Download Woodcut playing card Published by J. Minot Late nineteenth century

“CARTE DE LA RÉVOLUTION À L’EFFIGIE DE J.J. ROUSSEAU”
Woodcut playing card
Published by J. Minot
Late nineteenth century
During the French Revolution, several printers of playing cards replaced the familiar kings,
queens, and jacks with emblems of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. The change was a political
statement: the deck of cards, like the nation of France, would not be ruled by kings and queens.
Some sets of cards from this time also depicted famous revolutionary figures, such as this image
of Rousseau. This woodcut is a late nineteenth-century reproduction from an earlier, color deck
of cards. The card labels Rousseau a “Sage,” a term meaning philosopher of the Revolution. The
figure of Rousseau holds a copy of The Social Contract, indicating that it is not simply
Rousseau, but the endurance of his writing, that contributed significantly to the French
Revolution.
British Museum Collection Database. “1896,0501.1626.” www.britishmuseum.org/collection.
Catherine Perry Hargrave, A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming.