Boules Collection

French Boules Players
Four French peasants in sabots and a barefoot boy judge the skill of the players in a game on a bumpy grassy field. Date: early 20th century

DDE-90029545
Men playing Petanque in the park, Arles Provence, France. Date: 20/01/2009

British Navy officers playing a ball game on Plymouth Hoe, waiting for the approach of the terrible Spanish Armada
NWI4835697 British Navy officers playing a ball game on Plymouth Hoe, waiting for the approach of the terrible Spanish Armada, 1588. Among them, the English navigator Sir Francis Drake, (1540-1596)

The names of the notes - Music Alphabet - For use by young students in Schools, Education Houses and Families
DUV4219878 The names of the notes - Music Alphabet - For use by young students in Schools, Education Houses and Families, 1897 (lithograph); 31x24.5 cm; (add.info.: Paul Dupont, editor, Paris, 1897)

France, Centre, Indre-et-Loire (37), Tours: Part of Boules de Fort, 1898
LUX4755693 France, Centre, Indre-et-Loire (37), Tours: Part of Boules de Fort, 1898; (add.info.: France, Centre, Indre-et-Loire (37), Tours: Part of Boules de Fort, 1898); Photo © Lux-in-Fine.

Francois Ravel as Bibi [Verso: Study for Antoine as Robert Maccaire], 1855-1859. Creator: Alfred Jacob Miller
Francois Ravel as Bibi [Verso: Study for Antoine as Robert Maccaire], 1855-1859

Peasants playing boules, c17th century. Creator: Unknown
Peasants playing boules, c17th century

Piazza della Bocca della Verità with the so-called Vesta Temple in Rome, 1837. Creator: Constantin Hansen
Piazza della Bocca della Verita with the so-called Vesta Temple in Rome, 1837

Sketch fo the Hôtel de Ville, Paris : garden party, c.1906. Creator: Jean Veber
Sketch fo the Hotel de Ville, Paris : garden party, c.1906. (Esquisse pour l'Hotel de Ville de Paris : Fete champetre)

Alexandra Park Bowls PLA01_06_0022
Alexandra Park, Alexandra and Clive Green Bowls Clubs, St Helen's Road, Hastings, East Sussex. Players on the green in front of the pavilion at the Alexandra

Poster, Municipal Casino, Algiers, Algeria
Poster, Municipal Casino, Aletti, Algiers, Algeria

La Route de St. Cloud ou de Poissy (Furnishing Fabric), Nantes, 1822 or after. Designed by Carle Vernet and Delmes, engraved by Philibert Louis Debucourt after Vernet

Au Temps d Harmonie (La Joie de Vivre - Dimanche au Bord du Mer)
869493 Au Temps d Harmonie (La Joie de Vivre - Dimanche au Bord du Mer), 1895-96 (colour litho) by Signac, Paul (1863-1935); 42.1x53.7 cm; Private Collection; Photo eChristies Images; French

Courtiers intent on a snowball fight, month of January (fresco)
XOT361863 Courtiers intent on a snowball fight, month of January (fresco) by Venceslao, Maestro (fl.1390-1400) (attr. to); Castello del Buonconsilio, Torre dell Aquila

Les Joueurs de Boules, Les differents publics de Paris, 1854 (colour litho)
621353 Les Joueurs de Boules, Les differents publics de Paris, 1854 (colour litho) by Dore, Gustave (1832-83); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; French, out of copyright

Rule VIII: Unless with the opponents consent a ball in play shall not be moved
STC193222 Rule VIII: Unless with the opponents consent a ball in play shall not be moved... from Rules of Golf, published c.1905 (colour litho) by Crombie

Bowls on the Terrace at Bramshill in 1600, from Architecture of the Middle Ages
STC152475 Bowls on the Terrace at Bramshill in 1600, from Architecture of the Middle Ages by Joseph Nash, published in 1838 (colour litho) by English School

Five old men play a game of boules or bowls, circa 1800. Copied from Martinets Caricatures Parisiennes. Handcoloured lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill

Soldiers and old men playing boules or petanque on a field, Napoleonic era. After an illustration by Carle Vernet. Lithograph from Henry Rene Allemagnes Sports and Games of Skill

La Neuve Malgrange (pen & brown ink on paper)
CTS449203 La Neuve Malgrange (pen & brown ink on paper) by Callot, Jacques (1592-1635); 7.9x15.5 cm; eThe Devonshire Collections

Playing bowls in New Amsterdam in the 17th century (litho)
PNP377438 Playing bowls in New Amsterdam in the 17th century (litho) by American School, (17th century); Private Collection; Peter Newark Pictures; American, out of copyright

The Game of the Elders (balls or petanque) - in "
LSE4083335 The Game of the Elders (balls or petanque) - in " Sports and Games of Address" by H.R. of Germany, sd

Martin, the ball player. In "Album Grotesque
LSE4313137 Martin, the ball player. In " Album Grotesque, Choices of Outstanding Types", illustrations by Victor Adam, Paris, circa 1850

A Game of Bocci, (oil on canvas)
827269 A Game of Bocci, (oil on canvas) by Zampighi, Eugenio (1859-1944); 56.5x76.8 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: A Game of Bocci. Eugenio Zampighi (1859-1944). Oil on canvas

Valiant Diversions (Colour Litho)
2809219 Valiant Diversions (Colour Litho) by Beltrame, Achille (1871-1945); Private Collection; (add.info.: Diversions of valiant)

Turkish Children playing Boules in a Clearing (oil on board)
CH402551 Turkish Children playing Boules in a Clearing (oil on board) by Diaz de la Pena, Narcisse Virgile (1807-76); Private Collection; (add.info)

Popular games in France (colour litho)
2795961 Popular games in France (colour litho) by French School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Popular games in France)

Peasants Drinking Outside an Inn (oil on panel)
2829553 Peasants Drinking Outside an Inn (oil on panel) by Ostade, Adriaen Jansz. van (1610-85); Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, UK; eBristol Museums, Galleries & Archives; Bequest of P.C

Old English Sports and Games: Bowls, 1901 (colour litho)
BSA408878 Old English Sports and Games: Bowls, 1901 (colour litho) by Aldin, Cecil Charles Windsor (1870-1935); 30.5x35.6 cm; Private Collection; eThe British Sporting Art Trust; English

Skaters. Painting by Pieter Bout (1658-1702). Oil on wood, 1678, Flemish art
AIS5359669 Skaters. Painting by Pieter Bout (1658-1702). Oil on wood, 1678, Flemish art. Prado Museum, Madrid. by Bouts, Pieter (1658-1702); Prado, Madrid, Spain; eIberfoto; Flemish, out of copyright

A game of boules, costumes of the time of Louis XIII (chromolitho)
5235996 A game of boules, costumes of the time of Louis XIII (chromolitho) by Leloir, Maurice (1853-1940); Private Collection; (add.info.: A game of boules, costumes of the time of Louis XIII)

Soldiers playing boules during the Italian campaign (colour litho)
960198 Soldiers playing boules during the Italian campaign (colour litho) by Flameng, Francois (1856-1923) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Aux Iles Borromees)

French fun enjoying a game of petanque, a French form of bowls, are (from left) Mrs Roslyn Spencer, Mr Martyn Mellor, Mrs Carol Mellor and Mr John Spencer

Peel Castle on St Patricks Isle, Isle of Man serves as a background to a Jeu de Boule game played by three stormbound Breton Fishermen. They play the game with some stones they found

Frenchmen play Boules in the streets of Poussan, France. April 1975 75-2097

Frenchmen play Boules in the streets of Poussan, France. April 1975 75-2097-003

Men playing boules in the small town of Beaumont sur Oise
A group of men play a game of boules in the small town of Beaumont sur Oise, in the Val-d Oise department in μe-de-France in northern France

Jesters playing Cochonnet, 1868. Artist: Zamacois y Zabala, Eduardo (1841-1871)
Jesters playing Cochonnet, 1868. Found in the collection of the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao

Three boys on a comic New Year card -- Manners and Customs of Ye English. Date: circa 1890s

Men playing boules, Paris. Date: 1966

Sport / Boules / Croatia
Istrian (Croatian) countryfolk playing boules in a garden protected by a statue of the Madonna Date: 1891

BOCCE PLAYER, c1945. A man throwing bocce balls while a crowd watches, probably in Italy or France. Photographed by Toni Frissell, c1945

2653564; out of copyright

Near an inn farmers play boules, man watches from a bench, print maker: Monogrammist MK (17e eeuw) (mentioned on object), Dating 1677

The Game of Bowls (oil on canvas)
XJL109920 The Game of Bowls (oil on canvas) by Bayeu y Subias, Ramon (1746-93); Real Monasterio de El Escorial, El Escorial, Spain; Spanish, out of copyright

Man playing boules, petanque, measuring the distances between the balls, Hesse, Germany, Europe

Man tossing a ball while playing boules, petanque, Hesse Germany, Europe

Man playing boules, petanque, preparing to throw, Hesse Germany, Europe

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"Boules: A Timeless French Pastime" French Boules Players, captured in the iconic DDE-90029545 photograph, showcase their skill and camaraderie. The poster displayed at the Municipal Casino in Algiers, Algeria, invites locals and tourists alike to witness this thrilling game. Transporting us back in time, Alexandra Park Bowls PLA01_06_0022 photo takes us to a serene setting where players engage in a friendly match. Meanwhile, La Route de St. Cloud ou de Poissy furnishing fabric from Nantes in 1822 or after depicts the elegance within its intricate design. The joyous atmosphere continues with Au Temps d'Harmonie's painting "La Joie de Vivre - Dimanche au Bord du Mer, " capturing a sunny day by the sea where friends gather for an exhilarating game of boules. Even during winter months, courtiers find delight in snowball fights as depicted on frescoes like "Courtiers intent on a snowball fight" during January. However, Rule VIII reminds us that moving balls without consent is against fair play etiquette. They have stood the test of time; Bramshill's Terrace witnessed bowls being played as early as 1600 AD according to historical records. Five old men engrossed in a game circa 1800 exemplify how this beloved pastime transcends generations. Not limited to leisurely pursuits alone, soldiers and old men come together for spirited games or petanque. These moments foster unity and create lasting memories among diverse groups. Whether it be through lithographs like "Les Joueurs de Boules" showcasing different publics of Paris from 1854 or simply gathering with friends at local parks today – boules remains an enduring symbol of community connection worldwide.