La Longue Paume des Champs Elises [sic]This past spring I purchased a nineteenth-century "Directoire" or "Empire" print for $5 at a rummage sale at a frame shop. I'm still trying to locate information on the artist and publisher of the print (I know that it was included in a book, because I have seen one with a plate number). It is printed on laid paper and is beautifully hand-tinted, particulary evident in the scarlet coat in the foreground and the dove-grey trousers of the man at the right.
Based on the Empire line of the woman's dress and the tight, high waisted pants, simple stocks, and high conical hats piled in the foreground of the men suggest a date for the depiction to c. 1800. (The image at right, "Les Modernes Incroyables," provides a satirical look at male fashions from Caricatures Parisiennes, published in 1810. The original "Incroyables" were males who followed cutting-edge fashions in the 1790s; their female counterparts were the "Merveilleuses".)The print depicts early-eighteenth century French aristocrats engaged in the game of Longue Paume, a version of lawn tennis, that is still played in the Picardy region of France today. According to a French website, Longue Paume is played outdoors on a long playing field and should not be confused with 'jeu de paume" or just "paume" which is played indoors. The objective of the sport is to let the ball "die" in the opponents' court, c'est à dire, to make the ball land in the opponents' court in such a way that they are unable to return it to the opposing side.
A history of tennis from the French perspective:
http://tcwisches.free.fr/histoiretennis.htm
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