1800’s Set of 4 Wilhelm Tell Playing Cards
Antique Eastern European Set of 4 Wilhelm Tell Playing Cards, framed & matted separately in vintage frame. Acquired in the 1980’s in an antique shop in Paris. Full frame measures 16.25 inches width x 12.5 inches height. Cards measure 3.5 x 2.5 inches.
Asking $225
The William Tell or Double German (doppeldeutsche) pattern is popular throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Ober and Unter cards depict William Tell and other characters from Friedrich Schiller‘s Wilhelm Tell (the title character is Ober of Acorns). The play’s first Hungarian performance was in 1833 and the first decks were made by József Schneider of Pest around 1835. The characters from the drama were chosen to avoid censorship at the time of the Hungarian opposition to Habsburg rule. The story, after all, was about a successful revolt against the Habsburgs.