Outside of leather, what were the original tarot bags made of?

Outside of leather, what were the original tarot bags made of?

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marigold's said:

Outside of leather, what were the original tarot bags made of?

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While there are some very old decks still in existence (oldest cards still around are from the mid 1400's), there's no knowing exactly what the "original" tarot decks looked like or what sort of bags anyone kept them in. Even if these oldest decks had been found in some sort of bag, it would be hard to tell if it was the "original" bag.

Likely, however, the 15th century tarot decks (among the oldest we know about) were kept in bags of the same sort of material that people put other items they cared about. Tarot cards were often used by those who were wealthy or noble and so rich fabrics might have been used for their bags like silk and velvet. Possibly even cloth of gold.

I can't speak for original bags, but in Witches of New York (1858) one of the readers (aka "she-prophets") wrapped her cards in newspaper .

(Disappointing , huh ? )

Considering these original cards were hand-illuminated with real gold, I think a box would have been more likely. A leather bag could impart an odor to the cards. These early cards were amusements for the billionaires of their day, but also considered art. I've seen books of hours and the like some of which had boxes, gorgeous jeweled ones. The ladies & gentlemen of that day were extravagant in dress and common objects, after all.

as for leather - depends on the tanning process, one can ruin a deck by putting it in a cheaply tanned leather pouch (perhaps part of the birth of the Wrap Yer Deck In Silk myth…).

Dark Inquisitor said:

I can't speak for original bags, but in Witches of New York (1858) one of the readers (aka "she-prophets") wrapped her cards in newspaper .

(Disappointing , huh ? )

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Fascinating, actually! Though knowing how the ink of my local newspaper stains my fingers, I'd be leery of doing the same.

I would think that people would have used anything they could lay their hands on. (Maybe newspaper was all that one woman had to work with.)