This
series of four notes on 18th century Lombard publications on the game
of tarocchi ends with a translation of "Istruzioni per il gioco milanese
di tarocchi (1793-1827)," posted at https://www.naibi.net/A/MILA1827.pdf
on August 18, 2023. At this point, too, the translation of Franco's
notes on naibi.net starting July of 2023 to the present, and in another
thread his Playing-Card articles in Italian since 2018, seems complete,
unless I have missed something. That would be 48 notes and 8 articles.
There will be more, including a forthcoming Playing-Card article.
The note below sums up the preceding work and connects it with another
work, this one of 1826-27 (in two editions), all with similar contents.
At the end, Franco suggests room for further research, namely in regard
to a Viennese work in German describing the Lombard game as early as
1756. For that, we already have Dummett 1980 and Dummett and McLeod
2005; but they presented only the basic rules. Perhaps there is more.
As time permits, I will add this part of Game of Tarot to what I have already posted from the chapter on the Lombard and Piedmont games, at viewtopic.php?p=26558#p26558, and then a short comment here that I have done so. Added July 20: see viewtopic.php?p=26566#p26566 for a transcription of Dummett's account of the Viennese text.
As usual, the comments in brackets are mine, in consultation with Franco.
Instructions for the Milanese game of tarocchi (1793-1827)
Franco Pratesi
1. Introduction
There have been several attempts to reconstruct the bibliography of the
game of tarot in Milan in the 19th century. The first important result
is obtained from the Bibliografia of Alfredo Lensi [note 1],
which is not limited to this sector but in the related part remains an
indispensable source. Using this and numerous Italian books preserved in
the Bodleian, Michael Dummett managed to establish [note 2]
that descriptions of the Milanese game of tarocchi had been published
on numerous occasions, especially in manuals dedicated to teaching the
main "conversation" [society] games, but which in effect reproduced
always a single text, the same one that dealt almost exclusively with
the penalties to be inflicted on players who did not respect the rules.
However, Thierry Depaulis later pointed out that at least four texts of
the same type had been published in Milan already at the end of the
eighteenth century and had not yet been studied. [note 3]
In recent months I have taken up that challenge, also because I
happened to resolve the same question in the case of the game of Italian
checkers, again with a book published in Milan. Also in that case,
numerous re-editions of the same text on the game had been reported, but
only the first book was dedicated exclusively to the game of checkers,
and above all, it was written by the author himself. [note 4] I therefore hoped to find also for the tarocchi such a first book.
Research is made particularly difficult by the rarity of the
editions. They are typically small brochures or booklets with just a few
pages, often even produced in the form of almanacs in which, in
addition to the section on tarot cards, calendars and information of
local interest are found. As a result, single copies of these
publications are found to be preserved, or very few, or not even one at
all.
The case that I am reviewing here is different from the usual,
because it advanced in the opposite direction. First, I found the
original text [of 1793] written in the first person in an almanac, and
only later a Milanese re-edition 24 years later. [note 5] Here I add a subsequent edition and summarize and complete what I found in the previous cases.
2. For those who play tarocco. Almanac for the year 1794 [Per chi tarocca. Almanacco per l’anno 1794]
This appears as the original edition. The author writes in the first
person and moves within the environment of Milanese almanacs.
A notable part of the text consists of a specific criticism of what had been published on the game of tarocchi in Milan in the previous year - reprinting an edition from a few years earlier - always and only in the form of almanacs published for the following year. I do not repeat here what was described in the previous study. It can already be concluded that, precisely following its origin, for this writing on tarocchi we cannot see the possibility of the existence of a previous edition, either within or outside the scope of almanacs.For those who play tarocco. Critical-instructive almanac for the year 1794. Which contains not only the penalties corresponding to the fouls that can be committed in the game of tarot cards, but also many general and particular rules, warnings, and instructions necessary to know from whoever likes to play it well. In Milan: from the printer Luigi Veladini in the new district. 108 pp.; 12o. [note 1]
____________________
1. A. Lensi, Bibliografia Italiana dei giuochi di carte. Ravenna 1985.
2. M. Dummett, The Game of Tarot. London 1980.
3. Th. Depaulis, The Playing-Card. Vol. 38, N.1 (2009) pp. 9-13.
4. http://www.naibi.net/c/DAMA1799.pdf
5. http://www.naibi.net/A/MILA1793.pdf
2
I had reported three preserved copies of this almanac: one in the Trivulziana Library, one already (and perhaps still?) in the Stuart Kaplan Collection, one in the Bodleian Library, which, however, is only a bound copy of the previous one. Now I am able to add a fourth example in Pavia, not yet present in the digitized catalogues. [note 6]
3. The Player of tarocchi [II Giuocatore de’ Tarocchi], 1817]
As usual, it can be introduced using the Lensi Bibliografia.
This is not an almanac with a calendar, but a Milanese book dedicated to the game of tarocchi and a few others. Despite the usual small size, it would appear to be a booklet of a less ephemeral nature than almanacs; yet, I have only tracked down one specimen. [note 7]38. Player (The) of tarocchi, which gives the rules with which not only are the penalties fixed corresponding to the fouls that can be committed in this game, but also many other general and particular ones; warnings and instructions necessary to know by those who like to play it well. Milan : Francesco Pulini, 1817. In -16, pp. 84, 32, 3 nn. In the first part, he gives the rules of tarocchi and tarocc'ombre, in the second of domino and cucù. [note 1]
Michael Dummett had found the reference to this edition and cites it in his fundamental book; [note 8] however, he thought that it contained the same text repeated several times in various game manuals [that he listed]. Instead, this belongs to a very different series, the one that began with the previous edition of 1793 of which, perhaps later, Dummett had a copy in his library.
“Courtesy of the Civic Library Bertoliana of Vicenza”
6. Biblioteca Universitaria di Pavia, Misc. in 12°. T. 433 n.
7. Vicenza, Biblioteca civica Bertoliana, X.25.I.29.
8. M. Dummett, The Game of Tarot. London 1980, on p. 270.
3
4. The game of tarocchi [Il giuoco del tarocco], 1827
This book could have been the first from which to start the search to go back to the previous editions, if only because here we read on the title page, "Third edition." For me, it was the last in the series. The biggest surprise, however, was that it is not a book, or an almanac, but it is both a book and an almanac, that is, there are two different editions in the two different formats in which we usually find the instructions for the tarot game (and for other games or other topics in vogue at the time).
We can find both editions listed, as usual, in the Bibliografia of Alfredo Lensi.
I have only identified one example of this almanac in Milan, which is not even complete. [note 9] The Library informed me that the index corresponds to that of the following book, and therefore I will base myself on the second for comparisons with the other editions. Doubt remains whether the printer had published the two editions together or separately. One clue is the dates: the year the book was printed in is 1827, while the almanac for the year 1827 was reasonably printed in 1826, as Lensi also indicates in brackets. Therefore we would conclude that Manini was encouraged by the success of his almanac to present it again without the calendar, so that it could find buyers in subsequent years too.58. Game (The) of tarocchi, i.e. general and particular rules for playing it well. Critical-instructive Almanac for the year 1827. Milan, Omobono Manini, s.a. (1826), in -16, pp. 4 nn., 120, 12 and engr.
In the preface, it is said that this is a corrected and augmented reprint of older editions. It gives the rules of tarocchi, contains tables to record the losses and winnings of each day and finally has a calendar for the year 1827. [note 1]
In several other cases, it was possible to notice how these almanacs were of an ephemeral nature already at the beginning; here we have direct confirmation of this from the printer's intention to continue the initiative with a booklet dedicated to the tarocchi without a calendar or anything else.
As regards the format and preservation, what was written about the 1817 edition can be repeated: not an ephemeral almanac, but a book intended for preservation, which, however, evidently had a limited circulation, because I was able to find ‒ also for this publication ‒ only two specimens in the Internet catalogs, preserved in Pavia and Turin. [note 10].59. Game (The) of tarocchi, i.e. general and particular rules for playing it well. Third edition. Milan, Omobono Manini, 1827, in-24, nn., 120, and engravings.
Reprint of the previous edition. [note 1]
Thanks to the assistance of Dr. Campagna, responsible for cultural activities at the Pavia library, I can add a couple of useful pieces of information. The publisher states that the first edition was published in Milan in 1794 by Veladini, which confirms what we found above. An interesting detail is that, unlike other cases in these Milanese books, the discussion continues to be compiled in the first person.
5. Comparison of editions
Thanks to Pavia's kind sending of a scan of the index of the 1827 book, I was able to compare the structure of the three successive editions. As a result of the comparison, I can present the following table, which shows the pages of the respective subchapters.
______________
9. Milan, Biblioteca nazionale Braidense, IT\ICCU\MILE\054385.
10. Pavia, Bibllioteca Universitaria, Misc. in 12o. T 148 n. 2; Turin, Biblioteca civica centrale, IT\ICCU\TO0E\132254.
4
[In Franco’s Italian original, the information below is in the form of a table, with the dates in successive columns following the titles. In this translation, the dates are put after the title, with single dashes to indicate that the title is not present in a particular edition. “Ibid,” meaning “the same,” replaces the Italian “ivi.” For more information on some of the terms – invitations, communication cards, discards, etc. see the previous translation of Franco’s note of n. 5.]
As you can see, the differences are minimal and easily explainable. For example, only in the first edition are there the two subsequent entries, first “Of the Bagatto and the Fool,” and then “Of the Fool,” but in fact in the first section the Fool appears only in the initial phrase, and the subsequent union of the two sections seems very reasonable. Variations appear in the introductory part about the game, with descriptions that in some cases are explained in greater detail, in others less. There will certainly be small linguistic corrections here and there throughout the text, but I don't expect anything more than just formal ones. Only in the second edition: some points of certain importance are added or summarized at the end; after the standard variant of tarocchi a chapter is added on the "new" one of tarocc’ ombre.__________1793, 1817, 1827
CONTENTS -, 0, -
Explanation of the cards -, 5, -
Fouls in general 13, 6, 19
Of Card fouls Ibid, Ibid, Ibid
Of cutting the cards 18, 11, 27
Degrees of winnings and losses in tarocchi games -, 13, -
Way of dividing, that is, of taking the Partner -, 15, -
Of revokes [rifiuti: failing to follow suit when able] 19, 16, 30
What is meant by covered bazza [the four cards won in a trick] 20, 17, 31
How to correct simple revoke [rifiuto], and what the penalty is, Ibid, Ibid, Ibid
Of the discard 23, 20, 36
Of double-playing [doppione] 25, 22, 39
Of some other fouls, abuses, and clarifications 27, 24, 42
GENERAL RULES -, -, 51
Of the secret 32, 30, Ibid
For those who have to cut 33, 31, 52
For those who have to shuffle the cards 34, 32, 54
Not letting the cards be seen, Ibid, 32, Ibid
What should be discarded Ibid, 32, 55
About the first play 36, 35, 58
Of invitations 37, 35, 59
When you have to play the tarocchi in your hand 39, 37, 62
When you can play tarocchi even when your partner discards 40, 39, 65
Keeping the exposed cards in memory 41, 40, 66
Of counting Tarocchi 42, 41, 68
Of the negative invitation 43, 42, 69
When you have to show your partner a King, or other court card 44, 43, 71
When it is possible to play the Queen rather than the King Ibid, 44, 72
Not taking the communication card away from your partner, and trying to take it away from your opponents 45, 45, 73
When it is possible to play a suit card 46, 46, 75
When to change the [suit] played 47b, 47a, 77
When you should attempt Capotto 47a, 47b, 76
When you have to make your partner lose one or even more court cards 48, 48, 78
When it is possible to play false 49, 49, 80
When one must give the Queen to the partner who plays the King 50, 50, 82
Of making the partner play a tarocco 51, 51, 83
Of counting points 52, 52, 85
Of the Bagatto and the Fool Ibid, 53, 86
Of the Fool 53, -, -
When it is possible to play [tirar] court cards 54, 55, 88
SUMMARY. With the pretext of revoke [rifiuto], one cannot reveal the tricks -, 57, -
Revoke [rifiuto] and doubling-playing [doppione] -, 60, -
Capotto [one partnership winning all the tricks] -, 64, -
Capottone [one player capturing all the tricks] -, 65, -
Tarocc’ombre [tarocchi with bidding] -, 79, -
5
“Courtesy of the University Library of Pavia – Ministry of Culture”
with prohibition on further reproduction or duplication by any means
6. Conclusion
Two editions of the same Milanese text on tarocchi, from 1793 and 1817, were examined again, and the third edition of 1827 was added to the discussion here; the comparison of the three editions has shown that it is absolutely the same treatment of the subject. Observing the Milanese literature of the time, and later, on the same subject, the editions examined here occupy a place of their own. In the repeated nineteenth-century reprints of Milanese manuals on "conversation" games, the same text is repeated, which mainly concerns the penalties to be inflicted on those who make mistakes and which is quite different from the corresponding part present in these three editions.
In the three editions examined here, we also find an equally extensive part, of decidedly greater interest, which concerns various pieces of advice and warnings on how best to play the cards. Obviously, this part is precisely the one that is of greatest importance for those who intend to approach the game; in fact, it is the type of instruction that is able to shorten the practice period necessary to master the playing technique. Even from the titles in the table, you can understand the details; in particular, it is pleasing to find in such old texts some conventions on discards for sending signals to your partner, which anticipate by a century those you read in bridge manuals. These are suggestions that are found not only in Milan, but also for other tarocchi games in other cities; in short, it is not strange to read them here; it was strange that they didn't appear at all in Milan.
6
Examining the situation in retrospect, it seems surprising how these three editions represented the exception and not the rule in the literature on the game of tarocchi in Milan. However, it cannot be ruled out that the small number of preserved specimens of these three editions is destined to increase with the opening towards digitized catalogs of other ancient library collections and, on the other hand, the discovery of other editions in addition to the three presented here.
It seems that the origin of these "warnings” [avvertimenti] written for the card game in Milan cannot go back further than 1793. However, we know that instructions for the game of tarocchi were also published in previous times in other cities. Due to proximity, the first case that comes to mind is a book published in Turin. [note 11]. In this book you will find the description of several ways to play tarocchi; the part dedicated to penalties also exists here, without, however, being separate, compact, and extensive; above all, the part on warnings specific to the three Milanese editions is not present, which allows us to exclude Turin as their origin.
There remains a research possibility linked to the fact that Milan was then the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Veneto, part of the Habsburg Empire with Vienna as its capital. We know from the prestigious treatise of Dummett and McLeod that from some texts in German it is possible to obtain information on the game of tarocchi in Milan, on dates not yet witnessed in the Italian language. [note 12] My belief, however, is that the 1793 text was really written by a Milanese author, expert in the local game, as an immediate reaction to reading the almanac of the previous year, and therefore his own warnings cannot be found in previous descriptions of the game, either in Italian or German; this does not mean that the latter cannot provide further and different useful information. For anyone wishing to continue this study on the testimonies on tarocchi in Milan, there remains a further trail to follow.
Florence, 08.18.2023
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11. Primi elementi e regole del giuoco dei tarocchi. Turin 1787.
12. M. Dummett, J. McLeod, A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack. Lewiston 2004, on p. 114.
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