The pattern printed on this model is an image of the engraving from the Treatise on the Royal Game of Jeu de Paume published by Charles Hulpeau in Paris in 1632, which notably includes the rules and values of this ancestral sport.

We see four players competing in doubles, each using a racket to hit a ball called an "éteuf". Jeu de paume (or real tennis) was played with bare or leather-gloved hands from the 13th century before the use of the racket appeared around 1505.

Very popular with the French nobility, this sport enjoyed its golden age between the 15th and 17th centuries before gradually being abandoned during the 18th century.

While it is still played today in countries such as England, the United States, Australia, and France, jeu de paume is primarily recognized as the ancestor of racket and ball sports.
Its most direct descendant is undoubtedly tennis, which, among other things, borrowed the numbers 15, 30, and 40 for scoring points, referring to the number of feet the player who won the previous point could move closer to the net to serve.

"Tomber à pic" (to come at the right moment), "épater la galerie" (to impress the crowd), "rester sur le carreau" (to be left behind) are, among many others, expressions inherited from jeu de paume in the French language, to the delight of writers and lovers of clever words.