AIMON, LÉOPOLD. Étude élémentaire de l'harmonie, ou nouvelle méthode pour apprendre en très-peu de temps, à connaitre tous les Accords, et leurs principales résolutions. Paris: Chez Frey, [circa 1820]. First edition. 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 inches; lidded box in dark blue imitation straight-grain morocco paper over card, with pasted down printed paper labels to front and back, the contents comprise a 4 pp. printed pamphlet, a 24 pp. lithographic printed booklet sewn in spatter-patterned paste-paper wrapper, and 28 typographically printed cards. Rubbing and wear to the box, especially along the edges, the label is chipped and toned, the contents with only very minor wear and occasional pale spotting, manuscript annotation to the interior of the box stated "given by Eug. Haussmann [?] in 1828," and with manuscript annotations to most of the cards, the contents are complete.

A fine and complete example of a game that exemplifies the early nineteenth-century fashion of using games as educational tools, in this instance applied to music theory. This card-based game aimed to find a new, easy, and enjoyable way to teach children and beginner musicians about harmony and chords. The author, a teacher, violoncellist, composer, and conductor, writes in the pamphlet's preface that he invented the game for his students at Madame de Saint-Varend's boarding school. After seeing positive results, he submitted his system to the famous composer André Grétry, who approved of it and endorsed the game. This is quite a rare survival - no copies have been sold at auction as per Rare Book Hub, and we can only locate a few copies of the work, in either of the two editions, in libraries (BNF, Yale, and Rochester's Eastman School of Music).