16 Antique French Petit Etteilla Fortune Telling Cards Handwritten 19th C For Sale

Rare group of 16 antique French fortune-telling playing cards prepared according to the Petit Etteilla cartomancy system, likely dating to the early-to-mid 19th century.These miniature French playing cards were deliberately hand-annotated with numbered divinatory meanings corresponding to the historical Petit Etteilla method of fortune telling. The surviving cards include hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades, along with several single-ended court cards. Each card bears period manuscript writing directly over the printed face, with meanings intended to be read differently depending on whether the card appeared upright or reversed.This is especially interesting because historical instructions for the Petit Etteilla method directed practitioners to use an ordinary 32-card piquet deck, preferably with single-ended court figures, and to write the appropriate fortune-telling meanings directly onto the cards. The manuscript annotations seen here therefore appear to represent the intended preparation and actual working use of the deck rather than incidental later writing.Examples of the visible annotations correspond closely with recognized Etteilla meanings, including concepts such as victory, inheritance, thought, desire, delay, enterprise, illness, money, birth, loss and other divinatory interpretations.The cards retain attractive period features including hand-colored red suit symbols, traditional French court figures, square corners and repeating blue patterned backs. Their small format adds considerably to their visual appeal.This is a partial surviving group of 16 cards, not a complete deck. The original Petit Etteilla system was based on a 32-card piquet pack. Missing cards may have been separated from the group over many years.A fascinating early piece of the history of:Fortune tellingCartomancyDivinationPetit EtteillaAntique playing cardsFrench gaming historyOccult and esoteric collectingCondition is consistent with substantial age and historical use, including surface wear, toning, edge wear and manuscript writing as shown. Please examine all photographs carefully, as they form an important part of the description.Date: approximately c.1830–1860, with dating based on the physical characteristics of the cards and the historical use of the Petit Etteilla system.Quantity: 16 cards.

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