Opinions please...

[BreathingSince72]

I was looking to purchase a Jean Dodal TdM done by Pablo Robledo. I was also considering the Sola Busca. The first is not available and I do, after all, have a Dodal. What I would like to know is what you guys think about historic decks. If you were going to add a new prize to your historic deck collection, what would you choose? Why would you choose it?

[stronglove]

Ahh, hard question..... i have a quite a number of historical decks and i think i am most interested in the ones that are markedly different. I have a couple of traditional marseille decks (dodal, jodorowsky, noblet) but when i want to explore or use a ‘classic’ deck i tend to grab the ‘queer’ ones, like the minchiate, mitelli, vachetta, sola busca or the vandenborre bacchus. I love it when strength is a woman holding a pillar, the star is an astronomer or the moon is Artemis. Still searching for a deck whith the moors among the trumps
But when i see the burdel, heri, payen, chosson or vieville i want to buy them all......
My most intriguing acquisition must be the grand tarot belline (1832), the cards are full of hard to decipher descriptions (luckily it comes with an lwb....)
http://www.wopc.co.uk/tarot/grand-tarot-belline

i found this interesting post about creating a collection of historical decks on tarot heritage

https://tarot-heritage.com/2012/04/23/b ... /#more-873

let us know which deck you decide to buy!

[Nemia]

I wish I had the money to buy all the excellent editions of the wonderful decks Stronglove mentioned! kI have only mass market reproductions, Lo Scarabeo reproductions, which is never the same as the exquisite editions that are available. But I enjoy my trimmed LoS Vacchetta very much and comfort myself that today's expensive collector's items were once just regluar "mass market" woodcut decks

There is one historical deck that fascinates me especially: the Foudraz. I want this very much.

[Flaxen]

The Foudraz linked by Nemia is stunning. I’d recommend any of Giordano Berti’s decks - they are a real labour of love and beautifully presented.

I’d also recommend the Flornoy Noblet - a smaller size but very ‘talkative’ in readings.

[Joan Marie]

That is a a hard question.

I do have the Sola Busca and am very fond of it.
It's a very unusual deck in many ways, not the least of which is the Trumps have really nothing at all to do with the "classic" idea of Trumps. The symbolism in them is very arcane and as far as I know there is no definitive explanation or description of card meanings.

The deck I bought so long ago from Giordano Berti came with an LWB that provides some pretty fascinating interpretations of each card. I also purchased the book "Game of Saturn" put out by Scarlet Imprint press. An amazing book. I should do a review of it but I feel like I will need to re-read it. The first pass of it is just so unusual. It makes no attempt to interpret individual cards but to study deeply the symbolism and the history attached to those symbols which have much to do with the politics of the time, the occult, alchemy and astrology and the way they were used in that time and place.

Many historical figures appear on the "Trumps" but the book asserts that they are kind of a ruse to distract "the authorities", and that the astrological and alchemical and other symbols that appear on the cards hold the true meanings.

I did an interview with Giordano Berti and we were going to continue and follow up with an in-depth discussion about the Sola Busca but I realised I was not able to ask the right questions at the time. I just didn't have a proper understanding of the uniqueness of the deck and didn't want to waste the opportunity of talking with Giordano about it with a bunch of misguided questions.

I think I will have a go at it now though if he is still willing to do it.

[Charlie Brown]

I think I will have a go at it now though if he is still willing to do it.

I'm looking forward to that. I hope it can happen.

[Joan Marie]

Giordano got back to me today and graciously agreed to another interview, so I'll be working on that with him and will post it soon.

I'm really excited about it and looking forward to talking more about the Sola Busca Tarot.

[Amoroso]

I like historic decks. Would get a Belline Tarot and Oracle one day.

[Sinister]

I wish I had the money to buy all the excellent editions of the wonderful decks Stronglove mentioned! kI have only mass market reproductions, Lo Scarabeo reproductions, which is never the same as the exquisite editions that are available. But I enjoy my trimmed LoS Vacchetta very much and comfort myself that today's expensive collector's items were once just regluar "mass market" woodcut decks

There is one historical deck that fascinates me especially: the Foudraz. I want this very much.

The Foudraz looks fantastic! I'd definitely like to have this one too. Also the Tarot de Paris. And plenty of others...

I agree that there are some amazing expensive reproductions available, but there's certainly nothing wrong with some of the Lo Scarabeo mass market ones. For instance, The Ancient Italian Tarot is probably my favourite, and I actually find it more aesthetically appealing than other similar decks such as the Soprafino from il Meneghello.