129- [CARTES À JOUER] - Recueil d'édits, déclarations, arrêts, et autres pièces concernant la régie du droit sur les cartes. Paris, Imprimerie royale, 1771, 34 pieces in one vol. in-4, marbled fawn basane, spine ribbed, cloisonné and fleuronné, title page, framed with cold garland on the boards, gilt garland on the edges, red edges (period binding). Numerous wet spots. A very rare and important collection of works reprinted in 1770 or 1771 by the Imprimerie Royale, under a dummy title and tables, retaining their original address and pagination. They are arranged in chronological order of promulgation, and document the evolution of taxation on playing cards, whose invention dates back to an act of Henri III: indeed, it was on May 22, 1583, that the French sovereign, exasperated by the disorder caused by card and dice players, decreed: "The King establishes a duty of one sol parisis for each pair of cards, creates an official mold and prescribes, for packaging the games, the manufacture of covers which the card makers must pay". Over the centuries, decrees, laws and edicts followed one another to regulate the world of cards. The aim was always the same: to tax. On January 14, 1605, card production was restricted; on June 30, 1607, cardmakers were required to use envelopes supplied by the Régie; on November 9, 1751, cardmakers were obliged to use Régie-branded paper. All these steps can be found in this collection. Parts list on request.