: A. B. Göbl in Munich opens his card producer shop and produces Tarot cards (the begin is not clear). Depaulis suggests, that this is possibly that, what in Bavaria this is addressed as "Welsches Tarock".
WWPCM has cards, which are taken as "from 1750" and these are given as "Animal Tarock". But it has no trumps.
This WWPCM is given as "from c. 1760" and it is a Besancon Tarot.

1750: FEINE TAROS BEY FERDINAND SCHOBER IN NEUHAUS 1750 ... Kaplan II didn't note this deck. Depaulis seems to know it: He calls it a "curious mixed Tarot / Trappola pack" and he identifies Neuhaus as Jindfichuv Hradec in the Czech republic (South of Prague). Depaulis notes, that this is momentary the oldest date for Taros (or similar) in Germany.
Deck at British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/ ... more-views

1750: Mümliswil - Switzerland. Rochus I Schaer (1696 - 1773), Tarot deck (Marseilles type; Kaplan II p. 326/327)

1751: Own finding:
Anakreontische Versuche, Volume 1
Johann Franz von Palthen
printed by Weitbrecht
Johann Franz von Palthen (1724 - 1804) - worldcat has a lot of publications, but I don't found a good biography.
http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AJ ... ort_yr_asc
Worldcat offers the text partly as of 1750, books.google.com has it from 1751. The publication location is Stralsund, the author also published in Rostock. He is mentioned in a short biography of his father: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Palthen ... "Ihr Sohn Johann Franz (1725–1804) wurde Advokatfiskal am Wismarer Tribunal."
The text:
http://books.google.de/books?id=xAdOAAA ... ck&f=false

1751: Own finding:
Auszug der neuesten Weltgeschichte : auf das Jahr ... ; 1751
Autor / Hrsg.: Groß, Johann Gottfried
Verlagsort: Erlangen ; Nürnberg
Signatur: Eph.pol. 28-1751
http://bavarica.digitale-sammlungen.de/ ... flC=person
1751: Friboug - Switzerland. Claude Burdel Tarot (Marseille type ; Kaplan II p. 326/328), artist active 1751-1780.

1752: Sigmar Radau has found two playing card tax tariffs published in 1752. The first is from Saxony Altenburg (small duchy South of Leipzig) ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map-saxony1900.png
... and notes"Ein Stück Taroc-Charten 4 Gr."
The second is from Bavaria Juli 1752, which used "Daroquen" (an earlier law of 1745 didn't use it).
Radau found another note from the same year: The Augsburger paper-maker Chr. A. Harz sent special paper for the production of Tarock cards to A.B.Göbl in Munich.

1754-56: Thierry Depaulis refers to book productions, about which I recently worked about:
forum.tarothistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=622&start=14
Depaulis notes, that an earlier edition (1749) didn't contain the Tarot rules

Around 1755: Johann Rauchmiller in Salzburg produced Tarock cards around this time. A price list of the producer in 1738 hadn't Tarock cards.
From Heft 7, first article on this list: http://www.spielkartensammler.de/bdk/das-blatt.html

1755:
Auszug der neuesten Weltgeschichte und schönen Wissenschaften ; 1755
Verlagsort: Erlangen | Erscheinungsjahr: 1755 | Verlag: Groß
Signatur: Eph.pol. 28-1755
http://bavarica.digitale-sammlungen.de/ ... flC=person
End of 1755, Berlin: A closed society of 100 persons, mostly scholars, is established in a coffee-house. A Tarock-scene is described, which took place there (with the participation of Euler, a famous mathematician). This scene likely took place 1755 or 1756, short before the 7-years-war.
http://books.google.de/books?id=ZK1LAAA ... ck&f=false
[in this context is mentioned Christoph Friedrich Nicolai (1733-1811) ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christoph_ ... ch_Nicolai
... a friend of Lessing, who is mentioned in the following documents variously.He appears as an author of an longer essay of roughly 50 pages about the origin of playing cards more than 50 years later in 1808 ...
Nicolai, F. : Einige Bemerkungen über das Tarockspiel, und über die erste Erfindung des Kartenspiels überhaupt.
In: Berlinische Monatschrift. 1783-1811. 1808 , S. 65 - 106
http://www.ub.uni-bielefeld.de/diglib/a ... /suche.htm
search for "Tarockspiel"]

1756
Auszug der neuesten Weltgeschichte und schönen Wissenschaften ; 1756
Verlagsort: Erlangen | Erscheinungsjahr: 1756 | Verlag: Groß
Signatur: Eph.pol. 28-1756
http://bavarica.digitale-sammlungen.de/ ... flC=person
1756
Auszug der neuesten Weltgeschichte und schönen Wissenschaften ; 1756
Verlagsort: Erlangen | Erscheinungsjahr: 1756 | Verlag: Groß
Signatur: Eph.pol. 28-1756
http://bavarica.digitale-sammlungen.de/ ... flC=person
1757 in Braunschweigische Anzeigen No. 39 "wenn die Frau und Tochter ein gutes Quadrille, Drisette, Commet oder Tarroque spielen können" (Depaulis)

1758: Bürgerliche rechtsgelehrsamkeit der Teutschen:
nach maasgebung der Reichs-abschiede und bewährter nachrichten auch der regirungs- sodann rechts- und policei- anbenebst der kammer- imgleichen der stadt- und landwirtschafts-kunden. Der Teutschen rechtsgelahrtheit andrer teil, Volume 2
Johann Georg Estor, Johann A. Hofmann
Weldige, 1758 - 1132 pages
in Book III, Chapter 20 "von spilen"
http://books.google.de/books?id=G2NDAAA ... oc&f=false

1759 June 22: an Austrian "Patent" lists "Frantzösische- oder Piquet-, Tarock und grosse Traplier-Carthen". A previous edict in 1750 didn't note Tarock. (Depaulis)

1759 Pupils of Jesuits in Innsbruck give a theater play "Mundus ludens in tarockorum lusu adumbratus", a syntaxi minore oenipontana (in Innsbruck dialect) (Depaulis)
viewtopic.php?t=345&p=22409#p22409

1759 A French text refers to a joke, which Abraham Gotthelf ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Go ... C3%A4stner
... used in his texts about the basic of arithmetik, which demands in his opinion not more attention, "als ein Frauenzimmer braucht das Taroc spielet"
http://books.google.de/books?id=3WkEAAA ... oc&f=false

1760: Natürliches Zauber-Buch, oder neu-eröfneter Spielplatz rarer Künste:
Mit vielen Figuren erl, Volume 2
Schwarzkopf, 1760 - 526 pages
[includes Taroc-rules, which at least in great parts are copied from earlier works ... and other game rules]
http://books.google.de/books?id=i7g5AAA ... &q&f=false

1761: Primae Lineae Bibliothecae lusoriae
Heinrich Jonathan Clodius
http://books.google.de/books?id=PaZAAAA ... oc&f=false

1761: One-act comedy by Karl Franz Romanus: "Das Tarocspiel", printed in Dresden and Warsaw.
http://books.google.de/books?id=BaBQAAA ... en&f=false

1761 or little later: in 1759-63 letters (published 1765): Briefe, die neueste Litteratur betreffend:
Geschrieben in den Jahren 1759 bis 1763. Vier und zwanzig Theile nebst doppelten Registern, Volumes 21-24
Friedrich Nicolai, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn, Friedrich Grillo, Thomas Abbt, Friedrich Gabriel Resewitz
collected by F. Nicolai, 1765
(Critique on a theater play, which used Tarock; the not named theater play is that of Karl Franz Romanus 1761)
http://books.google.de/books?id=pnoHAAA ... oc&f=false


1763: Book announcement
Augspurgische Ordinari-Post-Zeitung ; 1763
Verlagsort: [Augsburg]
Signatur: 4 Eph.pol. 53-1763
http://bavarica.digitale-sammlungen.de/ ... flC=person
1764 Die Kunst Karten zu machen
Duhamel du Monceau (M.), Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi [translator]
Bey J.H. Rüdigern, 1764 - 40 pages
http://books.google.de/books?id=UXQOAAA ... navlinks_s
"Taraux" is mentioned at page 4.
The author uses "Würfel" (dice) for Carreaux, "Kleeblatt" for Trèfle, "Schüppen" for Pique and the usual "Herzen" for hearts.

1765: Petrasch publishes a comedy "Das Eiland der Bucklichten" (page 161)
http://books.google.de/books?id=R-c6AAA ... navlinks_s
One role has the name Tarofolo.

1767: Petrasch publishes a Tarock poem. The observed deck is Besancon Tarot. See:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=819

May 1769: A similar play as that of 1759 by pupils in Salzburg, in Salzburger dialect. (Depaulis)

1769: Der Geburtstag: ein Lustpiel (Comedy)
Franz von Heufeld
http://books.google.de/books?id=qCQ7AAA ... ck&f=false

1769: Intelligenz-Blatt der freien Stadt Frankfurt
[A Frankfurt merchant offers Taroc cards from Brussels]
http://books.google.de/books?id=8ixRAAA ... oc&f=false

1769: Description Des Villes De Berlin Et De Potsdam Et De Tout Ce Qu'Elles Contiennent De Plus Remarquable:
Traduit De L'Allemand (Google eBook)
Friedrich Nicolai
Nicolai, 1769 - 622 pages
http://books.google.de/books?id=lNwAAAA ... oc&f=false

1769/70: Critique at a new edition (1769) of a rules book from 1756 in:
Allgemeine deutsche Bibliothek, Volume 11
by Friedrich Nicolai (1770)
http://books.google.de/books?id=xmQvAAA ... oc&f=false

1770: Das Neue königliche l'hombre, auch wie quadrille, cinquille, piquet, trisett, taroc etc. nach jetziger art zu spielen: wobey nebst noch andern kartenspielen das billard, pielkentafel, schach und ball spiel, etc. genau beschrieben und sorg fältig erkläret werden
in der Heroldischen buchhandlung, 1770
http://books.google.de/books?id=i0oVAAA ... navlinks_s

1770: "Das La Fontaine-Tarock des Leipziger Kaufmanns Peter Friedrich Ulrich. Faksimile-Nachdruck eines Tier-Tarockspiel von 1770 aus dem Besitz von Erwin Kohlmann, Naumburg."
http://www.spielkartenladen.de/product_ ... arock.html
http://www.tarotcollectors.com/view_top ... forum_id=4

1770: Sammlung der neuest und merkwürdigsten churbaierischen generalien und landesverordnungen ...
Bavaria (Germany).
J.N. Fritz, 1771 - Law - 596 pages
"Mandat von Anno 1770 den Kartenstempel betreffend"
books.google.de/books?id=tqpDAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA228&lpg=PA229&dq=kartenmacher+göbl&source=bl&ots=bvzBjJE0SU&sig=xHCiSOTQnxxvn7u4l7VfsMNX4dg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fQ2kT-3cG8rg4QSBno2pCQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=kartenmacher göbl&f=false

**********************************************
Further passages of minor value:

1759, Dresden, announcement of Tarock rules
http://books.google.de/books?id=2rBAAAA ... oc&f=false

1760, Eisenach
http://books.google.de/books?id=O846AAA ... ck&f=false

1761, Erlangen
http://books.google.de/books?id=nAJEAAA ... ck&f=false

1763, Erlangen
http://books.google.de/books?id=hMZFAAA ... oc&f=false

1763, Wordbook
http://books.google.de/books?id=nAJEAAA ... ck&f=false

1765 Hannover
http://books.google.de/books?id=G0JEAAA ... ck&f=false

1765 Bavaria
http://books.google.de/books?id=LNlIAAA ... ck&f=false

1765 Bavaria
http://books.google.de/books?id=Q59QAAA ... oc&f=false

1766
http://books.google.de/books?id=qbFGAAA ... ck&f=false

1767 letter, Halberstadt
http://books.google.de/books?id=nWEHAAA ... oc&f=false

1767
http://books.google.de/books?id=ivRCAAA ... oc&f=false

1770, Comedy
http://books.google.de/books?id=nAJEAAA ... ck&f=false

Special German History

This is the so-called "Schwäbischer Reichskreis" (Swabian circle)

The Schwäbischer Reichskreis (in red) was founded in the year 1500, together with 5 other Reichskreise

This is the state of 1521, when also some Institutions were integrated in the system (countries of the Kurfürsten).



As you see, there were partitions with the time ...



... one related to Konstanz, another to Ulm, the third to Augsburg and the fourth was Baden.

Konstanz, Ulm and Augsburg are just those cities in Germany, which report as first the production of Tarock games in the Besancon style (between 1720 - 1750), before the BIG TAROT WAVE in Germany started ... perhaps cause specific laws, which were Tarock friendly in contrast to the other laws in other Reichskreise.

Fro the above list Germany / Austris / Switzerland

1720-35: Radau takes the SEBASTIAN IOIA deck in Besancon style (Kaplan II, p. 324) as from 1720/25. IN VERLAG BEY SEBASTIAN HEINRICH IOIA IN AUGSPURG WUNHAFFT BEY DER SCHWAHL MYHL. Depaulis notes, that Sebastian Heinrich Joja is documented from 1720-33, referring to S. Radau & G. Matthes, Deutsche Spielkarten 1650-1900, Nuremberg, GNM, 2001, no. 18.
Kaplan has the cardmaker Sebastian IOIA as active from 1720 - 1785 (father and son ?).
AUGSBURG

1720-1750: Pelagius Mayer was born in Kempten - in contrast to earlier ideas - in 1690 and was active since 1720 in Constance. According Kaplan II p. 320 the latest documentary evidence of him is from 1737. The deck is at Kaplan II p. 325, again in Besancon style.
CONSTANCE = KONSTANZ

1735 or later: Radau takes a deck of Johann Wolfgang Weber, Ulm, Besancon style, as from c. 1735. TAROS FIN DE IEAN WOLFGANG WEBER A VLME. Depaulis notes, that the cardmaker was active from c. 1735 - 1787, so the relevant deck might be of a much later time.
ULM

Der Schwäbische Reichskreis seems to have been very special ... it's called the "„der vielherrigste Kreis im vielherrigen Deutschland“, which says at one side, that it had the most independent participants (about 100), but this might just indicate, that this region had been very rich, at least till the 30-years war (1618-48). The Fugger, richest banker in all Europe in their good times, lived in Augsburg, and also Ulm is considered to have then its best time.
Similar is in Germany only the Fränkische Kreis around Nuremberg.
The Schwäbische Reichskreis installed a constant army, which wasn't done in other Kreise.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schw%C3%A4 ... eichskreis
The text about Schweizer Spielkarten (2004) ...
http://books.google.de/books?ei=GyCkT5W ... rch_anchor
... notes ...



... that the name "Tarot de Besancon" is ironical, and that the true origin would be Strassburg and the Elsass. I don't know, on which facts this is based, I just got the snippet and I am astonished.
Strassburg became "France" in 1681/87, but in matters of customs it (and other parts of the Elsass) stayed "Germany" till 1789 ... so the Tarot/Tarock way from Strassburg to Constance and Ulm and Augsburg would have been free and was not molested by too much difficulties. Solothurn in Switzerland (with a Tarot de Marseille in 1718 by Francois Heri and a "Tarot de Besancon" a little later) is considered to have gotten this version also from Strassburg.

**********************
...thinking ...

Recently I wrote (and I made my own map) ...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=747&start=68

I noted some early dates of Tarot development in Switzerland

Nidwalden (1572, 1588, 1620 and then variously till 18th century) and Lucerne (1593 - Lucerne is 20 km from Nidwalden) are the earliest dates of "positive" Tarot activities.

Geneve follows (1609, 1615, 1617 and 1635) with prohibitions (so "negative") and a prohibition is also recorded for Zürich (1650).

Then I found a list in the Tarot-Rules book of Dummett/McLeod. This contained rätoromanische names for Tarot cards. Rätoromanisch is a language. It is spoken in the region designed as "rätoromanisch" on the map. Other colors at the design a dominance of German, French and of Italian spoken in Switzerland.

The name of the card 14 ... usually Temperance ... is given with an equivalent for "Angel". This remembered me on the Fama Sol problem.

This map was based on that, what I knew about "Troggen" developments in Switzerland till 1650.
The region of the Vierwaldstätter See was then perceived as a place, which was positive for the Italian Tarocchi.

Now I capture from the Schweizer Spielkarten Book ...



... which says, that the German language Schweiz in 18th century preferred NOT the Besancon Tarot, but the Tarot des Marseilles style. Special attention finds the location Rotzloch, which - again - is very near to the Vierwaldstätter See (15 km to Lucerne).

****************

A little overview to Switzerland history:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_S ... ration.jpg

Uri, Schwyz und Unterwalden formed the basis of the later development of Switzerland (1291). When the city Lucerne (then 3000 inhabitants) joined, the whole got some substance and other cities followed.
The whole became a fact of European military, when Charles the Bold and the big Burgundy did fall to pieces with the attack of 1477. They could resist also Maximilian and the important Basel changed the sides from Empire to Switzerland in 1499. A short time later they were an active factor, when France took Milan (1499/1500). I
At 1506 January 22 ...


http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=258

... Pope Julius invited some Swiss military in the Palace of the Vatican. This was about a month later than the production and deliverance of some Tarocchi cards in Avignon. Well, as already pointed out variously, Pope Julius had been before 1503 cardinal of Avignon for a little less than 30 years and in this period Avignon became an important playing card production location.
Well, at least the leader of this "Swiss delegation" had been "Caspar von Silenen, burger von Luzern" , but likely also some of his men came from this region.
147 of 189 soldiers died during the sacco di Roma at 1527 May 6. The Swiss Guard was restored in the years 1548-1552 and endured till 1798 ... then restored in 1800. It's called one of the oldest military institutions.

Somewhere I've read, that the region of the Vierwaldstätter See was used for training of the Swiss Guard. I find, that this book ...
Die Schweizergarde in Rom und Die Schweizer in Päpstlichen Diensten:
http://books.google.de/books?id=oPVtUXu ... ne&f=false
... has 89 pages of 423 the word "Lucerne" and that this modern webpage about a Hochschule at Luzern confirms the special relation of Lucerne to the Swiss Guard:
http://www.hslu.ch/technik-architektur/ ... rgarde.htm

And we have as the oldest notes about "Troggen" in Switzerland:

1572. The Nidwaldner Kirchengemeinde (Switzerland) allows 3 card games: "troggen, munteren, keysseren" (29 September 1572). Oldest known note of the Tarot game in Switzerland.
and
1588. The Nidwaldner Kirchengemeinde (Switzerland) repeats the allowance of 1572. The "Schantzspyll" (a game of luck) and playing at the night is forbidden.
and
1593. The Troggnspielis noted in Lucerne.

"Nidwalden" and "Obwalden" were united to "Unterwalden" and that's a "Kanton" region of Switzerland (see map). Nid- comes from Nieder- (=lower) and Ob- from Ober- (=higher).

Observing this it seems not to be a riddle, who distributed the Tarocchi in Switzerland and why they are just found first in Lucerne and this region. Returning Swiss Guard members brought them.



Somehow it's also understandable, why just this region avoided to exchange Pope and Popess with other figures.

Well, let's have an eye on Swiss Guards ...

Swiss Guards were not only in Rome ... but it's a question, if the Swiss guards elsewhere came from the same locations in Switzerland. In France, here they had their second major engagement, they likely would have come from the French speaking part of Switzerland.
In modern times the Wallis is mentioned as the major resource for Swiss Guards in Rome ... quite understandable, cause the Wallis has a long border to Italy and iikely a lot of persons know there Italian language since birth.

The following article is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Guard
I just add RED COMMENTS

Swiss Guards in France

There were two different corps of Swiss mercenaries performing guard duties for the Kings of France: the Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses), serving within the Palace as essentially bodyguards and ceremonial troops, and the Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses), guarding the entrances and outer perimeter. In addition the Gardes suisses served in the field as a fighting regiment in times of war.

Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses)

The Hundred Swiss were created in 1480 when Louis XI retained a Swiss company for his personal guard.[1] By 1496 they comprised one hundred guardsmen plus about twenty-seven officers and sergeants. Their main role was the protection of the King within the palace as the garde du dedans du Louvre (the Louvre indoor guard), but in the earlier part of their history they accompanied the King to war. In the Battle of Pavia (1525) the Hundred Swiss of King Francis I were slain before Francis was captured by the Spanish. The Hundred Swiss shared the indoor guard with the King's Bodyguards (Garde du Corps), who were Frenchmen.

This period is likely too early. Francis didn't show an interest in Italian cards. And the Swiss soldiers likely hadn't adapted Trionfi or Tarocchi cards


The Hundred Swiss were armed with halberds, the blade of which carried the Royal arms in gold, as well as gold-hilted swords. Their ceremonial dress as worn until 1789 comprised an elaborate 16th century Swiss costume covered with braiding and livery lace. A plainer dark blue and red uniform with bearskin headdress was worn for ordinary duties.

The Cent Suisses company was disbanded after Louis XVI left Versailles in October 1789. It was however refounded on 15 July 1814 with an establishment of 136 guardsmen and eight officers. The Hundred Swiss accompanied Louis XVIII into exile in Belgium the following year and returned with him to Paris following Waterloo. The unit then resumed its traditional role of palace guards at the Tuileries but in 1817 it was replaced by a new guard company drawn from the French regiments of the Royal Guard.[2]
Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses)

King Francis I of France used some 120,000 Swiss mercenaries in his wars.

TOO EARLY

In 1616, King Louis XIII gave a regiment of Swiss infantry the name of Gardes suisses (Swiss Guards). The new regiment had the primary role of protecting the doors, gates and outer perimeters of the various royal palaces. This unit was officially a regiment of the line, but it was generally regarded as part of the King's Military Household.

King Louis XIII anyway had Tarocchi cards.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the Swiss Guards maintained a reputation for discipline and steadiness in both peacetime service and foreign campaigning. Their officers were all Swiss and their rate of pay substantially higher than that of the regular French soldiers. Internal discipline was maintained according to Swiss codes which were significantly harsher than those of the regular French Army.

By the 16th century the Swiss Guards were brigaded with the Regiment of French Guards (Gardes Françaises), with whom they shared the outer guard, and were in peace-time stationed in barracks on the outskirts of Paris. Like the eleven Swiss regiments of line infantry in French service, the Gardes suisses wore red coats. The line regiments had black, yellow or light blue facings but the Swiss Guards were distinguished by dark blue lapels and cuffs edged in white embroidery. Only the grenadier company wore bearskins while the other companies wore the standard tricorn headdress of the French infantry. The Guards were recruited from all the Swiss cantons. The nominal establishment was 1,600 men though actual numbers normally seem to have been below this.

From another article - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garde_suisse -
I get "En 1573, Charles IX de France institua les gardes suisses." This is interesting, as 1573 definitely is the time, when the Tarot started to become also a French game. But we have for the moment only one single note about "Troggen" from this early time.

The most famous episode in the history of the Swiss Guards was their defence of the Tuileries Palace in central Paris during the French Revolution. Of the nine hundred Swiss Guards defending the Palace on August 10, 1792, about six hundred were killed during the fighting or massacred after surrender. ...

... that's too late

Well, others ...

Swiss Guards in other European states
Swiss Guard units similar to those of France were in existence at several other Royal Courts at the dates indicated below:

From 1579 on, a Swiss Guard served the House of Savoy, rulers of Savoy and later the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Guard was dissolved in 1798.
That's just the period of this work , which includes "Tarotica" ... viewtopic.php?f=11&t=767
and this signals an increased interest just at this time at the Savoy court.


From 1696 to 1713, a Swiss Guard served at the court of Frederick I of Prussia.

This is with no doubt of interest, as we've in this time much French influences in Prussia, but we don't have confirmation, that in this time happened anything with Tarot.


a Swiss Guard also existed in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

in Italy they knew Tarocchi, no doubt

a Cent-Suisse unit was in existence from 1730 until 1757 and again from 1763 to 1814 in the Kingdom of Saxony.

this court had a lot of interest in Italian art anyway ... but we see no change in direction to Tarot before 1750

a similar unit existed from 1734 until 1789 in the Kingdom of Naples. Swiss line infantry regiments continued to serve in the Neapolitan Army until the 1860s.

in Italy they knew Tarocchi, no doubt

From 1748 until 1796, a company of Swiss (Cent-Suisses) served as a personal guard for the Stadhouder of the Dutch Republic; besides a Dutch Guard Regiment, there was also a Swiss Guard Regiment. William I, the King of the Netherlands, incorporated four regiments of Swiss infantry in the new Dutch Army between 1814 and 1829, of which the 4th (Regiment Swiss nr. 32) served as Guard Infantry, until the Swiss regiments were disbanded and new official Guard Regiments of Grenadiers and Jagers were raised.

THAT'S OF INTEREST, cause it's rather immediately before the Tarock wave in Germany/Austria, started 1750

For a brief time (1748–1767) during the reign of Empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740–1780), approximately 250 to 450 soldiers from Switzerland guarded the Hofburg, the winter palace in Vienna. They replaced previous military units that had performed that duty, and were later replaced by others. The oldest courtyard of the palace is still called the "Swiss Court" (Schweizerhof) in acknowledgement of their 20-year presence.

THAT'S OF INTEREST, cause it's rather immediately before the Tarock wave in Germany/Austria, started 1750

In Portugal, a Swiss regiment was raised by the Count of Lippe on June 12, 1762. It comprised two battalions (commanded by Colonel Gabriel Thorman and Colonel Marcus Saussure) of 809 men each, consisting of four companies of Swiss troops plus four non-Swiss companies, for a total of 1618 men. Enlistment was for six years, and the soldiers could not be required to serve at sea. Half the soldiers had to be Swiss, while the other half could be made up of Germans and Hungarians. The Portuguese government paid the sum of 2,960,000 reis to raise, arm and equip these two battalions. Colonels paid for their officers. Each soldier earned 4,537 reis per month plus a daily ration of bread. On June 22, 1763, Colonel Gabriel Thorman was sentenced to imprisonment until he returned funds and property embezzled from his regiment, while Colonel Marcus Saussure was sentenced to death for desertion. The regiment was disbanded on 17 September 1763 by a decree that also ordered the raising of a new Swiss regiment (the "Reais Estrangeiros"), which met a similar fate to its predecessor. Its eight companies comprised ninety soldiers each, plus the superior and inferior officers. It was ordered dissolved in 1765, and its commander, Colonel Luiz Henrique Graveson, condemned by a council of war to death by hanging. This sentence was commuted to a firing-squad, and the execution was carried out on November 15, 1765, in the field of Ourique, on January 2, 1766.

This refers to the condition, that "Schweizer" weren't always real Schweizer

**************

Well, I think, that we get 4 (perhaps 5 or even 6) worthwhile hints of this study of the Swiss guards ...

***********

The first Two

My own studies with "Collection French Tarot dates 1500-1700" about the French part of the development of French Tarot cards led to an observation, that the important movement towards the adaption of Italian cards happened 1570-1580.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=807

We have two important Swiss Guards notes around this time:

A. From another article - http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garde_suisse -
I get "En 1573, Charles IX de France institua les gardes suisses." This is interesting, as 1573 definitely is the time, when the Tarot started to become also a French game. But we have for the moment only one single note about "Troggen" from this early time.

B. "From 1579 on, a Swiss Guard served the House of Savoy, rulers of Savoy and later the Kingdom of Sardinia. The Guard was dissolved in 1798."
That's just the period of this work , which includes "Tarotica" ... viewtopic.php?f=11&t=767
and this signals an increased interest just at this time at the Savoy court.

********

A.
FRENCH NOTE 1573

I attempted to verify the 1573 date and found in German Wikipedia a note in the description of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre 1572 ...

Nachdem anscheinend eine Truppe, bestehend aus der Schweizer Garde des Königs und den persönlichen Leibwächtern des Herzogs von Anjou, unter der Leitung des Herzogs von Guise,[69] den Admiral in seinem Haus ermordet hatte, wurden die übrigen Hugenottenführer getötet. Viele Berichte enthalten den Ausruf „Der König will es!“, der wahrscheinlich vom Herzog von Guise stammt und von dem Volk als Massenexekution interpretiert wurde.[70] Eine Welle von Gewalt wurde ausgelöst, vermutlich Resultat der religiösen Spannungen der letzten Jahre und besonders des Edikts von Saint-Germain, und breitete sich über ganz Frankreich aus.

... that the murder of Admiral Coligny was done by a "Schweizer Garde of the king" and the personal bodyguards of the duke of Anjou (later king Henry III), which were guided by the duke of Guise. As reference (note 69) is given ...
"The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629" (1995) by MacK P. Holt, which partly is online .. page 85 has the detail with the Swiss Guard ...
books.google.de/books?id=En23VTbYwhQC&pg=PA85
... which gives the information, that the total group were "about 100 men". Generally there's a long dispute about the true story of this event.

The leader of the group is given with "duke of Guise", which is this person ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_I,_Duke_of_Guise
.. and English wikipedia calls him only "a suspect in the murder of the Admiral in August 1572".
Henry I, duke of Guise, had been 22 years in 1572, and he was the son of Francis, duke of Guise ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis,_Duke_of_Guise
... who was murdered in 1563 (and Admiral Coligny is called a "suspect) and his mother was Anna d'Este ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_d%27Este
... an influential Italian lady in French history, whose father was Ercole d'Este II, who as an 8-years old boy got some Tarochi cards in 1516.
Henry was also brother-in-law to the 11-years-older Louis Gonzaga, who is under suspicion to have commissioned the Tarot de Paris in 1559 ... viewtopic.php?f=11&t=755

And he was one the persons in the "war of the three Henry" 1588/89, which saw French king Henry III murdering duke Henry of Guise in December 1588 and falling victim to the troops of the later king Henry IV of Navarra in 1589.

This is interesting, but I had difficulties to recognize very remarkable things about the date "1573" in connection to "Gardes Suisses" in most sources.

But here:
The name "Guillaume Tugginer" appears in ...

Histoire militaire de la Suisse, Volume 5
Emmanuel May
J. P. Heubach et comp., 1788 - Biography & Autobiography
http://books.google.de/books?id=F0MLAAA ... er&f=false

... and it seems to say that he commanded a Swiss troop with bodyguard function from 1573 - 1579, so partly in the service of French king Charles IX till 1774 and then in the service of king Henry III ... till 1579, and this was the year, when Henry III installed the new knight order "l'Ordre du St. Esprit" andpossibly exchanged his bodyguard system.

This is confirmed at ...
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardes_sui ... 8France%29
... where "1573-1579 : Guillaume Tugginer" is listed as "Colonels généraux des Gardes Suisses" with no immediate predecessor since 1570 and no immediate follower till 1616. Then the office seems to be reinstalled by King Louis XIII.

Guillaume Tugginer, perhaps better known as "Wilhelm Tugginer" (A book was written: Zwei Solothurner Söldnerführer: Wilhelm Frölich und Wilhelm Tugginer (1985), was born in Zürich, but was welcome in Solothurn after his French services. He became "Senateur" of the city. and died 1594.
Whilhelm Frölich was the uncle of Wilhelm Tugginer.
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Fr%C3%B6lich


Solothorn was from 1530 to 1792 the seat of the French ambassador to Switzerland. It was rules by an oligarchy formed by patricians till 18th century. From the first half of 18th century there appeared Tarot decks made in Solothurn. A Tarot des Marseilles by Francois Heri is given to 1718 (Kaplan II, p. 314/317), a deck with Tarot de Besancon (Kaplan II, 314/218) style by the same producer (without noted date) is given to c. 1730. Other later Besancon style decks from the same place are known.

*******

B.
THE SAVOY NOTE 1579

Well, that's interesting, and I congratulate myself to have insisted on clearing the date of 1573 in France. It starts with the biography of Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_P ... e_of_Savoy
... who had to free his country from French occupation in the 1550's. He was also able to restore Turin as the capital in 1563. Since 1579 he attempted to get Saluzzo ... Saluzzo was in the hands of France. 1579 is now just the year, when Guillaume Tugginer stopped to be "Colonel généraux des Gardes Suisses" and when the Gardes Suisses are said to have started to work for Savoy. Well, this look three coordinated actions. The Swiss military, distributed in many countries, are said to have avoided to fight each other ... this was part of their contracts.

Saluzzo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saluzzo

After long struggles for independence, the marquisate was occupied (1548) by the French, as a fief of the Crown of France - with the name of Saluces - and remained part of that kingdom until it was ceded to Savoy in 1601. In 1588 Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy took possession of the city. Thenceforward Saluzzo shared the destinies of Piedmont, with which it formed "one of the keys of the house" of Italy.

As Emmanuel Philibert died 1580, the "operation Saluzzo" went into the hands of his son Charles Emmanuel I ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Em ... I_of_Savoy
... who took the opportunity of the French civil war (war of three Henry) for the right time to clear the open questions about it 1588. French king Henry IV of Navarra wasn't happy about it, but had to give way and traded an exchange against some other lands.
Having been successful with this, Charles Emanuel attempted to take Geneva (1602). This went wrong, deadly wrong. The problems between Geneva and Savoy reached back till 15th century ... more details at the Geneva page.
Geneva had then to have the first Swiss Tarot prohibition in 1609 and endured to have it long time. And the next city with Tarot prohibition was Zürich.
And when Charles Emanuel had taken Saluzzo, he eliminated Protestantism at his territory.

And with this the Swiss Tarot riddles turn clear.

**********************

Swiss Tarot riddles:

Religion in Lucerne (nowadays) ... Tarot in Marseilles style ... STRONG CATHOLIC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne

The city grew up around Sankt Leodegar Abbey, founded in 840 AD, and remained strongly Roman Catholic into the 21st Century. In 1850, 96.9% of the population was Catholic, in 1900 it was 81.9% and in 1950 it was still 72.3%. In the 2000 census the religious membership of Lucerne was; 35,682 (60%) were Roman Catholic, and 9,227 (15.5%) were Protestant, with an additional 1,979 (3.33%) that were of some other Christian faiths. There are 196 individuals (0.33% of the population) who are Jewish. There are 1,824 individuals (3.07% of the population) who are Muslim. Of the rest; there were 1,073 (1.8%) individuals who belong to another religion, 6,310 (10.61%) who do not belong to any organized religion, 3,205 (5.39%) who did not answer the question.

Religion in Solothurn (nowadays) ... Tarot in Besancon style ... MIXED RELIGION, more Catholic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solothurn

From the 2000 census, 5,463 or 35.3% were Roman Catholic, while 4,358 or 28.1% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 278 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.79% of the population), there were 182 individuals (or about 1.18% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 248 individuals (or about 1.60% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 27 individuals (or about 0.17% of the population) who were Jewish, and 915 (or about 5.91% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 78 individuals who were Buddhist, 173 individuals who were Hindu and 27 individuals who belonged to another church. 3,139 (or about 20.27% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 601 individuals (or about 3.88% of the population) did not answer the question

Religion in Geneva (nowadays) ... earliest Tarot prohibition in Geneve ... PROTESTANTISM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva

Geneva has historically been considered a Protestant city, but substantial immigration from France and other predominantly Roman Catholic countries over the past century has changed its religious demography considerably. There were over twice as many Roman Catholics as Protestants living in the city in 2000. From the 2000 census, 66,491 or 37.4% were Roman Catholic, while 24,105 or 13.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 3,959 members of an Orthodox church (or about 2.22% of the population), there were 220 individuals (or about 0.12% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, and there were 2,422 individuals (or about 1.36% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 2,601 individuals (or about 1.46% of the population) who were Jewish, and 8,698 (or about 4.89% of the population) who were Muslim. There were 707 individuals who were Buddhist, 474 individuals who were Hindu and 423 individuals who belonged to another church. 41,289 (or about 23.20% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 26,575 individuals (or about 14.93% of the population) did not answer the question.[32]

Religion in Zürich (nowadays) ... early Tarot prohibition in Zürich ... PROTESTANTISM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zurich

After the Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli, Zurich was a centre and stronghold of Protestantism in Switzerland. Over the course of the 20th century, a significant number of Catholics settled in the city, and Catholics instead of Protestants became the largest denomination - although not representing a majority of the total population; in 2000, Catholics were the largest single denomination at 33.3% of the population.[35] At the end of 2009, a plurality of the population of the canton did not declare a religion, claimed no faith, or identified with a non-Christian religion.[36] In the city of Zurich, at the end of 2010, 165,686 (or 45%) had no faith, did not respond, or identified with another confession, Catholics numbered 111,946 (30%), and members of the Swiss Reformed Church numbered 94,419 (or 25%) [37]

In SUMMARY:

Lucerne ... old place of the Swiss Guard of the pope ... STRONG CATHOLICISM ...
Tarot with Pope and Popess (Marseille style)

Solothurn ... old ambassador city to France ... mixed religion, mor catholicism than protestantism
Tarot with Jupiter and Juno (Besancon style)

Geneva ... first Tarot prohibition in Switzerland ... PROTESTANTISM
Tarot prohibition

Zürich ... next Tarot prohibition in Switzerland ... PROTESTANTISM
Tarot prohibition

********

I don't know, how the Savoyan "Swiss Guard" precisely behaved, when Emanuel Philibert attacked Geneva .. this might be worth some study.
But the Tarotica text of 1584 fits with the general picture.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=767

Recently I wrote in this thread ...

Der Schwäbische Reichskreis seems to have been very special ... it's called the "„der vielherrigste Kreis im vielherrigen Deutschland“, which says at one side, that it had the most independent participants (about 100), but this might just indicate, that this region had been very rich, at least till the 30-years war (1618-48). The Fugger, richest banker in all Europe in their good times, lived in Augsburg, and also Ulm is considered to have then its best time.
Similar is in Germany only the Fränkische Kreis around Nuremberg.
The Schwäbische Reichskreis installed a constant army, which wasn't done in other Kreise.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schw%C3%A4 ... eichskreis
The text about Schweizer Spielkarten (2004) ...
http://books.google.de/books?ei=GyCkT5W ... rch_anchor
... notes ...

... that the name "Tarot de Besancon" is ironical, and that the true origin would be Strassburg and the Elsass. I don't know, on which facts this is based, I just got the snippet and I am astonished.
Strassburg became "France" in 1681/87, but in matters of customs it (and other parts of the Elsass) stayed "Germany" till 1789 ... so the Tarot/Tarock way from Strassburg to Constance and Ulm and Augsburg would have been free and was not molested by too much difficulties. Solothurn in Switzerland (with a Tarot de Marseille in 1718 by Francois Heri and a "Tarot de Besancon" a little later) is considered to have gotten this version also from Strassburg.

**********************
...thinking ...

Recently I wrote (and I made my own map) ...
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=747&start=68

I noted some early dates of Tarot development in Switzerland

I mean the passage "The text about Schweizer Spielkarten (2004) ...
http://books.google.de/books?ei=GyCkT5W ... rch_anchor
... notes ...
... that the name "Tarot de Besancon" is ironical, and that the true origin would be Strassburg and the Elsass. I don't know, on which facts this is based, I just got the snippet and I am astonished."

Now I've again the mentioned Depaulis article before me, and I see, that I've earlier overlooked a few pages, and there he wrote about his theories about Strasbourg and the origin of the Becancon in Strasbourg. At end of page 73 the article had a sort of graphical line, which I earlier must have taken as "finish of the article", which was wrong. Sorry, my error.

******************
So Depaulis in IPCS 39/2, p. 64-79 "When (and how) did Tarot come to Germany" starts at p. 74 his chapter 4 "From 17th century France to 18th century Germany" with a sort of subtitle after the introduction "A short history of France and Alsace". In the introduction he mentions, that Dummett and McLeod had assumed, that Tarot entered France via the Alsace: I think, he means these statements from pp. 26-29.







****************

Depaulis sets then his general position ...



... and speaks then of general 17th century politic and the specific conditions of the Alsace. Part of this story are:

1618-1648: French troops participate and are in Alsace and Lorraine. French troops occupy parts of the Alsace (1639-43). French troops occupy Freiburg im Breisgau 1648 and keep it till 1697.
After 1648: Further "legal actions" to get the Alsace under control.
1668-1679: Franche-Comté, taken in a longer process with wars
1681: Strassburg was attacked and taken and annexed in 1697
Mulhouse stayed independent (till 1798). Lorraine stayed independent

A cardmaker Antoine Joly, originally born in Lyons, who had worked in Montbeliard (earlier Mömpelgard) ...

my note:
Montbeliard alias Mömpelgard .....
80 km west of Basel
100 km south of Epinal (which had early playing card production; it belonged to Lorraine)
70 km south-west of Mulhouse (part of the Swiss confederation since 1515, which stayed independent till 1798)
... was long time French occupied, but still belonged to the house Würtemberg and stayed Würtemberg till 1793

... arrived 6 years after the occupation of Strassburg (1687 ?) in Strassburg. Then, so says Depaulis, no cardmaker had been in the town or a longer time. "There is no evidence of any cardmaker in other places, even in Colmar, before the mid 18th century." ... says Depaulis. All following cardmakers in Strasbourg have French names and come from " 'Inner France', Paris, Lyons, Thionville (Lorraine), or even as far from Albi and Bayonne".

My note: France made regulations, who was allowed to move to the Alsace. Huguenots were very early "not allowed". Generally there was the strategy to transform the population to "Pro-French". This was also by Germans under Bismarck in occupied regions of Poland. Likely a very old strategy since antique times. As playing cards were propaganda, there likely was an interest to control the political direction of the producers.

Depaulis assumes, that no playing card maker had been in Srassburg since early 17h centur (likely he assumes, that production broke down in the 30-years-war). After Joly, who worked till 1720 (no deck survived from him), he names Louis de Laboisse (from Paris) since 1707, Pierre Lachapelle (from Lyons) (1714-44), David Benoist (1717-1761) and Guilleaume Assine from Albi and adds then a "and others".

"Indeed we have at least one pack from each of the aforementioned masters, save Assine. They are all, save one, of the 'Besancon' variant of the Tarot de Marseille, with Juno and Jupiter. The one eception a Tarot pack made by Louis de Laboisse, 'A la la Perle Orientale', where the two problematic cards ... have been replaced by 'Le Printemps' and 'L'Hyver'.

[/quote]

All are difficult to date. A deck made by Lachapella is given to "perhaps 1715" and the deck of Laboisse is considered earlier. The figure of Printemps uses elements of a picture "Nicolas de Largillière: La belle Strasbourgeoise" (made in 1703; but the card uses uses not the big hat).


http://www.jmrw.com/France/Strasbourg/p ... geoise.htm

The relevant deck - perhaps - might have been made c. 1710. So this might be the "mother" of Bolognese Moors, Juno and Jupiter, and Belgian Captain Fracasse and Bacchus.
The engraver sign of this possibly earliest deck with Pope-Popess changes signs with "J.N." - different to "F.I.", which stands for Francois Isnard, who is called by Depaulis ... well, Depaulis himself explains it better



Kaplan II doesn't mention Francois Isnard, but a Pierre Isnard for 1746 (possibly a son ?). I find the name Francois Isnard in a catalog:
http://www.tajan.com/pdf/2004/4522.pdf





"Isnard" at aeclectic and forum.tarothistory.com appears only in minor occurrences. As I often perceive, that important matters are not registered, I note here ... :-) ..

FRANCOIS ISNARD
- important -
- blind spot -


Depaulis styles him as a superman in matters of Tarot. All, what I've read, sounds impressive. Depaulis seems to have solved a key riddle there.

There's also a Joseph Isnard involved in the card-making business in Marseille in 1755

D'Allemagne, I, p. 316, Joseph Isnard buys the office of inspector and controller of cardmakers from the Veuve Toulon, in 1755. She was the widow of Jean Toulon, who died on January 15, 1755.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=619&p=9069&hilit=isnard#p9069

Ross G. R. Caldwell wrote:There's also a Joseph Isnard involved in the card-making business in Marseille in 1755

D'Allemagne, I, p. 316, Joseph Isnard buys the office of inspector and controller of cardmakers from the Veuve Toulon, in 1755. She was the widow of Jean Toulon, who died on January 15, 1755.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=619&p=9069&hilit=isnard#p9069

Yes, I saw your notes in two of the few comments in the Forums.
But if I understand Depaulis correctly, he suggests, that Strassburg influenced Switzerland to take partly the Besancon style, and for Strassburg stands mainly Isnard and he influenced the early German Tarot scene, was possibly imitated by the Belgians and even by Bolognese cardmakers by the use of exchange cards for pope and popess, possibly he was the first to use French suits and somehow also influenced the Animal Tarock.
If all this (or even only a part) is true, Francois Isnard would be a sort of "Superman" in the history of Tarot.

I have no idea of Joseph Isnard in Marseille and François Isnard in Strasbourg are even related. There seem to be a lot of Joseph Isnards anyway... one is an organ maker. None of the bits and pieces Google pulls up seem to be the Marseille one.

...by the Belgians and even by Bolognese cardmakers by the use of exchange cards for pope and popess,...

What do you mean by "Bolognese cardmakers"? The change from Papi to Mori in Bologna happened at a precise moment, in 1725, for a very specific reason. François Isnard can have had nothing at all to do with it.

Ross G. R. Caldwell wrote:I have no idea of Joseph Isnard in Marseille and François Isnard in Strasbourg are even related. There seem to be a lot of Joseph Isnards anyway... one is an organ maker. None of the bits and pieces Google pulls up seem to be the Marseille one.

In any case, what do you mean by "Bolognese cardmakers"? The change from Papi to Mori in Bologna happened at a precise moment, in 1725, for a very specific reason. François Isnard can have had nothing at all to do with it.

Well, the idea was to exchange Pope and Popess, and the major part of these exchanges might have been, to make Tarot decks acceptable for protestant regions. But once it was born as a habit, it could be imitated for other reasons (in Catholic Bologna). The Strasbourg productions are earlier, if we follow Depaulis' argumentation.

I've some indication, that this exchange-technique was already done much earlier than the Strasbourg productions. I just work on an article.

I think it was already a habit in Florence and south (like on the Colonna sheet from Rome, where there is a Sultan numbered 5) to make the papi into secular or non-Christian figures, in the 16th century. Bologna was the last hold-out, until 1725. It reflects this southern trend, rather than the northern one.