A Collection of Tarot Decks - Tarot Prior to the Golden Dawn: Classic and Early Esoteric Decks

Tarot Prior to the Golden Dawn: Classic and Early Esoteric Decks

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For more on Classic Tarot generally, see these sites:

Italian Tarot in the 15th Century

Tarot Through the Ages: A discussion on early Italian Tarot, with Marco Benedetti and Sherryl Smith

Charles VI or Gringonneur Tarot. Reproductions by Lo Scarabeo as "Estensi Tarot: Golden Tarot of the Renaissance". 2004. This late 15th century deck was made in Ferrara for the Estes family. This deck was mistakenly attributed to the painter Jacquemin Gringonneur hired by Charles VI in 1392 by Constant Leber in the nineteenth century. Only 17 cards of this deck are extant - the trumps (Fool, [Juggler], Emperor, Pope, Lovers, [Chariot], Justice, Hermit, Strength, Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, Tower, Moon, Sun, Angel, World, - The Star, Devil, Wheel, Empress, and Papess are missing.) and the Knave of Swords. The Lo Scarabeo version created new cards for the remainder of the deck. Giordano Berti researched and designed these with Majors inspired by other period decks such as Ercole I d'Este Tarot and Leber Tarot, and Minor arcana inspired by the frescoes in Palazzo Schifanoia and designed to comply with modern cartomantic interpretations, and the modern demand that pips be illustrated beyond a geometric arrangement of suit symbols. Jo Dworkin was the artist.

Estensi Page of Cups deck cover

Visconti Tarocchi Deck. attributed to Bonifacio Bembo (Milan) and artists of the Ferrara school. Possibly completed 1428 (may have been done as a wedding present for Filippo Visconti and Maria Savoy) reproductions by US Games Systems, Lo Scarabeo, Dal Negro

Visconti Sforza Page of Cups Cary-Yale Visconti Page of Cups deck cover deck cover

Tarocchi del Mantegna. attributed to Andrea Mantegna (1432-1506). 1470. Reproductions by Lo Scarabeo and Meneghello.

Sola Busca (Illuminating Ancient Tarots). Reproduction 1995 Lo Scarabeo S.r.l.. - perhaps the earliest known deck to have illustrated Minors [as opposed to pip cards] was the Sola Busca Tarot dated somewhere around the late 15th Century; the reproduction is of a copy c. 1900.

Sola Busca Knave of Cups deck cover

Sofia Di Vincenzo. Sola Busca Tarot. 1998: US Games. ISBN 1572811307

Tarot de Marseille in the 18th Century

Tarot de Marseilles. "These designs carry the name of Marseilles because that city was a principal card manufacturing center in the 17th and 18th centuries. The actual place of origin of the designs is unknown. When France conquered Milan in 1499, French and Swiss soldiers probably encountered Milanese tarot cards similar to those seen on the fragmentary sheet housed in the Cary collection of playing cards. This is probably how the game of tarot, and with it the Milanese card designs, spread to Switzerland and eastern France. At some point in the 16th century, the set of designs known as the Tarot de Marseille became the standard pattern for players in these French-speaking regions." (so saith Tom Tadfor Little)
There are a number of different Marseilles type designs, though compared with the variations in 20th century decks, the variations in these are far smaller.

Marseilles Page of Cups deck cover Convos deck cover

Beautiful 19th Century Decks not in the Esoteric Tradition

Ancient Tarot of Lombardy. Ferdinando Gumppemberg, Milan. 1810. My version by Lo Scarabeo published 2000 is OOP. From the LWB "The production of the Tarots in Lombardy can be divided into two principal historic periods.

Ancient Tarot of Lombardy Page of Cups deck cover

"In the 1400's, splendid illuminated decks were created including the Visconti di Modrone deck, the Brambilla deck and the Visconti Sforza deck. Unfortunately, "working-class" decks did not survive over time. The production of Tarots was quashed in the 1600s due to the repressive economic policy by the Spanish Regime. Only when Milan went under Austrian domination at the start of the second half of the eighteenth century did a rebirth of native production take place. In the meantime, the Tarots of Marseilles, which presented an iconography extremely similar to that of the traditional Lombard ones, developed and became widespread. (Historians unanimously attribute Lombard origin to the Tarots of Marseilles.) Therefore, card manufacturers at that time needed to try and compete with these.

"During Napoleon's conquest, the "Regia Fabbrica", property of the State, was created and was entrusted to management by Ferdinando Gumppenberg. Some of the most beautiful and innovative decks belong to this production. The splendid Neo-classical Tarot for example (approx. 1810), moved away from the Marseilles model with profound originality. The "Della Rocca" and "Della Corona Ferrea" decks were also a part of Gumppenberg production. The Tarots of Marseilles on the one hand and the growth of the esoteric component on the other, nevertheless, marked the second decline in Lombard production."

Ancient Italian Tarot. Reproduction 2000 Lo Scarabeo S.r.l.. - Cartiera Italiana in Serravalle Sesia 1880. This is a late nineteenth century reproduction of an early nineteenth century Italian engraved deck by Carlo Dellarocca published by Gumppenberg and often known as the "Soprafino" (extra fine) deck (circa 1835). The Classic Tarot from Lo Scarabeo is based on the original 1835 Dellarocca deck.

Ancient Italian Knave of Cups deck cover

French Occult Tarot

Esoteric Ancient Tarot. Etteilla. 1790.

Etteilla Page of Cups deck cover

Oswald Wirth. Oswald Wirth. 1889. This deck is recommended by Papus in the Tarot of the Bohemians. Wirth illustrated the 22 Trumps with the help of Stanislas de Guaita. Wirth did not create any versions of the Minor Arcana. I show the page of cups thumbnail here, because I show the page of cups for all the decks on these pages. This particular page of cups illustration is done by the illustrator Stuart Kaplan hired when producing his 78-card version of the Wirth deck.

Oswald Wirth Page of Cups US Games deck cover Lo Scarabeo deck cover

Wirth, Oswald. Tarot of the Magicians. Joseph Paul Oswald Wirth (1860-1943) First published in Paris in 1927 as Le Tarot, des Imagiers du Moyen Age English translation 1985: Samuel Weiser. ISBN 0-87728-656-6, These cards were used to illustrate Le Tarot des Bohemiens by Papus

Mathers' 1888 Booklet using Eliphas Levi correspondences

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Copyright © 1994-2001 Joan Schraith Cole.
Updated August 26, 2001
Some graphics from Ann-S-Thesia CD, Number 76 variant A