Hot Cockles (La Main Chaude)

This engraving was executed after the design for a series of prints representing games published by Jacques Stella.

Hot Cockles (“la main chaude”) is a game in which sleight of hand and close attention are rewarded. One player, the “penitent,” hides his face in the lap of a second (called the “confessor,” a referee who monitors the game) and places his hand flat behind his back. In turn, other players slap the penitent on the hand, and he tries to identify who hit him. The player who lets himself be discovered becomes the penitent.