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# 38
A Gallant invitation.
My collection of secondary used playing
cards includes all kind of invitations. Ball invitations from the USA (see
example 1 in this series), invitations for musical events, for a card playing
evening, for a dinner, for business meetings, for a political hearing, for
funerals and for Holy Masses to commemorate a deceased person. However the most
unusual invitation that I have is this one. It is French, 18th century, and it
is a very intriguing, gallant but also naughty invitation. The ‘dear friend’
is invited to a brothel!
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Playing card maker unknown, France. Collection Gejus van Diggele. |
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‘My dear friend, today you may have the
good fortune to meet your lovely lady friends. After having served old wigs with
the coffee, they will not be adverse to less serious faces. I shall await you
there. Where is that, you may be wondering. It is where charming ladies live,
who not only associate heartiness and wit, but also an easy and agreeable
intercourse with the most scrupulous decency; I will say no more. You will guess
or you do not deserve to know their names. There are not that many of them.
Yours affectionately
V. de Saussure.’
The card is folded. I guess the
‘friend’ folded the card to hide it in his pocket. There is no address, but
if you read between the lines, the ‘friend’ must haven known where to go.
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