View Full Version : Royal Fez moroccan
Hello all,
I stumbled on this deck while checking out the deck reviews here on aeclectic and i liked what i saw.
Its deffinatly not a pretty deck and i can pin point what i like about it, i just do.
Does anyone of you here have this deck? and what do you think about it?
Love and light
Maan
truthsayer
30-06-2002, 16:02
i believe it's mojo's primary deck. but i think its OOP--you can probably find it in your neck of the woods considering all the OOP decks you've found! another idea would be to get a copy of the Bota which is relatively check and color it in the way you choose. it's not the same but maybe it would do until you could find a MRF.
Hi truth
Its not OOP as far as i now cause agm agmuller has it for sale on there side.
I'm a bit puzzled by this myself because on wicce en tarotpassages and ebay the say it is OOP?
So maybe its a reprint?
truthsayer
30-06-2002, 17:55
i checked amazon and barnes and noble. they both can only get used copies. i really don't know. maybe ag muller has printed it but none of the major book chains have picked it up yet.
Strange Really strange
Here is the link BTW
http://www.tarotworld.com/
From there you click on shop and there click on special offers and there.......it is ;)
Jeannette
01-07-2002, 01:29
Originally posted by Maan
...Its not OOP as far as i now cause agm agmuller has it for sale on there side...I'm a bit puzzled by this myself because on wicce en tarotpassages and ebay the say it is OOP?
So maybe its a reprint?
Maan & Gang:
There seems to be a common misperception on this side of the Atlantic (the North American side) that as soon as a deck is no longer distributed in the U.S. and Canada, then it must be OOP. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many so-called OOP decks are often readily available in Europe, just as some decks that are easily obtained in the U.S. and Canada are not as easy to get in Europe or Asia.
The Royal Fez, as metioned, is IN PRINT. It simply does not have a direct North American distributor at the moment. That makes it correspondingly more expensive for a small reseller, such as Tarot Garden, to import it at this time. But it doesn't make it unavailable, rare, or even necessarily HTF.
Sorry, but this has been a pet peeve of Lori's and mine for some time. So, for what it's worth, take note: the large U.S. resellers, such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, will report any title as being OOP if they do not have a "domestic" source for obtaining an item. Since U.S. Games no longer distributes the Royal Fez deck, and since no other distributor has (to the best of our knowledge) picked up the deck for North American distribution, that's why you're reading reports of it being OOP. To such sellers, OOP often simply means "we can't get it." And since a good share of eBay sellers rely on information from such companies, rather than actual knowledge of the tarot publishing market, the misinformation simply gets repeated again and again. Caveat emptor.
Hope this helps.
-- Jeannette
http://www.tarotgarden.com
Aaaah thank you Jeannette! No it makes sence
So for eample the arcus arcanum and the ravenswood eastern tarot are also not OOP but just hard to get in America?
Whe should make a list somewhere on the forum, so further confusion can be prevented :)
Love and light
Maan
truthsayer
01-07-2002, 09:44
this is really excellent info. i appreciate y'all sharing it w/ us. i've often noticed this occurring but i didn't understand what was going on. it also gives me an edge in the future if i deal w/ ebay. :) i've noticed that decks i can't get in the us can be found elsewhere in the world and it puzzled me.
we really do need to compile that list of so called OOP decks and what companies you can still get them from. jeannette and/or lori, do you happen to have this info somewhere at tarotgarden or could you help us w/ resources to create such a list? everytime someone says "OOP" here, we have a stampede to get said deck. it'd be nice to know before we stampede if the deck is truely OOP.
Jeannette
04-07-2002, 00:47
Originally posted by Maan
...Jeannette...So for eample the arcus arcanum and the ravenswood eastern tarot are also not OOP but just hard to get in America?
The Arcus Arcanum is in print. I haven't been able to determine for sure about the Ravenswood Eastern, because I show some European suppliers that still seem to be able to get it. Or maybe they just have leftover stock, because one by one, they do seem to be running out. And the copies I'm seeing coming over from Europe list "U.S. Games" (as opposed to AGMuller or one of the European publishers) on the box as the publisher, rather than simply as the North American distributor. And U.S. Games definitely isn't publishing it anymore. So, by putting two and two and two together, I'm thinking we're looking at OOP with the Ravenswood. But I haven't been able to confirm that 100%. It's possible that one of the European publishers picked it up for republication, although I haven't seen any evidence of such so far.
We should make a list somewhere on the forum, so further confusion can be prevented :)
Big job -- there's literally hundreds upon hundreds of decks whose publication status would potentially be of interest to various tarot enthusiasts.
Originally posted by truthsayer
Jeannette and/or lori, do you happen to have this info somewhere at tarotgarden or could you help us w/ resources to create such a list? everytime someone says "OOP" here, we have a stampede to get said deck. it'd be nice to know before we stampede if the deck is truely OOP.
I agree that it's important to stop the spread of misinformation. (Personally, I'm very tired, for example, of seeing eBay sellers proclaiming "rare" or "out-of-print" in their auction titles for decks that are sometimes so common you could buy them off-the-shelf of any reasonably-stocked mainstream bookstore). For what it's worth, I took some time to respond to this question on a newer thread entitled "Oop," since the issue seems to directly impact the topic under discussion there. You can click here (http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&postid=51246#post51246) to jump to my post on that thread.
-- Jeannette
http://www.tarotgarden.com (http://www.tarotgarden.com?rs=3378)
Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I've been travelling a lot lately for work (I'm currently in Chile, but was able to get my internet connection working!)
Truthsayer is right, the Royal Fez is my primary deck and I absolutely love it.... same as you, Maan, I can't tell you exactly what it is about the deck that does it for me, but it's just the one for me. One of the things I like is the mixture of black & white backgrounds and simple colored drawings.
This deck WAS out of print for about 25 years, but according to Alidastore, a limited reprinting occurred I think last year. And there's no distribution in the U.S., but Alidastore carries it and I recommend them highly.
If you want a deck from the original printing (I believe it was printed from about 1968 through 1973), expect to pay at least $75 USD up to about $300 depending on whether it is used or not. I haven't seen the reprinted decks, so I can't tell you how they compare to the originals.
A few days ago I ordered the Royal Fez from Alida. It had always appeared ugly to me before, and it still does, but there's something about it...
Also, I like the fact that the Major cards are untitled, I think that gives them their own special mystery. The only other (modern) decks I know of that do this are the Dreampower and the Jungian. Oh yes, and the Buckland Romani.
-- Lee
Jeannette
04-07-2002, 20:01
Originally posted by Mojo
...If you want a deck from the original printing (I believe it was printed from about 1968 through 1973), expect to pay at least $75 USD up to about $300 depending on whether it is used or not. I haven't seen the reprinted decks, so I can't tell you how they compare to the originals.
Here is some information from the LWB of the 1975, non-limited-edition reprinting of the Royal Fez:
"...In the late 1950s, Berrill [the deck's creator] commissioned Michael Hobdell, a British artist, to produce a tarot pack that would reflect the imagery of design prevalent in twelfth century Fez. The artist died shortly after completing the commission, and Berrill died before he could market a limited and numbered edition of 500 Royal Fez Moroccan tarot decks. These decks lay dormant for many years until marketed by Rigel Press, London. In 1975, U.S. Games Systems, Inc., New York, and Rigel Press, London, marketed the first authentic reproduction of the Royal Fez Moroccan pack based upon Hobdell's original designs and color tones." [Stuart Kaplan, 1975]
We have a copy of the original Rigel Press edition in stock at Tarot Garden, but there is no marking that indicates the year in which these limited edition copies were offered to the public. However, the 1975 reprinting was apparently available for a number of years afterwards, as my personal copy was purchased from a mainstream bookseller sometime in the mid-1980s.
-- Jeannette
http://www.tarotgarden.com
are they in fact still offering the royal fez moroccan tarot at tarot world or that an out of date link ?
i mean i can't find it at amazon, or barnes, and at tarot garden, their royal fez is going for 250 dollars.
confused, any comments ?
Cerulean
21-04-2005, 19:54
Hello Holmes and others...
Looks like a viable link to me...
I checked today...
I saw Holmes' other post about the Royal Fez and Thomson-Leng...and also commented there...
Cerulean
Jeannette
22-04-2005, 12:08
Update: In the time intervening between the start of this thread and these latest posts, the Royal Fez has been confirmed by the publisher (AGM) as OOP. About 18 months ago, we managed to order a batch from AGM, which sold out relatively quickly. When we tried to reorder, we were told "that's it, no more, no plans to reprint." So we must have gotten pretty much darn near the last of 'em.
The link on the TarotWorld site will accept an order, but for anyone who tries it, you'll eventually receive a notice that the deck is actually no longer available.
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden (http://www.tarotgarden.com?rs=3378)
P.S. -- The copies we have in stock now are from the later Rigel Press editions. They were acquired on the secondary market, and are in varying conditions. But none of the ones we have at present are priced as high as $250. However, if we actually had one of the Rigel Press copies from the original limited edition of 500 (which we don't at the moment), it would probably be priced higher than that.
P.S.S. -- Reading through this thread again, I thought probably I should add that we now know for sure that the Arcus Arcanum remains in print (although with no direct North American distribution), while the Ravenswood Eastern Tarot has been confirmed by AGM and USG as OOP.
P.S. -- The copies we have in stock now are from the later Rigel Press editions. They were acquired on the secondary market, and are in varying conditions. But none of the ones we have at present are priced as high as $250. However, if we actually had one of the Rigel Press copies from the original limited edition of 500 (which we don't at the moment), it would probably be priced higher than that.
P.S.S. -- Reading through this thread again, I thought probably I should add that we now know for sure that the Arcus Arcanum remains in print (although with no direct North American distribution), while the Ravenswood Eastern Tarot has been confirmed by AGM and USG as OOP.
OH MY creator i have erred *slaps self in head*
i did check your website and found none in stock
so i said well where did i see that ? and i realized it was mystic eye which i am looking at right now that has one for 250 and not your site.
i am sorry jeanette and umbrae for making this mistake about the two sites.
perhaps it will be reprinted eventually which i hope for no deck will get 250 or more out of me :)
Jeannette
26-04-2005, 10:34
No apologies necessary, HOLMES. With over 1,400 decks listed on our website, I talk to folks all the time that can't keep 'em all straight. (Heck -- I can't keep 'em all straight!)
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden (http://www.tarotgarden.com?rs=3378)
Mystewood
25-10-2007, 06:50
Errm! I don't know if any of you are still interested in this deck and I hope I'm not breaking any rules by telling you that there is one for sale on ebay.
6 Haunted Days
25-10-2007, 10:48
Errm! I don't know if any of you are still interested in this deck and I hope I'm not breaking any rules by telling you that there is one for sale on ebay.
Yes, true. There are copies of it on Ebay all the time, I have always really wanted this deck, something striking about it.
6 Haunted Days
13-02-2008, 23:20
I finally got this deck today in the mail! I've been strangely fascinated with it for years. It just seems a odd deck....the images, gold borders, etching type line drawings with the strong colours.
I have to say seeing it in person.....it is completely charming and beautiful in it's own weird way! I should never had hesitated, this deck has quite a "feel" to it....charisma, personality. The fact there are no names or words on any cards, especially the Majors, makes this a very unique thing to me as well. Seems somehow more magical and mysterious with no names.
I am really intrrigued with the style of ink drawing, it looks a lot like etchings which I'm a huge fan and collector of. Combined with the vibrant primary colours (the Hermit is in deep browns though, very cool) the ambience is very striking and bold. There are lots of castles, ornate rooms and windows, gardens and masonry...things I love. One thing is the Justice card, it made me chuckle as she looks worried, scared or perplexed! Strange expression for a Justice card.
I just knew I'd feel a connection to these images, and I was right. Much more than I thought. I don't hear this deck mentioned much, is there others who like this deck too? Anyone use it a lot or at all for readings?
closrapexa
19-08-2009, 06:00
Resurrecting an old thread here, and haven't been here in too long a time:)
I just received a 1975 version of this deck, Rigel Press, London. It has never been used, and the box shows a little time, but not use.
I love it, it has a simplicity that I often miss in other decks, but I just want to know if I "should" use it. I mean, I want to know what I have and if I should wear it like my other decks. I'm not all that nice to my cards... I mean, I hardly tear them or anything like that, but they do acquire that "used" look.
Any thoughts? If it's worth a dollar fifty, then what the hell, I like it.
karen0205
19-08-2009, 09:55
Any thoughts? If it's worth a dollar fifty, then what the hell, I like it.
I'm sure that deck is worth at least $75
they are for sale on ebay all the time and depending on the edition
they can go for over $200.
I'm not up on the specific editions but I'm sure someone will know
I wouldn't use it if you think you might want to keep it for collectible value
closrapexa
20-08-2009, 05:37
Well, selling isn't an option, it was a gift, and that's a grave faux pas:)
But one of the reason I prefer using generic US Games versions is because I can use them anyway I want, and even then I get pale at the way people treat my precious cards. But I wouldn't feel comfortable using something like that. It has never been used, the cards are open, without any plastic film, but still arranged:)
Nice deck and all, but like the Greenwood, I really don't get the high price tag.
photokat
20-08-2009, 05:49
What color box is your Rigel Press Edition?
I have the one in the red slip case.
The mass market US Games version is worth around $100 if it's mint, I'd say that Rigel Press ones are definitely worth more.
Resurrecting an old thread here, and haven't been here in too long a time:)
I just received a 1975 version of this deck, Rigel Press, London. It has never been used, and the box shows a little time, but not use.
I love it, it has a simplicity that I often miss in other decks, but I just want to know if I "should" use it. I mean, I want to know what I have and if I should wear it like my other decks. I'm not all that nice to my cards... I mean, I hardly tear them or anything like that, but they do acquire that "used" look.
Any thoughts? If it's worth a dollar fifty, then what the hell, I like it.
closrapexa
20-08-2009, 06:04
It's a slip case, but the color is more of an orange than red. It doesn't look faded, though.
What color box is your Rigel Press Edition?
I have the one in the red slip case.
The mass market US Games version is worth around $100 if it's mint, I'd say that Rigel Press ones are definitely worth more.
:bugeyed: really? I have this deck but Ive given up trying to find out which edition it is. I think it might be the mass market one. Plain orange box with the title of the deck at the bottom of the box on the front.
I love this deck. I don't know why. No titles, coloured figures against uncoloured backgrounds. Really feels like fairy tale illustrations.
For me, this deck is worth money because it is OOP (obviously) and also because it is a deck which became available at what I think of as the early stages of the tarot renaissance... Before tarot really took off like it did in the 90s.
closrapexa
20-08-2009, 12:11
Yeah, the one I have is the one shown in
this thread (http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=117428&highlight=royal+fez+moroccan), and the year isn't written anywhere on the box, but on the back of the LWB.
I quite like this deck as well. I used to see it on display back in the day in New Age shops.
freddie
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=79325&highlight=Royal+Fez+original+edition+gold#top