Weird Little Item- Grand Tour Intaglios

Many young middle and upper class men traveled across the continent in a Grand Tour of Europe to complete their education. Whether their minds were broadened by visits to museums and academies or wine, woman, and song, every young Englishman brought home souvenirs of his travels.

During their travels through Vienna, Rome, Paris, and Venice, visitors bought intaglios, plaster castings of engraved or relief images, like a coin or medallion. The intaglios were cheap to mass produce, cheap to buy, and easy to pack for the next leg of the trip: a perfect souvenir.

The scheduling of most grand tours followed local festivals and religious feasts to maximize exposure to local color. Native artisans sculpted intaglio molds featuring designs commemorating these holidays. Easily recognizable historical events and figures are common as are scenes from Greek or Roman mythology and reproductions of ancient art.

Travelers collected their Intaglios in books. A hollow display box took up half the book. Collectors glued their intaglios to the box side of the book and listed the details of their collection in the opposing pages. Together their notes and the intaglios formed a miniature replica of their trip.

From the 1700s to the late 1800s, sightseers bought millions of intaglios all over the Europe. What other affects might these curios have on the lives of these tourists after they come home?

Using Intaglios in Adventures

Considering the medium of plaster casting, something small could be hidden inside each intaglio. African diamonds, gold, secret messages from a foreign power, rags with a disease carrying smell, or any other small secret item could be carried into England by knowing or unknowing carriers.

Instead of the usual collection of unique designs from all over Europe, a smuggler’s souvenirs may be 20-50 of the same intaglio.

The investigators may arrive too late, and only find the cracked open pieces of plaster. If reassembled, they discover a cavity in the center

The possession of an intaglio could give or destroy a suspect’s alibi. If Lady Grail possesses an Intaglio commemorating the Carnival in Venice, and she said she was in Rome during the murder at the Carnival, something’s not right.

The easiest use of an intaglio in a Victorian adventure is to make them magical. A sigil scribe or a conjurer could incorporate intaglios into their magical practice. Many intaglios depict scenes from classical mythology. Do the archons of the Greek and Roman pantheons work through their images? Are intaglios mass produced charms or amulets of protection?

Do intaglios of monsters hold a more sinister purpose? Traditionally, the lime and sand mixture in plaster was strengthened with animal fur and feathers. What might be the effect of an intaglio depicting a hideous beast, strengthened with this technique?

For a campaign across Europe, a collection of intaglios could be a terrific plot hook. A friend traveling abroad keeps up a correspondence with the player characters. His letters grow more and more paranoid of a conspiracy surrounding him. His letters suddenly stop, but a package arrives containing his book of intaglios. Can the players pick up his trail and find him in time, using his souvenirs?