The Maker

The name "Louys Millieu" appears on the Knave of each suit, and the "LM" monogram on several of the pip cards. This cardmaker remained unknown for a long time until 2016, when his name was found in the City Registers of Lyons, in which he was listed as a cardmaker active in the city between 1630 and 1650.

The Cards

Taking the Spanish suits of Clubs, Coins, Cups and Swords, this deck has three court cards in each suit - rey (king), caballo (knight) and sota (knave) - and pip cards Ace to Nine, the value of each represented by the number of suitmarks shown. The court cards are drawn in the Toulouse-Girona pattern, with the Sota cards bearing ribbons containing the maker's name, although the Sota of Clubs here lacks one. The pattern, which may have been made for export, became obsolete by the end of the seventeenth century. The Ace of Coins here has at its centre the Spanish coat-of-arms.