Viuda de B. Fournier - Nº 1E (28-Card Deck)

9/27/2026

Viuda de B. Fournier - Nº 1E (28-Card Deck)

INTRODUCTION & IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

On this occasion, we turn our attention to a piece that proves intriguing for reasons different from the usual. It is not an exceptionally rare pattern; rather, it is the deck's very format that deviates from the norm. Then there’s the maker, who at first glance could easily be confused with a very familiar name in the realm of Spanish playing cards.

Manufactured in Burgos by Viuda de B. Fournier (Braulio Fournier), the pack's sole identifying mark is the reference No. 1E printed on both the wrapper and the 4 of Coins. It is a Spanish-suited deck with an unusual count of 28 cards, which can be dated to the early 20th century with the tax stamp, corresponding to the 1904–1907 period.

ABOUT THE MANUFACTURER

For this post, we will stick to a brief overview, saving a detailed look at the maker's history and background for a future entry.

Hailing from Burgos, the Fournier brothers (Braulio, Julián, Gervasio, and Heraclio) established the firm Fournier Hermanos in that city in 1860.

Later on, Julián and Gervasio left the family business to pursue their own ventures. Heraclio, meanwhile, moved to Vitoria to expand the operation, where he eventually settled and started a company of his own.

Braulio stayed in Burgos and changed the trade name to Braulio Fournier de Burgos, Litógrafo de la Casa Real (Braulio Fournier of Burgos, Lithographer to the Royal Household), an honor that had been bestowed upon the brothers by Queen Isabella II.

Following his death, the workshop operated as Viuda de B. Fournier (Widow of B. Fournier), later becoming Hijos de B. Fournier (Sons of B. Fournier), and ultimately Hija de B. Fournier (Daughter of B. Fournier). The firm closed permanently in 1978, putting an end to the Burgos branch of the Fournier family's cardmaking legacy.

THE MYSTERY OF THE 28-CARD DECK

The deck consists of 28 cards, an unusual count for Spanish playing cards, where 40, 48, or 50 is the standard. Here we find seven cards per suit, with the baffling absence of Aces, Twos, and court cards: the pack is made up entirely of pip cards from 3 through 9. When I first got my hands on it, my immediate reaction was that it was either a scam or, at best, a bizarre factory defect.

Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed that the "memory" of the paper wrapper (preserved in fair condition) conformed to the thickness and outline of the deck with absolute precision. A physical detail which would be remarkably hard to replicate, and frankly, hardly anyone would bother faking for a quick sale on a secondhand site. Yet despite this empirical evidence, I remained cautiously skeptical; a doubt directed not at whether the cards are genuine, but at the very purpose behind such an unusual format.

Over time, I have seen a few similar Spanish decks surface, though only very sporadically and almost always lacking any box or wrapper that might verify their original contents. That prompted me to look into the matter again, and I eventually stumbled across what might just be the answer to this peculiar puzzle.

It is a betting game called El Golfo, which apparently enjoyed some degree of popularity in Spain between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but was ultimately displaced by others such as Mus or Poker. This game requires this exact 28-card composition. It's striking that, while it could be playedn simply by removing the excess cards from a standard 48-card deck, it was commercialized in this manner; this speaks to the reach it may have had, as it justified selling a dedicated deck, restricted to a specific game.

ICONOGRAPHY & DESIGN

We will not dwell too long on this point either. With no Aces or court cards, the room for an exhaustive visual review is limited. It is enough to note that the design of the pips bears a resemblance to Heraclio Fournier's Castilian pattern and shares similarities with another deck by Braulio himself called Florete, which we will cover in a future entry.

That said, despite the similarities, it is not identical to either. At the end of this post, I provide an external link to Braulio Fournier's No. 1, which it seems to match more closely. A detail that might account for its No. 1E designation, perhaps standing for "Especial", "Exclusivo", or something along those lines, though I should emphasize that this is purely speculative.

MATERIALS AND FINISH

The deck is printed via chromolithography, with remarkably rich fine detail and exceptionally precise color registration. The cardstock features a matte varnish that gives it a very smooth feel. This copy predates the oldest Heraclio Fournier in my collection (dating from the 1930s), yet I must admit its finish is of fully comparable quality, even holding its own against some modern productions.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Two elements that shared the same fate converge in this deck: on one hand, Braulio Fournier; on the other, El Golfo and its 28-card format. Both were ultimately overshadowed by two undisputed benchmarks in their respective fields: Heraclio Fournier and Mus.

There is a certain poetic irony in that coincidence, and it is hard not to feel a touch of sadness seeing how both the Burgos workshop and this game were reduced to mere footnotes in Spanish cardmaking history.

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