Introduction

 

  Last modified October 11, 2024

Franco Pratesi has an impressive list of publications on the history of the tarot and playing cards generally that goes back to 1986, both in print publications and on various websites, including his own at http://www.naibi.net/. However, many of the most important, especially in the last ten years or so, are in Italian only. In an effort to make his research more widely available, I have been translating selected essays and notes into English, starting with Google Translate and then correcting it by my understanding of Italian grammar and reference to online dictionaries for the word that fits the context best. Even then, I have routinely been going to Franco himself for advice on certain passages, especially in translating old documents, the proportion of which increased dramatically in 2023 and after. I have tried to make the English conform as closely as possible to the original Italian, sometimes resulting in awkward transitions in English but which in the development of ideas follow the Italian.  For safety's sake, any quotations by others of my translations should probably include the original Italian, since I do not guarantee the accuracy of my admittedly amateur work (or the combination of two amateurs).

At the right of this introduction on the web-page is a list of months and years. These are mostly when I posted a particular essay. The essays themselves, with only a few exceptions, are arranged in the order in which Franco published them on the internet, going down from later to earlier. So for essays dated earlier than those in a given month (when I posted the translation), it is necessary to click on an earlier month, until the desired note is found - or else use the link in this introduction, where I have listed the notes or essays by subject-matter, the subjects arranged more or less by when Franco addressed these subjects, earlier below later.

For the list on the right in this blog, there are two exceptions to my rule of listing them chronologically in order of publication. One is a series of articles by Franco originally published in Italian in the The Playing-Card, the journal of the International Playing Card Society. They are mostly about 18th century books on how to play minchiate, the game with the expanded tarot deck of 97 cards. When I resumed translating his work in 2023 (after he paused his research in 2017), I didn't notice them and didn't leave space for them in the series. So they are all together in my postings for June of 2024, along with what seems to have been the last one in that series, a note first published on naibi.net on a book in German containing a chapter on minchiate.

The other exception is a series of four notes on 18th-century Milanese tarocchi. Franco posted his originals in July-August 2023, but I didn't translate them until July of 2024. I left them for last because they seemed to involve the most technical terms and would be the hardest to translate, and you will find them posted in that month here.

I have written introductions to each translation, in most cases rather short. In some of the blog-posts, after the translation and in the same post, I have put my own reflections on Franco's note or thoughts relating to the same theme. I also have comments in square brackets within the note itself, for clarification, after first consulting with Franco. Both the translation and my comments originally appeared on Tarot History Forum, then pasted onto the blog for a more orderly arrangement, as they are scattered in various threads there. Some received discussion by Forum participants. In those cases, I have given a link to the Forum post.

To get to a particular translation in this blog, click on either the title in English, if underlined, or the link after the title. You will notice that the link title sometimes suggests something other than the essay in question. That is because, forgetting how Google blogs work, I had to occasionally move essays around to keep them in order, and Google doesn't change the link to fit the new title. 

•  Information from inventory and other account records in Tuscany (14 entries)
  

Sept. 30, 2024: Florence 1636 and 1637 - Gambling Accounts of Grand Duke Ferdinand II, originally Firenze 1636 e 1637 - Conti di gioco del granduca Ferdinando II (30.09.2024). Found by Franco in the vast Medicea Miscellany, a series of balance sheets, transcribed verbatim (and translated the same way), show  considerable sums being spent, but are they by the Grand Duke or others'?

Aug. 28, 2024: The Countess's embroidered trionfi. Originally  1505 - Trionfi ricamati della contessa (28.08.2024). An instance of "a pack of trionfi, embroidered, on parchment" in a 1505 inventory of the possessions of Ginevra Pico, daughter of Antonio Pico, granddaughter of Ginevra Sforza and Julia Boiardo. great-granddaughter of Alessandro Sforza.

Aug. 25, 2024. Florence 1430: Naibi found again. Originally Firenze 1430: naibi ritrovati (25.08.2024). An instance of "naibi" (early name for playing cards) in successive inventories, with comments on why such entries are so rare.

July 28, 2024: 1498 – Trionfi, books of the Tornabuoni. Originally Firenze 1498 – Trionfi, libri dei Tornabuoni (28.07.2024). Two inheritance inventories of this illustrious Florentine family, each singling out a copy of Petrarch's Trionfi for special mention while leaving other titles unsaid.

July 24, 2024: 1480s - Triumphs in Florence and Pistoia. Originally Anni 1480 Trionfi a Firenze e Pistoia (24.07.2024) Two inheritance inventories mentioning Trionfi, Petrarch's and otherwise, the second with a commentary.

July 21, 2024: Poppiano 1523 - Rather arcane triumphs. Originally Poppiano 1523 – Trionfi piuttosto arcani (21.07.2024). An entry in an inheritance inventory made mysterious for its Xs: "Un paio di triomphi del XX . . ."

 "Florence 1736-1737. Accounts in the shop of the abbot" (April 2, 2024) at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/05/april-2-2024-florence-736-1737-accounts.html. The original, "Firenze 1736-1737. Conti della bottega dell’abate," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/BOTTEGA.pdf.

"Florence 1478 and 1479: Petrarch's triumphs in private homes" (March 16, 2024, with May 3 addendum), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/03/florence-1472-1474-worn-out-naibi-and.html. The original, "Firenze 1478 e 1479: Trionfi del Petrarca in case private," is at https://naibi.net/A/TRIOPETR.pdf. 

 

 "Naibi for sale and worn-out naibi" (March 13, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/. The original is "Firenze 1420 e 1424. Naibi in vendita e naibi triste," at https://naibi.net/A/NAIBBI.pdf.

 "Florence 1472-1474. Worn-out naibi and triumphs in a bag" (Feb. 23, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_22.html. Franco's original at Firenze 1472-1474. Naibi tristi e trionfi in un sacchetto (23.02.2024).

"Pontormo 1479. Playing cards in a haberdasher's house" (Feb. 22, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank_14.html. Original at 8/06. Pontormo 1479. Carte da gioco nella casa di un merciaio (22.02.2024).

"Florence 1426. Naibi in a large family" (Feb. 12, 2024), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/blank.html. Original is Firenze 1426. Naibi in una grande famiglia (12.02.2024).

"Florence 1462: Playing Cards in a dry goods Store" (Dec. 2, 2023), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/florence-1462-playing-cards-in-dry.html. Original is "Firenze 1462: carte da gioco in una merceria" (02.12.2023)  

"Florence - Three account books of the 1400s" (October 18, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-18-2023-florence-three-account.html. Original Firenze – Tre libri di conti del Quattrocento (18.10.2023).

"1499-1506: New information on Florentine cards" (April, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/april-2015-new-information-on.html. Original is (1499-1506: Firenze - Nuove informazioni sulle carte fiorentine. The Playing-Card, Vol. 44, No. 1 (2015) 61-71)

• Historical (18th-early 19th century) books or booklets on how to play Minchiate (10 entries).
  

May 6, 2024: 1756 Vienna, and Nuremberg - the game of minchiate. Original is 1756 Vienna, e Norimberga – Il gioco delle minchiate (06.05.2024). This is a translation of Franco's discussion and translation into Italian of the chapter on minchiate in a book published in German in Vienna and Nuremberg of 1756, making it the earliest known describing the 18th century game.

 

June 1, 2024 - autograph note of Paul Minucci. The original is Minchiate – Nota autografa di Paolo Minucci (01.06.2024). Minucci's note is the earliest presentation known of the game of minchiate, dating back to 1688. Franco transcribes the author's own handwritten draft and places it alongside the printed version.  

 

March 14, 2024: Minchiate - A handwritten copy of Paolo Minucci's note. Original at Minchiate – Una copia manoscritta della nota di Paolo Minucci (14.03.2024). This is an anonymous manuscript copy of Minucci's note on minchiate, the earliest known writing on how to play the game, placed alongside the printed version.

Aug. 20, 2023: Fourteen minchiate cards of the 1700s. Originally Quattordici minchiate del Settecento (20.08.2023). This is a discussion of fourteen cards that came with the book discussed in the entry immediately below, twelve from the same deck, with the stamp and signature of the tax stamp manager 1750-1780 on one of them.

 

Oct.-Dec. 2023: General Rules on the Game of Minchiate. Originally Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate, The Playing-Card, Vol. 52, No. 2 (2023). The same essay not in journal format is at Regole Generali sopra il Gioco delle Minchiate (10.08.2023) .

 "1747 book on minchiate and other games" (The Playing-Card 49:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2020-1746-book-on-minchiate-and.html. Originally "Libro del 1747 sulle minchiate, e altri giochi," at https://www.naibi.net/A/86.pdf.

 

"The Regoli Generali in Florence" (The Playing-Card 49:1 (July-Sept. 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/july-sept-2020-regoli-generali-in.html. The original, "Minchiate, le Regole Generali di Firenze," is at https://www.naibi.net/A/85.pdf.

 

 "Minchiate, the General Rules of Rome and Macerata" (The Playing-Card 48:3 (Jan.-March 2020)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2020-minchiate-general-rules.html. The original is "Minchiate, Le Regole Generali di Roma e Macerata," at https://www.naibi.net/A/84.pdf.

 

 "Comments on the Regole delle Minchiatta" (The Playing-Card 47:3 (Jan.-March 2019)), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/jan-march-2019-comments-on-regole-delle.html. The original, 

"Commenti sul Regole delle Minchiatta,"is at https://www.naibi.net/A/81.pdf. 

 

 "The Capitolo delle Minchiate (Chapter on Minchiate," The Playing-Card 47:2 (Oct.-Dec. 2018), at http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/06/oct-dec-2018-capitolo-delle-minchiate.html. The original, "Il Capitolo delle Minchiate," is on naibi.net at https://www.naibi.net/A/80-CARDS.pdf

• Information from academies, literati, entertainers, poets, educators (14 entries)  
  

July 18, 2024: Various Card Games. Originally Diversi Giochi di Carte (18.07.2024). A booklet describing how to perform various card tricks; of indeterminate date, but probably around the year 1700.

 

June 10, 2024: 1712 - The games of Lorenzo Stecchi. Original: 1712 - I giochi di Lorenzo Stecchi (10.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 8, 2024 - Games of cards, bussolotti, and more. Original: Giuochi di Carte, Bussolotti, e altro (08.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

June 6, 2024 - white magic, card games. Original: La Magia bianca – Giochi di carte (06.06.2024). A book of card tricks: table of contents and examples of the tricks described.

 

May 17, 2024: a jealous husband. Original: Firenze 1713 - Un marito geloso (17.05.2024). A young gentleman's attentions to a lady playing cards gets challenged by the husband. What would have earlier led to a duel gets adjudicated by an expert on the laws of chivalry.

 

May 3, 2024: Florence in the 1700s. Octaves on Bassetta. Originally Firenze nel Settecento – Ottave sulla bassetta (03.05.2024). A poem in eight-line stanzas on the evils of the gambling game.

 

May 1, 2024: 1748 - Incomplete minchiate of an Arcadian shepherd. Originally 1748 – Minchiate incomplete di un pastore arcade (01.05.2024). The Arcadia here is an academy in Florence, and its shepherd has designed a deck of minchiate with historical information on the cards, to be read each time the card is played, thus imprinting the information in the memory of the players.

April 20, 2024: Florence 1783: The mystery of the Devil. Originally "Firenze 1783 ‒ Il giallo del Diavolo," at https://www.naibi.net/A/BACCANO.pdf. The Devil card of Florentine minchiate speaks - in invitations to a social event, ending with a humorous short poem.

April 17, 2024: Florence in the 17th c.: Octaves on the Game of Ombre. Originally Firenze nel Seicento ‒ Ottave sul Gioco dell’Ombre (17.04.2024) A poem in eight-line stanzas recounting a friendly game of Ombre among five ladies, with young gentlemen attending.

 

April 13, 2024: Minchiate, a field too vast for the academy. Originally Minchiate, un campo troppo vasto per l’Accademia (13.04.2024). In an Academy speech, the author criticizes the subjects on the cards of minchiate and proposes his own replacement images, by which the history of ancient civilizations may be pleasantly taught while playing the game.

 

April 4, 2024: Playing cards in defense of church and academy. Originally Carte da gioco difese in accademia e in chiesa (04.04.2024). Two speeches in a Florentine academy, neither very original, defending the morality of playing cards.

 

April 3, 2024: Florence in the 18th c.: Card games in the theater of the Pergola.  Originally Firenze nel Settecento - Giochi di carte al Teatro della Pergola (03.04.2024).

March 27, 2024: Florence ca. 1720. Minchiate and knights without cavalry. Originally Firenze circa 1720. Minchiate e cavalieri senza cavalleria (27.03.2024).

Dec. 2, 2023: 1700s in Florence: Conversations in the casino of St. Trinita. Originally Settecento a Firenze: Conversazione del Casino di Santa Trinita (02.12.2023). The  "conversations" here are social interactions in a setting reserved for the nobility, including games with cards supplied by the house. Franco documents a squabble among players and, among loose sheets of paper, the purchases of playing cards by this social club.

October 16, 2023: Games played with tarocchi in the seventeenth century. Originally Giuochi che si fanno con le carte ‒ nel Seicento (16.10.2023). The "games" here are card tricks, delineated in a book not easy to decipher. However, we have figured out all but one of the explanations for hohe tricks are done.

April-June 2019: Pocket atlas and minchiate from 1780. Originally Atlante tascabile e minchiate del 1780. The Playing-Card, Vol. 47, No. 4 (2019). This is about a minchiate deck with maps of various regions of the world on its cards and geographical information instead of the usual images, for the purpose of learning geography as one plays.

• Information from the taxation system in Tuscany (7 entries)
  

 Oct. 2, 2024. 1785 and 1786 - Sale of playing cards in Tuscany, originally 1785 e 1786 - Vendita di carte da gioco in Toscana. This is from records of the Playing Cards Tax Stamp Company, a division of the grand-ducal administration, showing types of decks received by the Administration, how many of each, and where and how many sold, in various locales of Tuscany outside of Florence as well as their Florentine producers.

"Florence 1743-1778: Licenses for games" (Jan. 20, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/02/jan-20-2024.html, Franco's original is at Firenze 1743-1778. Le licenze sui giochi (20.01.2024)).

"Florence 1843-1845. Foreign cards and bureaucracy" (Jan. 2, 2024) https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/. Original at Firenze 1843-1845. Carte forestiere e burocrazia (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1814: Restoration, also for playing cards" (Jan. 2, 2024), https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2024/01/jan-2-2024-florence-1814-restoration.html. Original at Firenze 1814: Restaurazione, anche per le carte da gioco (02.01.2024).

"Florence 1766 - Domenico Aldini under investigation (November 21, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/november-21-2023-florence-1766.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1766 - Domenico Aldini sotto inchiesta (21.11.2023) .

"Reform of the stamp duty on cards (October 31, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-31-2023-reform-of-bolo-on-cards.html. Franco's original is at Firenze 1781: riforma del bollo sulle carte (31.10.2023).

"Cortona 1767-1781 - Playing Cards in Customs" (October 25, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-25-2023-cortona-1767-1781.html. Franco's original is Cortona 1767-1781 – Carte da gioco in Dogana (25.10.2023).

• Information from 18th-early 19th century almanacs, booklets, or book chapters in Lombardy addressing tarocchi (7 entries)

Aug. 20, 2023: Brescia 1786 - almanac on the tarot. Franco's original is Brescia 1786 – Almanacco sul tarocco (20.08.2023). This is the earliest of various short Lombard tracts on how to play tarocchi well. It either shows a very primitive approach to the game, close to superstition, or else (more likely) is meant as a joke. 

Aug. 18, 2023: Instructions for the Milanese game of tarocchi (1793-1827). Original: Istruzioni per il gioco milanese di tarocchi (1793-1827) (18.08.2023). Comparison of the 1793 book with the next one seen with similar contents, from 1827.

Aug. 3, 2023: More Lombard editions from Court de Gebelin. Originally Più edizioni lombarde da Court de Gébelin (03.08.2023). This is a follow-up on the note listed immediately below this one, promulgating the ideas of de Gébelin on the origin of the tarot, with a lengthy quotation from Leopold Cigognara.

July 11, 2023: The game of tarocchi - Milan 1789 and 1792. Original: Il Giuoco de’ tarocchi ‒ Milano 1789 e 1792 (11.07.2023). Quotations in the 1793 book from an earlier book of 1789 reprinted 1792, with the 1793 author's comments, usually contemptuous.

 July 10, 2023: For one who plays tarocchi - Milan 1793. Original: Per chi tarocca ‒ Milano 1793 (10.07.2023). Table of contents and extensive quotation and summary of contents, one part on strategy quite different from the 1794 and 1811.

July 5, 2023: Ideas of an Egyptian: Cremona 1795. Originally Idee di un egiziano. Cremona 1795 (05.07.2023). Court de Gébelin's ideas summarized in a publication in Cremona.

July 1, 2023: Milan 1794: an unknown book on tarocchi. Original: Milano 1794: uno sconosciuto libro sui tarocchi  (01.07.2023). Table of contents and sample passages from the text, compared with an 1811 version that is seen to be similar, despite not appearing so at the outset. Mostly concerns penalties for fouls.

• Information from laws and criminal records in Tuscany (6 entries)
  

"1426-1440 Florence: Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily" (Nov. 26, 2016)  http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-26-2016-1426-1440-florence.html (1426-1440: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio. (26.11.2016))

 "1377: Florence: sentenced as players of naibi" (Jan-March 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank_62.html. Originally 1377: Firenze - Condanne ai giocatori di naibi." The Playing-Card , Vol. 44, No. 3 (2016), 156-163.)  

"1514: Florence: Law on games" (synopsis) (Nov. 21, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-21-2015-1514-florence-law-on-games.html (11514: Firenze - Legge sui giochi. (21.11.2015))

"1450, 1473, 1477: Florence: Laws on games" (Nov. 7, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/nov-7-2015-1450-1472-1477-florence-laws.html (1450, 1473, 1477: Firenze - Leggi sui giochi. (07.11.2015)

"1451: Siena - New law on games" (Oct. 31, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/essay-2.html (1451: Siena - Nuova legge sui giochi. (31.10.2015))

 "1440-1450: Florence - Convictions for card games in the Books of the Lily" (Oct. 12, 2015) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/oct-12-2015-1440-1450-florence.html. (Original at 1440-1450: Firenze - Condanne per giochi di carte nei Libri del Giglio. (12.10.2015))

• Playing card documentation outside Tuscany and Lombardy (6 entries) 

"Cards and Tarocchi at the end of the 1700s in Sardinia" (Sept. 17, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/october-16-2023-cards-and-tarocchi-at.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi alla fine del Settecento in Sardegna," at https://www.naibi.net/A/SARDCAT.pdf. 

 

"Cards and Tarocchi in Sassari, beginning of the 19th century" (Aug. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/09/v-behaviorurldefaultvml-o.html. Originally "Carte e tarocchi a Sassari all’inizio dell’Ottocento," at https://www.naibi.net/A/TASASSA.pdf

 

 "1501-1521: cards from Perugia and nearby cities" (Jan. 5, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-5-2017-1501-1521-cards-from-perugia.html (1501-1521: Carte da Perugia e città vicine. (05.01.2017))

"The 3rd Rosenwald Sheet" (June 27, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-27-2016-3rd-rosenwald-sheet.html (Il terzo foglio Rosenwald. (27.06.2016))

"Assisi c. 1510: Complete deck of 48 cards" (Dec. 22, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-22-2016-assisi-c-1510-complete-deck.html (1510 ca: Assisi - Mazzo completo di 48 carte. (21.12.2016))

 "1477 Bologna: Arithmetic for cards and triumphs" (June 9, 2014) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank.html (Carte da gioco a Firenze: il primo secolo (1377-1477). The Playing-Card , 19 No. 1 (1990) 7-17.))

• Triumphs and the minor arts (5 entries)
  

 "Siena 1438: From Angels to Love" (Dec. 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/dec-7-2015-siena-1438-from-angels-to.html  (1438: Siena - Dagli Angeli all'Amore. (07.12.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Triumphi" [i.e. in illuminated manuscripts], (Oct. 15, 2016)  http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-15-2016-triumphs-and-triumphi.html (1450ca: Trionfi e Triumphi. (15.10.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and Civic Processions" (Oct. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-10-2016-ca-1450-civic-processions.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cortei cittadini. (10.11.2016))

 "ca 1450: Triumphs and marriage chests," (Aug. 31, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/aug-31-2016-triumphs-and-marriage-chests.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e cassoni nuziali. (31.08.2016))

"ca 1450: Triumphs and birthtrays," (May 13, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/may-13-21016-ca-1450-florence-triumphs.html (1450ca: Firenze - Trionfi e deschi da parto. (13.05.2016))

• Earliest playing cards in Europe, by place (9 entries)

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Holland" (Jan. 18, 2017 and March 9, 2017) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2017/02/jan-18-2017-playing-cards-in-europe.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. (18.01.2017) and Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Olanda. Addendum. (09.03.2017))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Aragon" (June 21, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s_6.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Aragona. (21.06.2016))

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Buja" (June 15, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/translators-introduction-by-michael-s.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Buja. (15.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Bohemia" (June 7, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-7-2016-before-1377-bohemia.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Boemia. (07.06.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Poland" (June 2, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/june-2-2016-before-1377-poland.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Polonia. (02.06.2016)

 "Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Italy" (May 5, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Carte da gioco in Europa prima del 1377 ? Italia. (05.05.2016))

"Various cards at Basel in 1377 or 1429" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/april-26-2016-various-cards-at-basel-in.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

"Playing Cards in Europe Before 1377? Berne" (April 26, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/sept-24-2016-before-1377-berne.html (Carte varie a Basilea nel 1377 o nel 1429. (26.04.2016))

  "Comments on Islamic cards" (Feb. 8, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/feb-8-2015-comments-on-islamic-cards.html (Commenti sulle carte islamiche. (08.02.2016)

• General reflections, mostly on trionfi (5 entries)

"Minchiate, Reflections on Design" (Dec. 2, 2023), at https://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-12-2023-minchiate-reflections.html. Franco's original is at Minchiate. Riflessioni sul design (02.12.2023).

 "Imaginary origins of triumphs and minchiate" (Nov. 19, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/nov-12-2016-imaginary-origins-of.html (Genesi favolosa di trionfi e minchiate. (19.11.2016)   

"Earliest Triumphs: Contrasting Proposals and Outlooks" (Oct. 4, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/11/oct-4-2016-earliest-triumphs_7.html (Primi trionfi, proposte contrastanti e prospettive. (04.10.2016))

 "Milanese and Florentine Triumphs" (Feb. 12, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/blank_22.html (Trionfi milanesi e fiorentini - ipotesi e commenti. (12.02.2016))

"Cremona 1441? Ruminations on the Visconti-Madrone" (Jan. 17, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-17-2016-ruminations-on-visconti-di.html (Cremona 1441? - Elucubrazioni sui tarocchi Visconti di Modrone o Cary-Yale. (17.01.2016))

 "Other comments on the triumphs" (Jan. 11, 2016) http://pratesitranslations.blogspot.com/2016/02/jan-11-2015-other-comments-qabout.html (Altri commenti sui trionfi. (11.01.2016))

A complete list of Franco's essays on playing cards, with links to their texts in their original language, is at http://naibi.net/p/index.html. Those originally published at trionfi.com, all but one originally in English, also appear online at that site. All of the web-pages at trionfi.com can be read in other languages via Google Translate, by entering the page's url into Google Translate's slot for websites and then clicking on "translate this page." The result is usually adequate English, except for quotations from historic texts (and remember that the slang term for bull manure, when it appears in a translation, is Google's idea of what minchiate means; of course here it invariably means the Tuscan card game and deck). 

To use Google Translate for the essays on Franco's own site, it is necessary to download them to your computer and then have Google translate them as a "document" rather than a "website."

Oct. 2, 2024: 1785 and 1786 - Sale of playing cards in Tuscany

 Here now is "1785 e 1786 - Vendita di carte da gioco in Toscana," at https://www.naibi.net/A/8-34-DOGANA.pdf, dated Oct. 2, 2024. Comments in brackets are mine, for clarification. Numbers by themselves in the left margin are the page numbers of Franco's pdf, with footnotes at the bottom of these pages.


1785 and 1786 - Sale of playing cards in Tuscany

Frank Pratesi

1. Introduction

The Miscellanea medicea collection of the State Archives of Florence (ASFi) contains, as can be deduced from its very name, a lot of scattered material, collected without rigorous ordering criteria from what was found in the archives of many government offices of Florence and Medici secretariats, without being included in the "institutional" collections such as the Mediceo del Principato and others of that kind.

In this jumble of disparate documentation, the archival unit under examination would seem to contain eleven files of documents dedicated to similar topics, as can be deduced from the title, Maremma e [and] Val di Chiana, places where the Grand Dukes worked for a long time to drain the marshes, fight malaria, and make the land usable for agriculture. Despite this, the miscellaneous nature of the collection is evident here, too: in particular, among these files, we find an extraneous one, which has nothing in common either with the title of the unit or with the other documents.

It happens that this extraneousness to the general subject is useful for us, interested in the history of playing cards in Tuscany. The file in question contains, in fact, some accounts of the Royal Income, and in particular, some connected precisely with the Company of the tax stamp and the sale of playing cards. [note 1]

In this study the main data contained in the file will be indicated and discussed, but it seems necessary to preliminarily define the limits of this information. First of all, it must be noted that the documented period of time is very short, limited to the two years 1785 and 1786.

Another serious limitation is that this data concerns points of sale scattered throughout Tuscany. Naturally, the fact that the documentation for the tax stamp and sales within the city of Florence is absent means that what we encounter on the subject must therefore be considered in its partial aspect, that is, referred to the outskirts of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, excluding the main part, the capital, the city center where all the production of playing cards was located and the largest part of their sale and use.

Within the limits mentioned, the documentation studied integrates what we already know from the Florentine offices and provides us with a general picture of the different distribution of playing cards throughout the Grand Ducal territory.

2. Account of 1785

General Administration
Second Department
Playing Cards Tax Stamp
Account of the Administration of Playing Cards, and of the sale of said Cards, aggregated to the Company, drawn up on the book kept for the aforementioned Administration for the year 1785

Entries of Cards
Single Art.
Cards Purchased

One thousand three hundred twenty-seven Dozens and ten packs of various Cards purchased in the year 1785 are put in Input, both from the year 1784 and from the Cardmakers of Florence in the current year 1785, as can be seen from the Book of said administration, correlative to the following detail, namely.

___________________
1. ASFi, Miscellanea medicea, Scatola 277 “Maremma e Val di Chiana”. Fasc. N. 7. RR. Rendite: bilanci relativi alle gabelle su tabacco, carta bollata, carte da gioco, gabella dei contratti, farine, sigillo della carne, cc.1-252 [II metà sec. XVIII] [Medici Miscellany, Box 277, “Maremma and Val di Chiana.” File No. 7. RR. Income: balance sheets relating to taxes on tobacco, stamped paper, playing cards, tax on contracts, flour, seal on meats, pp.1-252 {2nd half of the 18th century}].


2
 

ASFi, Miscellanea medicea, 277 Fasc. No. 7, f. 130r (Reproduction prohibited)

(Note that the figures recorded below with decimals are not in decimals but refer to the decks, that is, twelfths of a dozen.) 

 Total [Decks of] Cards Entered……………………………….……...Dozens 1327.10

 [For the sake of keyword searches on this Forum, which does not register words in images, I am listing here what the above table includes: Various French-style small cards [Cartine alla francese diverse]; Local cards: Ordinary of swords and batons, Picchetto, Low Cards [Carte Basse], Minchiate, since the year 1784 and from the Cardmakers in the year 1785, in dozens of decks]

Cards Released
First Art.

3

Cards sold

There is put in Output the amount of Seven Hundred and Eighty-Six Dozens and six packs of various Cards sold throughout the year 1785 in the various places designated for sale, as can be seen from the Accounts of the same, correlative to the following Detail, namely.
 

[The above table includes: Various small cards in French style; Local cards, Picchetto, Low Cards, Minchiate, in dozens of decks]

Art. II
Remaining Cards up to December 1785
The quantity of Five Hundred and Forty-One Dozens and Four Packs found in existence on December 31, 1785, both in the General Warehouse and in the Sale Places, as can be seen from the Demonstration made in the book Debtors and Creditors at 227, correlative to the following Detail, namely.

The above quantities amount to the first total of……………...Dozens 541.4

[The above table includes: Various French-style small cards; Local cards: Ordinary of swords and batons, Picchetto, Low Cards, Minchiate. In the general warehouse and at the places of sale, in dozens.]

There follows a Recapitulation of the Output, which I will not transcribe because no further data appears.

Result
Card Input rises to…………………………………………………….1327.10
The output amounts to …………………………………………………786.6
The stocks as of December 1785 are…..........…….......……….……541.4
…………………………………………………………………… -----------------
……………………………………………...…………………..………1327.10
………………………………………………..…….………………It matches.

3. Account of 1786

General Administration
Second Department
Playing Cards Tax Stamp
Account of the Administration of the Stamp Duty of Playing Cards and of the sale of said Cards, aggregated to the Company, drawn up in the book kept for the aforementioned Administration for the year 1786.

Card Input
Single Art.
Cards Purchased

The amount of one thousand three hundred and eighteen Dozens and four packs of various cards purchased in the year 1786, both from the year 1785 and from the cardmakers of Florence in the current year 1786, is entered into Input, as can be seen from the Book of said administration correlating to the following detail, namely.

 

4
 

ASFi, Miscellanea medicea, 277 Fasc. No. 7, f. 135r. Detail (Reproduction prohibited)

Total Card Input……………………………….………Dozens 1318.4

[The above table includes the following: Various small cards In the French style, Local cards, Ordinary of swords and batons, Of Picchetto, Low Cards, Minchiate, Since the year 1785, From the Cardmakers in 1786.]

Card Output
Art. First
Cards sold

Five Hundred and Sixty-One Dozens and eight packs of various Cards were placed in Output as sold throughout the year 1786 in the various Places designated for sale, as can be seen from the Accounts of the same, correlative to the following Detail, namely.

[The above table includes the following: French Cards, Complete, Small Cards; Local cards, Picchetto Cards, Low Cards, Minchiate, in Dozens.]

Art. II
Remaining Cards up to December 1786
The quantity of Seven Hundred and Fifty-Six Dozens and Eight Packs found in existence on December 31, 1786, both in the General Warehouse and in the Sale Places, as can be seen from the Demonstration made in the book Debits and Credits at 258, correlative to the following Detail, namely.

5

The above quantities amount to the first total of……….…….Dozens 756.8

[The above table includes the following: Various small Cards in the French style; Local cards: Ordinary of swords and batons, Of Picchetto, Low Cards, Minchiate, In the general Warehouse, At the Places of sale.]

There follows a Recapitulation of the Output, which I will not transcribe because no further data appears.

Result
Card Input rises to……………………………………………………….1318.4
The output amounts to …………………………......…...….…...………561.8
The stocks as of December 1786 are…………………............…….…756.8
………………………………………………..…………………-------------------
……………………………………………………....….…………………1318.4
…………………………………………...……………………………It matches.

4. Other information

Most of the accounts concern amounts of money coming in and going out. Of these I have copied only a few that seemed to me of greater interest. The following table shows the income for the sale of playing cards in the various sales points of Tuscany.

[The following are included in the above table: 1785, 1786 [Income] produced from Card Sales in: Arezzo, Bientina, Cortona, Firenzuola, Galeata, Livorno, Marradi, Modigliana, Monte Pulciano {Montepulciano], Palazzuolo, Pescia, Pisa, Pistoia, Pontedera, Poppi, Rocca S. Casciano, S. Sepolcro, S. Pietro in Bagno, Sestina, Volterra; Department of Siena: Siena, Casole, Asciano, Chiusdino, Gerfalco, Montalcino, Sarteano, Sinalunga.]

6
The figures are in lire (using the fractions in soldi and denari of the account to approximate the last figure). The dash corresponds to the presence of the sales point without indication of income, the letter x to the absence of the point in the list. The Department of Siena had a separate administration, and only Montalcino appears in the 1786 list.

To get an idea of the variation in the previous years of the company's balance sheet, always positive, I copy the relevant table, with the figures in lire, also approximating the fractions here.

 [The above table covers: Demonstration of the surpluses [in lire] of the Playing Cards Tax Stamp Company, from the year 1769 to the whole year 1785, belonging to the General Depository. Average value about 8780.]

Apart from a clear minimum around the year 1774, a general upward trend can be noted with a more marked increase in recent years.

Unfortunately, there is no record of the origin of the playing cards; all Florentine card makers are involved, to varying degrees. Some information can be obtained from Chapter VI of the General Budget, in lire (approximating the fractions).

 [The above two tables include the following: Balance up to December 1785, Debits/Credits: Giacomo Zoija, Zanobi Rossi, Pietro Molinelli, Emanuele Sacerdote, Gaetano Cambiagi, Domenico Falugi.
Balance up to December 1786, Debits/Credits: Lorenzo Tanini, Pietro Molinelli, Emanuele Sacerdote, Domenico Falugi, Giacomo Zoija.]

7
For comparison, it may be useful to take from a previous publication [note 2] the two tables that report the dozens of cards produced by Florentine cardmakers, with the warning that the data for 1785 do not correspond to the entire year.

 [The above tables include the following: 1785, Picchetto, Low cards, Small, Minchiate: Lorenzo Tanini, Pietro Molinelli, Domenico Falugi, Giocomo Zoija]; 372 French + 360 Complete. ** Cucu Cards.
1786, Picchetto, Low cards, Small, Minchiate: Lorenzo Tanini, Pietro Molinelli, Domenico Falugi, Giocomo Antonio Zoja]
* 336 Small + 336 Quadriglio + 144 Complete. ** 12 Cucu.]

It should always be remembered that in these documents of the Miscellanea we find no trace of the decks sold in Florence, nor of those exported. As an order of magnitude, we can say that here we follow the fate of about a tenth of all the cards produced in the year by Florentine cardmakers.

5. Comments and conclusion

The information that can be gleaned from the accounts under examination is rather limited, despite its quantitative nature. The general context was already known from previous research. Something more precise is obtained here on the distribution of playing cards among the various Tuscan locations and among the various types of cards produced at the time.

The total indicated for the sale of cards indicates a decline in the two years under examination, as is evident from the frequent decrease in cards sold at the various points of sale. However, in addition to the two documented years, there is a table that reports the result of the annual balance sheets of the last 17 years, which indicates how the grand ducal management of the sale of playing cards produced profits that increased on average over time.

On the other hand, it is clear that the types of cards used outside the capital are very limited: the traditional deck of 40 low cards predominates by a lot, while the minchiate deck endures, even if for a fraction of just over a tenth, as documented by other offices for nearby years. The typical places where minchiate was played were academies and city “conversations,” possibly even barber shops, while in country taverns play was exclusively with low cards, or almost so. However, the data reported includes cities such as Pisa, Livorno and Siena, which could contribute more to the sale of minchiate decks, so much so that the overall number of sales is still more than satisfactory. We know, moreover, that the collapse of interest in the game of minchiate occurred only a century after this data.

Florence, 02.10.2024
___________________
2. F. Pratesi, Playing-Card Production in Florence. Tricase 2018; http://trionfi.com/evx-playing-card-pro ... rand-duchy.

Sept. 30, 2024: Florence 1636 and 1637 - Gambling accounts of Grand Duke Ferdinand II

 Below is a translation of "Firenze 1636 e 1637 - Conti di gioco del granduca Ferdinando I," at https://www.naibi.net/A/8-33-GRANDUCA.pdf, dated Sept. 30, 2024. The title is self-explanatory, but does it refer to accounts of the Grand Duke's gambling, or something else?

Comments in brackets are mostly mine, after consultation with Franco. A few are by Franco, indicated as "note by FP." Numbers by themselves on the left are the page numbers of Franco's pdf, and the footnotes are at the bottom of each page.


Florence 1636 and 1637 - Gambling accounts of Grand Duke Ferdinand II

Franco Pratesi

1. Introduction

The State Archives of Florence (ASFi) are an inexhaustible source of information on the many members of the Medici families who played prominent roles first in the Florentine Republic and finally in the Grand Duchy. Here I examine a file containing a few accounting papers of Grand Duke Ferdinand II. [note 1] Not surprisingly, given that it is kept in the Miscellanea collection, the document is part of an archival unit with fifty files on various subjects, with no obvious connections between them, other than that they all come from the Medici secretariats or the Grand Ducal offices.

In this study, the figures of interest are the “serenissimi fratelli” [most serene brothers] Medici, among whom Ferdinando and Giovan Carlo, the first and second sons of Grand Duke Cosimo II, appear explicitly here, together with their uncle Lorenzo. For them, in the years considered here, there are also many documents in the ASFi, starting with their rich correspondence. Many scholars have examined them, and books and articles have been published on the subject since the nineteenth century in quantities difficult even to imagine. As far as I understand, however, attention has always been partial.

For example, in the period in question, the importance of the Florentine court for the history of the theater is well known. So it is not surprising that recently the documents of the ASFi have also been the object of meticulous research by Florentine university researchers, but with useful contributions also from foreign scholars. I will only mention the book of which I have already used part of the title and which will also be useful to me later. [note 2] Among other things, the author continued this research by coordinating that of numerous students with entire series of master's and doctoral theses that followed one another over the course of decades at the University of Florence. A particular, related case is that of the interest of the Medici family members themselves in the history of music, a sector in which studies also abound, as one might expect since Florence had a pioneering role at the time with considerable innovations.

Another very important sector is that of fine arts. Especially Giovan Carlo was a well-known collector of statues and paintings, carefully selected. But our Medici were surrounded by the best painters of the time also for the decoration of their famous villas in the surroundings of Florence. Furthermore, the architectural aspect of the same villas must be considered, which therefore attracted the attention of other historians who sifted through the documents of the ASFi, obtaining as usual numerous publications also on this sector.

We could continue considering further aspects of court life, such as to reveal other historical interests that can be deduced from the ASFi documents. For example, hunting, which was an activity that often filled the days of the princes during their stays in the country villas. Closer to the topic of our interest are the public festivals and games, which partly continued ancient traditions, partly presented new aspects. In the squares, jousts, palios, and various shows took place; in particular, as a game, and a public show at the same time, we must remember that of football, played at the time by a small circle of nobles.

The problem is that thus far I have not been able to find any detailed study based on the same documents and correspondence, but dedicated to the private gaming activity of the period. It would seem that people no longer gambled and that the Council of Trent had managed to burn all the dice, cards, and even the boards and chess sets, in the manner that had been seen in Florence when Bernardino of Siena had passed through.

An intriguing fact is that, for example, Giovan Carlo de' Medici remained famous not only as a patron but also as a great pleasure-seeker and libertine, passionate about art, but also women, parties, and games. Several of the Medici had been known to favor gambling in all its forms, but it would seem that for Giovan Carlo the Council of Trent did not exist, and perhaps not even for the Pope, who in 1644 made him Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.
______________________
1. ASFi, Miscellanea Medicea, Scatola 264, Fasc. 28 [Medicean Miscellany, Box 264, File 28].
2. S. Mamone, Serenissimi fratelli principi impresari [Most Serene Brothers Princes Impresarios]. Florence 2003.

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In short, I regret that the document I am presenting here is not inserted into a known context. I also do not exclude that the same document is already well known to scholars and that some of them have already been able to comment on it more validly than I am able to here. After all, the series of archival units in which this document is inserted is part of a fund already explored countless times, and in the smallest details, by many scholars.

2. Economic and accounting considerations

Considering the nature of the document, an accounting premise may be useful for a better evaluation of its content. In Florence, accounting was kept with the traditional system of lire, soldi, denari, in which twelve denari made up a soldo and twenty soldi made up a lira. When the gold florin was introduced, the new currency was directly linked to this system, with one florin equivalent to one lira. Subsequently, the correspondence between florin and lira varied over time with a continuous appreciation of the gold coin, until in 1533, the florin of the Florentine Republic was replaced by the new gold scudo ‒ with the Medici balls replacing the lily ‒ which also had other variants or names such as zucchini and ducato. In the document under examination, the name scudo appears, which remained the most common in accounting for the following centuries.

With the introduction of the florin and then the scudo, accounting became four-digit, due to the introduction of an additional figure at the beginning. In the era of interest, the scudo was already worth seven lire, and continued to maintain this ratio for a couple of centuries. An advantage of the system could be that any figure could be divided into identical parts, without remainder, for all the divisors from one to ten. Therefore, when reading the figures in the document, one must remember that our tenths do not appear and that to move to a unit further to the left, 12 denari, 20 soldi, and 7 lire will be needed, respectively. For this reason, I believe it is useful to keep the colons separating the figures in the transcription, as can be read in the original, instead of the usual full stops [i.e. periods, in American English].

Again, to evaluate the content, it is not enough to understand the basics of accounting but it seems necessary also to have an idea of the value of the figures indicated, that is, how much a Florentine scudo was worth in those years. There will certainly be conversion tables that allow one to read directly how many euros today a gold scudo of those years was equivalent to, but up to now, I have not found any. On a private site on the Internet, [note 3] a value of the scudo equal to 162 euros is obtained, based on how much the quantity of gold present in the coin would be worth today, but at the same time it is warned [by that same author] that this method cannot be reliable.

To better understand the value of the scudo at the time, I then thought of examining another manuscript from a collection that I have been exploring for some time. [note 4] It is a series of Estimates, that is, evaluations by official appraisers of the economic value of the inheritances of the wards. There are many different cases from years close in time, but especially from real estate, both in the city and in the countryside.

As for houses, obviously, the estimated prices vary greatly depending on the size and location. On average, excluding extraordinary cases, a city house can be considered to be worth roughly 200 to 1,500 scudi, and 100 to 400 for a country house. For the countryside, the estimate is usually more varied because in addition to that of the main house, there are estimates of huts and accessory buildings and, above all, of numerous small pieces of land located nearby; therefore, instead of one figure, we read up to a dozen, with many that are limited to a few dozen scudi. In conclusion, it does not seem too risky to assume as an order of magnitude that one scudi of those years was equivalent to a thousand euros today.

However, it is clear that the method of considering real estate as a measurement of valuation is also fundamentally wrong. In fact, it seems completely impossible, for example, that, in the document under examination, something like two thousand euros of today was offered as alms to a “poor girl,” and even a little less than 44 thousand to “a poor man.” From the document under consideration, one would say that a scudo was worth roughly ten euros, or even just one. In short, the confirmation I was looking for did not confirm anything at all and leaves us undecided about the value of the scudo, even between several orders of
_________________
3. https://www.itrecipressi.it/scudo.html
4. ASFi, Magistrato dei Pupilli del Principato, Filza 2726 [Magistracy of Minors of the Principality, File 2726].

3
magnitude. In any case, the figures in the document are those; the correct equivalences can be found later.

3. The document of 1636

[Translator’s note: this is mostly a literal translation with only an occasional comment on the language, leaving the interpretation for Franco in section 6. In the first sentence below, I use the plural “Monies” for “Denari”; ordinarily, when not referring to the specific unit of Italian currency, the translation would be “Money”; but in a financial statement like this one, the English “Monies” seems more appropriate. In this transcription, the dots are in place of the spaces that appear in the original document, as the THF software does not appear to allow spaces other than those to separate words.]

......[f. 1r] Output [Uscita] and Input [Entrata] of Monies of S.A.S. [his most serene highness] of Gambling [del Gioco, literally “of the Game”]
......1636 and 1637

……[f. 2r] Input
……Of Monies [Denari] Collected of the [del] Gambling of S.A.S.
……On day 12 July 1636 [i.e., On the 12th of July 1636]
From Francesco Conti received in Cash [Contanti]............................Sc. 5615
And more Coin [Moneta] from the [dal] above ...................................Sc.       -:5:15
And more from the above-said, Dobli [note 5]
……N° 1707 at L.19:13:4 each ..................... .................. .................Sc. 4795:6
And more from the above-said Monies ...............................................Sc.    20:2:5
……On day 20 said [i. e., On the 20th of said month, in this case, July]
From the above-said in Cash ..............................................................Sc. 1682
……On day 10 August
From the above-said in Cash ..............................................................Sc. 5519
……On day 13 October
From Sig. Marchese Nicolini in Cash ..................................................Sc.  561:6:6:8
……On day 19 said
From Francesco Conti in Cash ............,...............................................Sc.  200
............................................................................................................-------------------
............................................................................................................Sc. 14394:6:6:8

[f. 3r] Output
Of Monies of Gambling of S.A.S.
On day 19 July 1636
To S.A.S. Dobli N° 35 at L. 19:13:4 .................................................Sc.      98:2:6:8
And more Coin ................................................................................Sc.        1:4:13:4
……On day 20 said
To the Cards of the Chamber Assistants of
…Sig. Prince Giovan Carlo...............................................................Sc.     82
And more to the Chamber-Boy of Above-said Prince.......................Sc.       2
……On day 23 said
To Sig. Marquis Paolo del Buffalo in Cash........................................Sc. 3232:3:6:8
And more Dobli N° 49 at L 19:13:4 each to the above-said. .............Sc.  137:4:13:4
……On day 26 said
To Francesco Conti in Cash for Gambling [per il Gioco]…....….........Sc.  566
……On day First August
Consigned To S.A.S. dobli N° 1421 at L. 19:13:4
….and more Coin Sc 1:3:13:4 ..........................................................Sc. 3993:6
……On day 10 said
To the Cards of the Chamber Assistants of
….Sig. Prince above-said...................................................................Sc.    70
......On day 14 said
Paid by order of S.A.S. to Sig. March. Nicolini .................................Sc.   100
......On day 16 said

_________________
5. More commonly dobla, a gold coin introduced in Spain and later also in several Italian states.

4

To Francesco Conti in Cash for Gambling...........................................Sc. 1664
.............................................................................................................. -----------
..............................................................................................................Sc. 9948

[f. 3v] The Sum above follows...............................................................Sc. 9948

On day 23 August 1636
To Francesco Conti in Cash for Gambling..............................................Sc.    32
......On day 25 said
By order of S.A.S. be paid in Cash
....to Felice Gamberaio ...........................................................................Sc.    50
By order of S.A.S. be paid to
....Remigio Cantagallina in Cash ............................................................Sc.    80
......On day 26 said
By order of S.A.S. be paid to
...Bartolomeo Piggi Pistolesi in Cash.......................................................Sc.    40
......On day 30 said
....To Francesco Conti in Cash for Gambling...........................................Sc.   976
......On day 12 September
To Francesco Conti in Cash for Gambling.................................................Sc. 400
......On day 15 said
By order of S.A.S. be paid in Cash to
....Antonio Paolsanti .................................................................................Sc.  150
To Sig. Princ. Don Lorenzo in Cash .........................................................Sc.  100
To Sig. Cav. Castaldi in Cash....................................................................Sc.   40
On day 10 October
To Francesco Conti in Cash for
....Gambling at Mezzomonte.....................................................................Sc.  130
And more was paid to the Account of Gambling at Artimina....................Sc.    30:3
..................................................................................................................-----------
.................................................................................................................Sc.11976:3

[f. 4r] The Sum above follows .................................................................Sc.11976:3

......On day 12 October 1636
To Ipolito Paggio di Valligg.a of [di] S.A.S. for Account of the
....Game of Maglio [Mallet] Paid in Cash ................................................Sc.      48:2
To above-said paid in Cash for the Game of Paloncino [Balloon]...........Sc.      33
......On day 17 said [in the margin: said Fra Paolo - note by FP]
By order of S.A.S. is paid in Cash to
....Sig. Captain Tiberio Squilletti ...............................................................Sc. 2000
......On day 20 said
To Sig. Cav. Castaldi paid in Cash for Gambling.......................................Sc.     33:2
......On day 23 said
By order of S.A.S. be paid in Cash to
....Filippo Bobi Arquebusier for so many Barrels
....Sold to S.A.S. ..........................................................................................Sc.  100
......On day 9 November
By order of S.A.S. is paid in Cash to
....Giuliano Pandolfini, for an Ordered Stone
....Picture, which shows Saint Bonaventure..................................................Sc. 160

5

......On day said
By order of the S.A.S. is made to a poor man
....for Alms ...........................................................................................Sc.   43:6:6:8
.................................................................................................................-------------
.................................................................................................. ........Sc.14394:6:6.8

[At the bottom]
S.A. has understood, and it is well
Andrea Cioli 19 April 1637

There follow two written pages, one relating to the loan to Captain Tommaso di Bernardo Carbonati of Arezzo, to be repaid in monthly installments, and one relating to the account and receipt for ammunition supplied by Filippo Bobi.

4. The document of 1637

The 1637 account is shorter than the previous one (three pages instead of four), and all the figures reported are indicated only in scudi, without fractions. I reproduce the last page and transcribe everything.

ASFi, Miscellanea Medicea, Scatola 264, Fasc. 28 [Medicean Miscellany, Box 264, File 28], f. 8v
(Reproduction prohibited)

6

......[f. 7r] Input
Monies [Denari] Collected from the Chamber of the Most Serene Prince
....Gio. Carlo, brought [by] messer Francesco Conti...............................Sc. 1326
Monies collected from the Chamber of the Most Serene Prince
....D. Lorenzo brought [by] messer Breveri ….........................................Sc. 1226
......On day 13 September
Monies collected from the Chamber of the Most Serene Prince.
....D. Lorenzo brought [by] messer Cosimo Breveri …............................Sc.   294
......On day 26 said
Received from Sig. Benedetto Guerrini ..................................................Sc.   300
......On day 24 October
From Sig. Antonio Paolsanti Luchardesi, to Account
....which Captain Tomaso Carbonati owes of scudi
....one hundred and fifty to S.A.S. received to good Account ..................Sc.     80
......................................................................................................................----------
....................................................................................................................Sc. 3226

[f. 8r] Output
......On day 30 July 1637
To Sig. Cav. Castaldi ..................................................................................Sc.   286
......On day 2 August
To Sig. Agnolo Ricci for a Necklace ...........................................................Sc.   100
......On day 4 August
To Sig. Agnolo Ricci for tip to give to the
....Tindori(?) who performed at the Comedia ..............................................Sc.   100
......On day 8 August
To Sig. Alberto Coppola for the prints of the Comedia ................................Sc.   100
......On day 8 said
Paid to Benedetto Conti for Gambling .........................................................Sc.   634
......On day 10 said

Paid to Fabbio for Gambling........................................................................Sc.      24

......On day 23 said
To an Englishman who gave certain Dogs ..................................................Sc.      50
......day 24 said
To the Nuns of Santa Clara for alms ...........................................................,Sc.     32
......On day 29 said
To the Chamber Assistants of Sig. Prince D. Lorenzo
....For Cards...................................................................................................Sc.     40
......On day 31 said
Paid to Tramontana Groom of S.A. for two  
....Paintings by a Flemish painter .................................................................Sc.     14
..................................................................................................................... ------------
......................................................................................................................Sc. 1380


[f. 8v] The Sum above follows......................................................................Sc. 1380

......On day First September 1637
To Sister Lucrezia Malaspina for a full Jewel
....by Rubini ..................................................................................................Sc.     60
To Tramontana Groom of S. A. for three Paintings
....by a Flemish painter...................................................................................Sc.    21
......On day 5 said

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To four grooms of S.A. and to the Second Knight ......................................Sc.       5
......On day 11 said
To Sig. Anibale Dovara ...............................................................................Sc.   200
......On day 12 said
To a poor girl ................................................................................................Sc.      2
......On day 13 said
To the Chamber Assistant of Sig. Prince Lorenzo at the [alle] cards ...........Sc.    10
......On day said
To messer Gio. Batt. Papaleone ..................................................................Sc.   100
......On day 14 said

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To Sig. Bartolomeo della Stoffa ...................................................................Sc.    300
......On day 16 said
To two footmen and Matteino Magnano ......................................................Sc.        4
......On day 19 said
To Groom Tramontana for a Painting of Fruit ..............................................Sc.        6
......On day 21 said
Paid to Cosimo Breveri for Gambling ..........................................................Sc.  1000
......On day said
To Sig. Cav. Castaldi ...................................................................................Sc.     26
......On day 20 October
To a poor man ..............................................................................................Sc.     32
......On day 26 said
To Sig. Cav. Castaldi for Gambling ..............................................................Sc.     48
......On day 2 December
Paid to Francesco Conti for Gambling .........................................................Sc.     32
..............................................................................................................................----------
.....................................................................................................................Sc.  3226

[At the bottom - note by FP]
S.A. understood, and it is well
Andrea Cioli 31 March 1638

5. Notes on some of the personages mentioned

Some of the personages in the lists of game incomes and expenditures are found in the book cited by Sara Mamone, and I indicate in square brackets the number of the extract in which they appear; for a few others, either it is well-known information, or I indicate the source. It seems clear that I did not consider it necessary to delve into this aspect of the research.

• Cantagallina, Remigio. Florentine artist known especially as an engraver. [note 6]
• Castaldi, knight. He was made country horse-master of the Grand Duke in 1633 [87].
• Cioli, Andrea. “Signor Bali Cioli” 1638 [122]. (He is also present in Galileo's correspondence.)
• Conti, Francesco. “Signor Guardaroba Francesco Conti” 1658. Perhaps in the years of interest, he was not yet the Medici wardrobe keeper, but he certainly had official duties at court [599 and 605].
• Del Buffalo, Paolo, Marquis. In a small group, he learns to joust together with the princes 1630 [25]; intermediary from Paris with Cardinal Mazarin who asks for the castrato Atto for four or six months 1644 [216-17 and 220]; from Rome he intervenes between Giovan Carlo and a group of comedians 1650 [318].
• Della Stoffa, Bartolomeo. Waiter among the provisions of the court of Giovan Carlo [2].
• Dovara, Annibale. Present in the list of knights proposed for the battle in the 1637 festival on horse [103].
• Gamberai, Felice. Florentine intaglio-maker known for the ceiling of the Badia. [note 7]

___________________
6. S. Ticozzi, Dizionario degli architetti [Dictionary of Architects]. Milan 1830, p. 270.
7. G. B. Uccelli, Della Badia fiorentina [Of the Florentine Abbey]. Florence 1858, p. 70.


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• Guerrini, Benedetto. Secretary of the Chamber of Ferdinando II. He writes from Pisa [204].
• Medici, Ferdinando II (1610-1670). Firstborn; after the premature death of his father in 1621 the grand duchy had been governed until 1628 by the two regents, his mother Maria Maddalena of Habsburg and his paternal grandmother Cristina di Lorena. Passionate about art and science.
• Medici, Giovan Carlo (1611-1663). Second son. First military then ecclesiastical career. Exceptional collector of works of art.
• Medici, Lorenzo (1599-1648). Uncle of the most serene brothers. His frequentation [of them] partly balanced the severe education of his nephews by their foreign mother and grandmother.
• Niccolini, Filippo, Marquis. Chambermaster ‒ first on the list of those provisioned at the court of Giovan Carlo [1, 2, and many others].
• Piggi, Bartolomeo. Painter, from Pistoia he asks for a portrait to copy 1644 [888].
• Squilletti, Tiberio (1595-1677) “from Catanzaro, banished (known as “Fra Paolo”) in the Papal States, 1637 took refuge in Florence and was protected by the Grand.; but then he fell into disgrace and was arrested in 1644 and remained in prison until his death.” [note 8]

6. Discussion and conclusions

The two balance sheets copied in full raise more questions than they solve. Let us examine the main ones, in a way that cannot be entirely systematic. Scrolling through the listed items, one immediately notices that not all of them concern gambling [il gioco, literally, “the game”]. Some are evidently connected with the artistic interests of the “serenissimi fratelli” [most serene brothers], among which one finds several works by Flemish painters who were now very well-known and appreciated in Florence. The appearance of the “pietre commesse” [ordered stones] in the sector is not surprising, a typical Florentine artistic production that has continued to the present day (see Figure) and is well represented historically by the opificio delle Pietre Dure [Factory of Hard Stones]. 

 Florence, ca. 1975. Simple example of “ordered stones.” 

_____________________
8. G. Garollo, Dizionario biografico universale [Universal Biographical Dictionary]. Milan 1907, p. 1831.

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The list also reflects the passion for hunting, with the purchase of ammunition for arquebuses; among other things, the dates that can be read are from late summer and autumn, often dedicated to holidays in the countryside and hunting. Evidently, the money available could be used for accessory activities, not only strictly for gambling. There are also outflows of money, rather unexpected, for the purchase of jewels and even dogs; furthermore, there were also donations for alms and tips; it is clear that the income from gambling activities allowed for the range of spending opportunities to be extended.

However, the entire file is indicated as reserved for gambling, and therefore this will be the activity to be considered with greater attention. We can start with the context of the documentation. It is clearly about incomes and expenditures that are reported to the Grand Duke at the end of the year (a few days later in fact) under the title of Denari di S.A.S. del Gioco [Monies of S.A.S. of Gambling]. The games of the mallet and the balloon are mentioned, which are presumed to have been played outdoors, but they would seem to be secondary cases compared to the card games, for which only some expenses for the playing cards appear explicitly.

From the title, one might assume that the Grand Duke assigns a member of the court the task of keeping accounts of the income and expenditure relating to his gambling activity. Personally, this is exactly what I planned to examine, imagining that I would find information on who played with the Grand Duke, when, where, at what game, at what stakes.

Here, however, one can glimpse some sort of organization, such that the Grand Duke appears explicitly only to check that the budget of the income and expenditure of gambling activity is in balance. In fact, the two annual budgets end without debts or credits, but this happens in 1636 because a budget surplus of almost 44 scudi is finally allocated to alms.

A minimum of information is obtained on "where" gambling is done. There are only two words, Mezzomonte and Artimina, but they are enough to give us a glimpse of the gambling environment. In those years, the greatest commitment of Giovan Carlo was dedicated to the Villa di Mezzomonte; he had purchased it in 1429 and was taking care of its architectural and decorative renovation, with the best artists called for work on the case; among other things, his collection of 250 paintings was kept right there. In 1644, the cardinal left this good retreat of his and sold the villa to Bartolomeo Corsini, of the noble family which still owns it. [note 9]

From what we know about Giovan Carlo, we cannot be surprised to find him present in these accounts of gambling activities: at the time he had not even become a cardinal! (Although it seems that even later, under the different habit, he maintained his habits.) On the other hand, Artimina could only have been the Medici Villa Ferdinanda in the municipality of Carmignano, near Artimino, a country village that had been of considerable importance in the Etruscan era; today this villa too is private property and is not part of the series of Medici Villas still sought after as important tourist destinations. [note 10]

So, from those two words we can get another decisive piece of information: who could play in those two environments? Certainly not the peasants from the neighboring houses! It is obvious that the “serenissimi fratelli” had free access to these villas, but it is unimaginable that these reports of income and expenditure from games referred to gambling within the family. We must therefore assume that parties were held with a notable quantity of noble families invited to perhaps also attend some plays and certainly to gamble. Up to this point, the scene can be easily imagined, despite all the prohibitions and the background remaining from the Council of Trent.

That the upper-class Florentines ‒ and it would seem, especially the ladies ‒ had a strong interest in gambling in those years is also indicated in the book by Sara Mamone already cited: the selection of documents is made only on the basis of shows and theatre, but some references are casually inserted also for gambling. Here is what we read for 1639 on pp. 76-77, in one of the various examples in which the selected news on the activity of various parties and recitals is also mixed with some on gambling.
_______________
9. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Cor ... Mezzomonte
10. https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_medicea_di_Artimino


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As for news, on Wednesday evening at the house of Sig. Cavalieri dal Borgo there was a dance party that lasted until five o'clock, and therefore there were not many ladies in the small room; and that same evening at the house of Sig. Cavalier Bagherini there was a gambling party, which was the reason that some of the beauties did not go to that ball. … This evening at the house of Sig. Francesco Bartolini there is a gambling party. …The party that was held at the house of Sig. Bartolino was with three small tables of ladies; there was another at the house of Sig. Cavalier Amerigo da Verrazzano, where Signora Marzoppina was with some others.

The problem that comes to my mind, however, is that of the “gambling” figures recorded in the document in question. Let us imagine that in the villas there were many tables of games with high stakes, in accordance with the social status of the guests, who could not have played with coins. One can easily think then of large sums of money passing from one pocket to another. Good. But how did they manage to be directed instead ‒ or also - towards the pockets of the "serenissimi fratelli"?

The only possibility I can see to try to understand the recorded figures is that the game was indeed a card game, but of the type of a banker's game, like bassetta or similar. With such a hypothesis, one could understand both the enthusiasm of many Florentine nobles, who on these occasions had the possibility of gambling with impunity and the income from the game, which in fact would correspond mainly to the banker's earnings, as regularly occurs in all similar cases. In confirmation, one can note that the personages who appear as "participants" in the gambling [il gioco] are in reality the same ones who are found as collectors of both the incomes and the expenditures deriving from the operation of the game: it happens in fact that they are regularly members in various capacities of the court of one or other of the Medici brothers (or of the uncle, who notoriously ran several public entertainment activities with them.

It is possible that a different and more convincing explanation for these gambling-related figures will be found later (or even that one has already been found, without my knowledge). It is also true that just the idea of suggesting the “Serenissimi fratelli” behaving like true impresarios would have seemed absurd until a few years ago. Recent research by Sara Mamone and her students has, however, underlined precisely this aspect for the theatre and shows, as is also indicated in the richly documented book cited at the beginning ‒ Serenissimi fratelli principi impresari [Most serene brothers princes impresarios], an explanatory title! ‒ which, precisely for this characteristic and for its related national and international relations, signals its modern character, in stark contrast with the common description of the environment of the Medici court in continuous decline, now isolated from Italian and foreign centers with a more advanced culture.

Florence, 09.30.2024