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He published his first book on cartomancy in the 1770’s alongside the first deck of French suited playing cards produced to be used solely as a tool for fortune telling rather than as a game. By 1781, he became interested in other forms of cartomancy such as tarot, as well as mystical and occult practices such as astrology. He produced several card decks and books on the subject, making him incredibly popular at the time, however, his work was fraught with spelling mistakes, making it incredibly difficult to read. \n\r\nBy the time <i>Le Petit Oracle des dames ou Récréation des curieux</i> was published by the mysterious Widow Guffier in 1807, Etteilla had fallen out of favour with the serious occultists, relegating his decks to mere parlour games for the ‘fairer sex’. This deck capitalises on that, declaring: <i>“O Women! You are more sensitive than we, and that is why you want to know the future”</i>. As such some of the cards were made to be read in a very simple way, giving a unique snapshot into life in the 19th century. For example, the card Shipwreck/Prison. Though today these two things are likely to be an issue in the lives of most people, in the 1800s this was a legitimate concern for many where boats were the main form of travel and imprisonment in the Bastille was a not-so-distant memory for many in France. Alongside the more obvious cards, the deck combines a variety of imagery and symbology, including tarot, cartomancy, Egyptian, Greek and Roman mythology, and astrology amongst other things. 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