Board game - Les Chapeaux Valseurs - Paper

An antique French game from the Belle Époque titled Les Chapeaux Valseurs, a remarkable example of a dexterity game and popular entertainment around the year 1900.

The game is housed in its original illustrated box, an essential element and today particularly hard to come by, especially when associated with a set still largely complete with its original accessories. The lid’s lithography, with its vivid artwork and typifying the late 19th century, gives the whole piece a strong decorative power and an instantly recognizable visual presence.

The interior contains the perforated game board with scoring system, the hands cut from lithographed cardboard, as well as the cone-shaped paper hats, corresponding to the game’s principle as indicated by the original rules, still present and glued to the inside of the lid. The presence of these rules constitutes a major asset for the authenticity and historical understanding of the game.

The set shows wear consistent with its age, particularly visible on the box (rubbed corners and edges), as well as on the paper accessories. The hands and hats bear traces of old use: some hats have light scribbles or marks, and a few elements appear to have been reinforced or redone at a later time, which is common for this type of fragile game intended for use. These interventions do not alter the readability of the object, nor its collecting appeal, and instead attest to its history.

Overall, it is a rare and highly decorative game, difficult to encounter today in such complete condition, with its original box and its main components preserved. A beautiful Belle Époque collectible item, at once playful, graphic, and historical, sought after by enthusiasts of French antique games and of late 19th-century popular culture.