Five scarce Italian playing cards depicting Sweden and the Baltic

Anonymous.

XV Svezia. [&] Nord II. Svezia. [&] Nord 8. Svezia ha 7. [&] Nord 7. Svezia ha. 7. [&] Isola 7. Nel Mar Baltico all' Est della Svezia.
Bologna: Tipografia de' Franceschi alla Colomba?, c.1790. Five playing cards, one engraved, one woodcut and letterpress and three letterpress, each sheet 115 x 60mm, with red woodcut design on reverse.

Slightly trimmed, as issued, one sheet slightly stained.

Five playing cards representing Sweden, including a miniature map of the country on a tromp l'oeil scroll, a description with a woodblock armorial, two with lists of the kingdoms and their capital cities, and one listing Batic islands.
They are from a 78-card geographical game pack which was played with the same rules as tarocchi (tarot). The map is one of the 21 map trump cards; three are from the suit 'North' (the one with the armorial being a court card) and one from 'Islands' (the other suits being 'South' & 'Central' Europe),
The woodcut pattern on the back of the card is a red flower design with the address 'Alla Colomba' (At the Dove). This was the address of Tipografia de' Franceschi in Bologna from the 1790s until at least 1860.


Stock ID : 24237