Wacky animals & kitschy things !

Here are some original queens of the portrait. The flower she's holding varies a lot and doesn't read as a real flower - so i gave her a yellow gentian, native to the region :)

If the small city of Thiers produced such great cards, it was thanks to its paper manufactures. Because of its proximity to water, paper mills were very prolific, and the paper produced here was VERY sought after, being known as one of the best of all the kingdom !

It's fantastic to read about, as nowadays Thiers is a very small city that most french people have no idea about (it's so funny seing prestigiously mentionned in old books right next to Paris, Lyon, Toulouse...!) - and with the last paper mill closing in the 1900s, a big part of the people living here today don't even know about the paper's history.

And here are the original jacks of heart of the portrait : left profile, armored, bearing a sword and a halberd.

Did you know that cards with patterned backs are pretty recent ? Before 1800, the back of the cards was simply blank, and people often used them as little memos, or to send messages. Since the card production in Thiers declined somewhere during the XVIIIth century, none of the cards i found have backs !

If you're curious like me, here's a peek at what they could look like...

The last one belongs to the Jack of Hearts you can see in the bottom middle above. Time left beautiful battle scars on this brave little knight !

♣ 𝕶𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝕮𝖑𝖚𝖇𝖘 ♣ A love letter to the card printing history of the city of Thiers, which has been largely forgotten - Following the regional Auvergne Pattern of cards printed in France in the XVI and XVII century.

This card is my personal favorite of the whole portrait ! Indeed, the King of Clubs is never depicted without his bird, a beautiful element that has been lost in modern portraits.

For your viewing pleasure... Birds I collected from Auvergne pattern KOCs - except for the first one which is an intriguing king of hearts seemingly based on the auvergne pattern ?

Best described as "Lovely with varying levels of birdness", some are very colorful, some more dragon like (probably a way to stylize a bird of prey), and others a bit more strange !

♡ 𝕶𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖋 𝕳𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖙𝖘 ♡

A love letter to the card printing history of the city of Thiers, which has been largely forgotten - Following the regional Auvergne Pattern of cards printed in France in the XVI and XVII century.

Here are some of the original cards that inspired my rendition !

The King of Hearts is depicted turned towards the left, and holds a sword and a globus cruciger (the orb and cross that are the christian symbol of authority and royalty). Many renditions also have him wearing the heraldic figure of a black double-headed eagle, on a golden background. (i have no idea if this coat of arms is a reference or a simple artistic choice - The regional coat of arms of Auvergne is a red flag, and that of the city of Thiers bears a silver sailing ship on a red background... nothing remotely close to this eagle !)

♠ 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕾𝖕𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖘 ♠

A love letter to the card printing history of the city of Thiers, which has been largely forgotten - Following the regional Auvergne Pattern of cards printed in France in the XVI and XVII century.

And here are some cards with the original portrait - The queen of spades is one of the most unique figures of the Auvergne pattern. (besides the jacks and my favorite king... which i'll write about later ;-) )

Indeed, she's holding a little lapdog (with... varying levels of dogness, i'll agree). Most of portraits depict her with a specific medieval headdress, and an ermine coat, which gives her a unique look compared to the other queens of the portrait.