Cary-Yale vs. Visconti

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jun 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Zhritza	02 Jun 2002
Now that the subject of the Visconti is broached (maybe this needs to be moved to a new or different thread... I think I may be opening a can o' worms here), who has the Cary-Yale here? Does anyone have that as well as the Sforza? Care to compare the two? From what I've seen online I think I might prefer the Cary-Yale, but it's only available from U. S. Games for $40, and I don't even think it comes with a book. I have been staying away from the "gold Visconti"-Sforza that USG has out, because I prefer the muted gold background as in the Scapini; but I remember someone here saying s/he liked the Gold one. Input would be delightful... :)

Lee	02 Jun 2002
Hi, Qolus, I moved your post to a new thread so more people will find it! :) I have the Visconti Gold. I don't particularly like the shiny gold backgrounds, but I much prefer that to the Tower and Devil replacement cards that Scapini did for the U.S. Games Visconti. I have an aversion to Scapini's artwork (although I do like his Stained Glass Tarot). Also, I like the smaller size of the Visconi Gold, it makes it more manageable. -- Lee

jmd	02 Jun 2002
I only own the Visconti-Sforza US Games edition, and I agree that the Tower and especially the Devil just don't quite make it. In case you're interested in seeing various comparisons, Kaz has attached both Cary-Yale and Visconti-Sforza cards in our threads in the Study Groups - Marseilles Decks section.

Kaz	02 Jun 2002
i haven't done that for all threads there, but i will now. edited to say: done, so have a look and compare..... kaz

Zhritza	02 Jun 2002
thanks, kaz!! I think I will get the Sforza after all... I'm having a massive deja vu here. Is there some other thread in which I said, "I will get the Sforza after all," or maybe "I will get the (insert deck with decks very similar to it here) after all?" Okay, now that I think about it, there must have been a similar situation. :) Okay, so the only Sforza without the replacement cards is the Gold? Why on earth did Scapini make replacement cards if the cards already existed? Does the Gold have replacements that aren't from the orginal deck, but that someone else made in the past?

Kaz	02 Jun 2002
qolus, i know there has been a thread about the visconti "gold" deck, if i remember correctly it was either truthsayer or faunabay offering this one up for trade. now i don't know if this trade ever happened....... i compared the "normal" and the "gold" then, and i liked the normal better, but tastes differ ofcourse. edited to tell you to have a look at alidastore, there are several different visconti decks, can't find the one with the gold though... kaz

Lee	02 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Qolus Does the Gold have replacements that aren't from the orginal deck, but that someone else made in the past? I believe that the Tower and Devil cards in the original Visconti deck are missing, so any reproduction deck which has 78 cards will have recreated versions of those cards. The ones in the Visconti Gold would have been done by that deck's artist (I forget his name -- the deck isn't a strict reproduction, I think all the cards were painted anew by the artist, in such a way as to be faithful to the originals). -- Lee

faunabay	02 Jun 2002
I got the Visconti Gold in a trade and didn't care for it at all. The gold was too shiny for me. I ended up trading it to truthsayer - don't know whether she's kept it or not. A while back I had a chance to look through, in person, both the cary-yale and the visconti (the bigger one without the gold) decks. And I have to say I liked the cary-yale better. If I had the $40 to get one or the other, I'd choose the cary-yale. I like the cary-yale colors a bit more. Just my 2 cents worth. :D

Zhritza	02 Jun 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Lee The ones in the Visconti Gold would have been done by that deck's artist (I forget his name) oh, is that Atanassov? I think that's him...

Logiatrix	04 Jun 2002
yep, it's a.a. atanossov (sp?), the artist who finished the visconti deck to make it a complete 78 card set. i've read that there never was a tower, death or devil in the original production. i have the u.s. games edition, which is my main deck, and a llewellyn edition (much newer). they both have the gold stamping, but the color and gold on the llewellyn release is not as bright or deep. my u.s. games version is going on three years of continuous usage, and still has quite a brilliant coloring. the black borders have faded on the edges from the constant handling, but as they are already supposed to be antique looking, i think they look even better "loved" by me! :)

The Cary-Yale vs. Visconti thread was originally posted on 02 Jun 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.