The pattern printed on this model is an image of the engraving taken from the Traité du Jeu Royal de La 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 bare-handed or with leather-gloved hands from the 13th century before the use of the racket appeared around 1505.

Highly prized by the French nobility, this sport experienced its golden age between the 15th and 17th centuries before being gradually abandoned during the 18th century.

While still played today in countries like 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 time), "épater la galerie" (to impress the crowd), "rester sur le carreau" (to be left by the wayside) are, among many others, expressions inherited from jeu de paume in the French language, to the delight of writers and lovers of good words.