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I know we dont get much hype for Tarot decks around here much but this one caught my eye. It is a restoration of a tarot deck from 1400's Italy using gold and silver foil on the cards to recreate the gold leaves of the original.

I recently read the book "A History of Playing Cards" by Catherine Hargrave and the deck is mentioned early on in the Italy chapter. It was a deck originally commissioned by the Duke of Milan in 1415 for 1500 gold pieces! Painted by the painter Marziano da Tartona who lived in the court of Filippo Maria Visconti (the duke). The original deck is still in the possession of the Visconti family. The campaign says "The original XVth century deck was most likely composed of 80 cards " but the book states it was said to be a minchiate set which has 97 cards. (putting an end to the idea that Michelangelo created the minchiate deck to teach the children of Florence to think and count). Im guessing the people behind this campaign have more up to date information but I thought I figured I would share what the book had to say as well!

Anyway I suggest you check it out to see how they are going about restoring the deck staying as true to the original as possible. Also will come with a full color hard cover companion book and a coin. It is very close to reaching the 40k Euro gilding stretch goal as well with one week left which I would love to see! (Hence my sharing it here [BACON] )

Some pictures:


Some cards!


The original scan of the cards on the left and the restoration version on the right with some zoomed in areas for detail.


Cards in hand for scale!


The Coin.

I’m a backer and I think it’s gorgeous

Backed as well, thanks for the post. Not a tarot collector but some are so great they are worth supporting.

I backed as well. Thanks for the post - I'm glad and sad at the same time .. glad that I found a good deck to add to my collection (my first tarot - something for a change from normal playing card decks) .. sad for my wallet.

tapunan wrote:I backed as well. Thanks for the post - I'm glad and sad at the same time .. glad that I found a good deck to add to my collection (my first tarot - something for a change from normal playing card decks) .. sad for my wallet.

our wallets must hate us

Thanks for the reminder post. I must have missed this the first time. I am not a tarot collector either, but dang! These are amazing.

I haven't gotten into collecting tarot (yet). I'm considering getting on-board with this deck.

Tarot is definitely a smaller portion of my collection but a nice tarot deck for example by UUSI always finds its way in. The bar for entry for tarot is higher than regular poker deck but the historic significance and beauty of this deck makes it too good for me to pass up.

The funding has reached the gilding stretched goal so this deck will be gilded!

I am not a tarot deck collector, but I am so in on this deck. Now that it is going to be gilded... . I just wished I could have been in on the wooden box tier. Ah well. I am still hyped.

It looks like the deck is just about ready to be shipped. They posted some photos of the final cards. All I can say is if you missed this one, I feel sorry for you. The cards look amazing.

Wish I had backed. Alas.

I am so excited. Glad I got two. I have to open one of these up.

https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/023/ ... 4_high.mp4

I got one and I'll open it :p

I open all my decks and, when I buy ancient decks, I only buy open ones.

I only prefer closed decks if they are recent.

But the discussion open vs closed decks is a never ending one.

Bradius wrote:I am so excited. Glad I got two. I have to open one of these up.

https://ksr-video.imgix.net/assets/023/ ... 4_high.mp4

wow - that set looks pretty sweet; I too kinda regret not having backed when I had the chance...

I think they will have some extras on their website after the rewards are shipped.

Bradius wrote:I think they will have some extras on their website after the rewards are shipped.

good to know, thanks Brad I'll have to remember to keep an eye out for when they're made available

I just received one of the two sets I backed. Holy Criminey! These cards are beautiful beyond words. If you didn’t get one, you should consider it. The foil. The gilding. The art. The booklet. The display box. They are all magnificent. Non-poker deck of the year for 2019. Done.

It's true... all of it I took some pictures, enjoy I wish the cards came in their own case but no biggie












Make sure you have room for this if you buy it

You forgot to take a picture of the Devil card where he has a raging hard-on.

Bradius wrote:You forgot to take a picture of the Devil card where he has a raging hard-on.

The Devil's not the only one...

Räpylätassu wrote:

Bradius wrote:You forgot to take a picture of the Devil card where he has a raging hard-on.

The Devil's not the only one...

#same

This deck looks absolutely gorg-e-ous and I want it so bad...

and every gd time this thread comes up, I regret more and more having not backed the project when I had the chance... gaaAAHHHH!

*stoopid. stoopid. STOOPID.* ugh



I regret everything. So I think I'll now spend the rest of my Saturday night as I do every weekend... wallowing in self-pity scrutinizing over all of the bad life choices I've ever made starting with this one... fun times - yay! lol

All is not lost. I am sure some extras will be on their website https://shop.loscarabeo.com/index.php.

I don't see them yet, but I will ask.

Finally got my deck today too; and echo the sentiments entirely. Beautiful creation! Not been into tarot decks before, but what an entry... just the sheer density of the package is going to take a while to fully consume. A few "sticky" cards and minor imperfections in the registration or small crinkles, but each image or reveal is wonderful. Huge quantity of foiling.

Bradius wrote:All is not lost. I am sure some extras will be on their website https://shop.loscarabeo.com/index.php.

I don't see them yet, but I will ask.

Bradius, any news on this?

No extras for sale. I confirmed with the creator. Also, they stated it again in the latest update. Evidently some folks have had issues and they were really apologetic about the situation. Some folks had missing or duplicate cards. Some I think had some quality issues. Evidently, their main manufacturer they wanted to use in China refused on "new found religious beliefs" (I can't make that up). Therefore he went with a different manufacturer, which did not turn out as well as expected.

I just happened to check Lo Scarabeo's website shop and there are some Visconti Modrone Tarot decks for sale! If you all haven't seen this deck, it really is amazing with huge cards (90x189 mm/3.5x7.4 inches) and printed in gold and sliver foil. This isn't for everybody, but it sure took my breath away.

https://shop.loscarabeo.com/index.php?i ... &results=1

60 Euro for 1 deck and about 18 decks in stock. Shipping is very pricey at 21 Euros for 1 deck, but you get free shipping if you buy 70 euros or more.

New version is available now - picked one up from Amazon as they seemed to have the best price - here it is on the makers site:

https://www.loscarabeo.com/en/products/ ... fa65&_ss=r

And on amazon (67.44 free shipping w/Prime): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07387 ... UTF8&psc=1

I have the original version but picked this one up also. I have not received it yet. Some of the reviews on Amazon state that this version does not have the gold gilding.