Bettinelli - Giuoco delle Carte - 1775

GAMBLING AND HUMAN PASSIONS – WHEN CARDS BECOME POETRY
An original seven­teenth-century poem dedicated to card games, fortune, and the passions that govern human behavior. Written by the famous Enlightenment intellectual Saverio Bettinelli, one of the most authoritative voices of Italian culture in the eighteenth century. Second edition, published in Cremona in 1775, personally revised by the author and enriched with annotations. A curious testament to the history of gambling, social life, and amusements in Europe of the Ancien Régime.

ABSTRACT
Saverio Bettinelli’s The Card Game is an interesting didactic and satirical poem that turns one of the most widespread pastimes of eighteenth-century society into material for poetic, moral, and social reflection. The author examines chiefly games of chance and gambling, in which the unpredictability of combinations and the alternating wins and losses arouse passions, hopes, rivalries, and disappointments. Through elegant and lively writing, Bettinelli observes the behavior of players and the contradictions of human nature, showing how a simple deck of cards can become a mirror of society. The work belongs to the tradition of eighteenth-century didactic poetry, capable of addressing everyday topics with refined literary tools. This second edition of 1775, revised by the author and accompanied by explanatory annotations, constitutes a significant testimony to the poem’s fortune and to the Enlightenment interest in customs, amusements, and human frailties.

WHY TO BUY
A work of particular interest for collectors of rare books dedicated to games, playing cards, the history of gambling, and eighteenth-century Italian literature. Its charm arises from the unusual pairing of poetry and ludic culture, through the pen of one of the leading intellects of Italian Enlightenment. The second edition, explicitly stated as revised by the author, represents a meaningful version of the text, published just one year after Cremona’s first printing of 1774. The presence of annotations allows readers to appreciate the literary and moral character of the work, making it interesting also for scholars of eighteenth-century society. The antique library provenance, evidenced by the label on the front board, adds a material-historical element to the specimen’s story. A bibliographical curiosity capable of enriching collections specializing in the history of games, satirical poetry, and Ancien Régime culture.

MARKET VALUE
The Cremona edition of 1775 belongs to a niche collecting market, where interest in Italian Enlightenment literature and in the history of card games converge. For a complete, intact, and well-preserved copy, a retail range of 200–300 euros seems reasonable. The author-revised second edition and the specific subject of gambling constitute the main commercial points of interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Full gray paper bindings with a library label affixed to the front board. Copy with binding defects and signs of use. Typographic title page with multi-line title, ornamental decorations, vignette with a heraldic device topped by a crown, and editorial indications at the footer. Cards with pristine margins. In old books with centuries-long histories, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the actual condition of the object. Images are an integral part of the description. Pp. 58; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Saverio Bettinelli.
The Card Game.
In Cremona, at Lorenzo Manini & Company in San Niccolò, 1775.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the eighteenth century, the card game occupied a central place in European social life. In aristocratic salons, cafés, private clubs, and polite conversation, cards represented a widespread pastime and an opportunity for gatherings among people from different cultural circles. Alongside skill-based games prospered those based on fortune, often accompanied by bets and genuine passions. Bettinelli identifies precisely in this dimension a poetic subject rich in moral and psychological meaning. The game becomes a symbolic representation of human existence, in which chance can suddenly overturn expectations and alter the fortunes of the participants. The work belongs to the Enlightenment intellectual climate, when writers and philosophers directed increasing attention to contemporary society, its mores, and its behaviors. The choice to dedicate a poem to a seemingly trivial activity testifies to the desire to extend literature to new topics, pushing beyond traditional boundaries of celebratory and mythical poetry. Through a blend of irony, social observation, and moral reflection, The Card Game constitutes a significant testimony to Italian ludic culture and to the relationship between amusement, fortune, and the discipline of passions in the Age of Enlightenment.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Saverio Bettinelli (Mantua, 1718–1808) was a Jesuit priest, poet, literary critic, historian, and Italian intellectual, among the leaders of eighteenth-century Enlightenment culture. Entering the Society of Jesus, he taught and frequented important Italian and European cultural circles. He achieved great notoriety with the Lettere virgiliane, published in 1757, in which he gave critical judgments about the Italian literary tradition, provoking lively polemics, especially for his remarks on Dante. He was the author of Lettere inglesi, tragedies, poetic compositions, and historical works, including Del risorgimento d'Italia negli studi, nelle arti e ne' costumi dopo il Mille. His work shows a constant interest in renewing Italian culture, refining literary taste, and critically observing human behavior. In The Card Game these qualities appear through an unusual subject treated with irony and the moral sensitivity typical of eighteenth-century literature.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first edition of The Card Game appeared in Cremona in 1774, at Lorenzo Manini. The poem attracted enough interest to justify a new publication in the following year. The 1775 second edition explicitly bears on the frontispiece the phrase “Edizione seconda riveduta dall'Autore,” an important bibliographic element because it confirms Bettinelli’s direct involvement in revising the text. The work was published at a moment when didactic and satirical poetry enjoyed particular popularity among Italy’s educated public. The choice of an unusual subject like the card game helped distinguish the piece from more conventional poetic production. The text also entered a publishing market characterized by the spread of short works directed at readers interested in contemporary mores and literary curiosities. The exact print run of the Cremona edition of 1775 is not documented with certainty, nor the number of copies originally distributed. The presence of the work in bibliographic collections and in antiquarian trade testifies to the survival of this curious minor Bettinelli production, today valued mainly for its distinctive subject and its interest in the social history of gaming.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Work belonging to Bettinelli’s minor poetic output and to the tradition of didactic and satirical Italian literature of the eighteenth century. First edition published in Cremona in 1774; second edition revised by the author, Cremona, Lorenzo Manini, 1775. The poem is of particular interest for historical bibliography devoted to card games, the amusements of the Ancien Régime, and Italian Enlightenment culture. The indication of authorial revision gives the second edition specific philological importance, while the annotations testify to the explanatory and moral character of the work. The publication constitutes a significant document of the literary reception of gambling in eighteenth-century Italy and sits naturally among collections devoted to costume history, Italian literature, and European ludic culture.