A scarce French advertising playing-card ensemble from circa 1950, featuring artwork attributed to Antoine de Roux. This unusual collector’s set brings together two complete Marie Brizard & Roger advertising decks, one blue-backed and one red-backed, preserved with a Cognac Bisquit bridge score booklet in a fitted vintage folding case. The ingenuity of the illustrated court cards and the survival of both full decks make this a particularly appealing discovery for specialists in French advertising and playing-card history.
Advertising Art & Historical Background
The highlight is the illustrated Marie Brizard & Roger advertising deck, associated with the liqueur maker and its Rhum Charleston promotion. Its inventive court cards integrate products and bottles into the familiar imagery of playing cards. The artwork is attributed in specialist playing-card documentation to Antoine de Roux, with printing by Draeger, Paris, circa 1950. This is far more than an ordinary branded card back: advertising becomes part of the face-card designs themselves.
Specialist playing-card collectors described this illustrated edition, and especially its joker, as particularly uncommon in December 2008. Its 52 traditional playing cards, single joker, advertising/title card and two blank cards per deck match the documented composition of this edition. An exact production quantity has not been established, and the original association between the two decks, the bridge scorepad and the case remains unverified. This is a carefully described vintage collector’s ensemble, not a claim of a numbered limited edition.
Set Details
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Item: Vintage French advertising playing-card and bridge set
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Period: Circa 1950s; exact date of the complete assembly is unconfirmed
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Origin: France
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Playing cards: Two complete vintage advertising decks, one with blue-patterned backs and one with red-and-white patterned backs. Each deck contains 52 standard playing cards (13 of each suit), 1 joker, 1 Marie Brizard & Roger advertising/title card, and 2 blank cards: 56 cards per deck, 112 cards in total, as counted and confirmed by the owner
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Artwork: Marie Brizard deck attributed to Antoine de Roux; printed by Draeger, Paris, according to specialist references
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Scorepad: Cognac Bisquit – Fine Champagne Napoléon bridge score booklet, apparently unused
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Case: Brown folding card case with two deck compartments and a fitted place for the scorepad; exact material not independently verified
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Included: The complete lot shown in the product photographs, sold together
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Condition: Genuinely used vintage set, not new or near-mint. Both playing-card decks have been played with and show clearly visible wear from handling and age; the cards are far from pristine. The case also shows signs of age and use, while the Cognac Bisquit score booklet appears blank. You will receive the actual items pictured. Please examine all photographs carefully to judge the condition and wear before purchasing. Both playing-card decks are complete, as confirmed by the owner. Whether all components were originally sold together has not been independently established.
🪶 Collector’s Note
An exceptionally rare and distinctive collector’s set. The richly illustrated Marie Brizard & Roger playing cards, attributed to Antoine de Roux, transform traditional court figures into miniature works of French advertising art. Examples of this particular edition are difficult to find, and an accompanying fitted, leather-style bridge case with two complete decks and a Cognac Bisquit scorepad makes the surviving ensemble especially unusual. Such a presentation may have been produced or distributed in very small numbers, although no original production figures have been established and the original association of all components remains unverified. A striking piece of mid-century French advertising and card-playing history for the specialist collector.
