Decks for a Display?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Jul 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

VGimlet	21 Jul 2002
My co-workers talked me into doing a tarot display at the library. (One of our responsibilities is to do the window displays). It's not until October, but I want to plan ahead, since I may have to buy a few decks. Yes, it's a sacrifice but it's work related. ;) I'd like to ask for your ideas, to make this a great display. I am toying with two ideas. One is to use literature related decks. Shakesperian, Amber, Mythic, (the recent thread just reminded me) Lord of the Rings, Whimsical, Legend; the Arthurian Tarot, maybe the Faeries Oracle. Any others? My other idea is to do a history; start with the Visconti-Sforza, and the Marseilles, (and maybe another from the earlier period...ideas?) Golden Dawn, RWS, Thoth, BOTA, and then modern decks. I was thinking Gendron, Aquarian, Baseball, Robin Wood, Connolly, Haindl (or maybe Rohrig), Ukiyoe, Rock and Roll. Am I missing something that is glaringly obvious to you? What decks would you suggest? The decks would be displayed with some of the books and videos we have on tarot, and a very short and simple history, printed in sections. There is a possibility the display will be on divination, but IMO, that starts heading into religion, which I want to stay away from. Thanks to all who reply! :D (I am not quite sure if this thread should go here, or in talking tarot - please move if needed!)

midnightmerry	21 Jul 2002
If the display will be in October, I'd have to add the Halloween Deck, no matter what theme you end up going with. (Maybe just place it inconspiciously in a corner if it clashes too much with the theme). The correspondence is obvious & people might get a kick out of seeing such a 'seasonal' deck.

emily2otters	21 Jul 2002
oooo, what fun! i favor the historical approach, personally... in our modern "theme" deck era it would of course be totally appropriate to add some literary decks. for modern decks, don't forget to include at least one "cute" deck, like tarot nova. i think the rock and roll tarot is a great idea too, and what a shame the silicone valley tarot is so poorly rendered... will you display books with the decks as well? titles your library offers, plus others that folks can look for in stores? possibly a few printouts of what aeclectic has to offer? i envy you. ;) have a great time!

Sally Gardens	21 Jul 2002
Probably the historical approach would be best for a general educational display on Tarot. Using literary-themed Tarot decks would be something to keep in mind when you have displays featuring literary works, e.g., Lord of the Rings, fantasy in general, Shakespeare, and so forth. For a historical display - and yes, my bias is showing :D - I would definitely include the Motherpeace Round Deck, though you might have to choose cards carefully if nekkid people are a problem for the display, because there are a lot of nekkid people in the Motherpeace. It's all artistic nudity, nothing tasteless or graphic, but you know your local population better than I do. Fortunately, there are enough cards to choose from which don't have nudity.

midnightmerry	21 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by VGimlet My co-workers talked me into doing a tarot display at the library. ( And I want to know where you live that is cool enough to allow a Tarot display in the local library!! I think there'd be mass hysteria, Bible parades, and blanket exorcisms if I tried that here!!

WolfSpirit	21 Jul 2002
You must work at a really cool library ! If it's going to be a display, I would take a few decks that will draw people's attention. I saw the Halloween and Rock and Roll were mentionned - great ! You could start with a brief historic overview of decks (the serious part) , ending with a few "eye-catchers" to show how many different kinds of decks there are. I started with good old Rider-Waite and I still can't get enough of how many theme decks there are. I think the tarot for cats and the dragon tarot would also look cool on a display.

Starfish	21 Jul 2002
You have to add the Old English ;) And, I agree with the Halloween deck - definitely! :T7C Starfish

Liliana	21 Jul 2002
For the historical theme, Id add PoMo (if you can find it) for a kind of humorous modern quality, World Spirit for its all inclusiveness (if some minor ndity isnt a problem I recommend the World being a displayed card) and definately Victoria Regina (especially 10 of guns, it cracks me up) Oh and of course my vote goes to include Rohrig, just be careful not to choose any boobie or penis cards lol (Rohrigs art is probably too realistic to have any nudity even if nudity isnt a problem hehe) Oh and maybe Navigators of the Mystic SEA for a wierd, fun, funky kind of computer age deck, and I Am One and Osho Zen for a couple variations on the Tarot deck. :THP

divinerguy	21 Jul 2002
I nominate the Voyager or perhaps some of the less controversial Cosmic Tribe cards. I think these two decks indicate a trend in decks we're going to be seeing.

Starfish	21 Jul 2002
Just wanted to add how cool it would be to have your library be mine.... :T7C Starfish

Jeannette	22 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by VGimlet ...I am toying with two ideas. One is to use literature related decks. Shakesperian, Amber, Mythic, (the recent thread just reminded me) Lord of the Rings, Whimsical, Legend; the Arthurian Tarot, maybe the Faeries Oracle. Any others? How about the new Lo Scarabeo "Dante" deck, the Inner Child Cards, the new Llewellyn "Tarot of Oz," the (Alice in) Wonderland Tarot, and the Lovecraft Tarot? (Although the latter may still be out-of-print; I haven't checked recently.) If you have access to some of the Italian decks that have had litte-to-no North American distribution, there's the Scapini "Shakespearian" (Tarocchi di Giulietta e Romeo), the Fiabe (fables) tarot, the Tarocchi di Matteo Maria Boiardo, i Tarocchi de Re Sole (covering the works of Alexander Dumas) and both "Pinocchio" tarocchis (both OOP, unfortunately). Quote: My other idea is to do a history; start with the Visconti-Sforza, and the Marseilles, (and maybe another from the earlier period...ideas?) Golden Dawn, RWS, Thoth, BOTA, and then modern decks. I was thinking Gendron, Aquarian, Baseball, Robin Wood, Connolly, Haindl (or maybe Rohrig), Ukiyoe, Rock and Roll. Am I missing something that is glaringly obvious to you? What decks would you suggest? Other pre-Golden Dawn tarots of note include the Papus and the Etellia. Perhaps including something in the Minchiate format would be interesting, to demonstrate the historical variety in tarot's past. Since the R/W is arguably the most influential deck published in the last hundred years, perhaps the inclusion of decks that are thought to have inspired Waite and Smith in turn, such as the Sola Busca, might be warranted. (More information on the observed relationship between the R/W designs and some of those seen in the Sola Busca can be found in Kaplan's Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp. 30 - 32.) It's great that your library has invited you to do this! I hope your display helps to raise awareness, and dispel myths, about the subject of tarot in your local community! -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

jmd	23 Jul 2002
In terms of a display, I presume a number of books will also be exhibited. I suggest, as well as whichever more popular ones are available, that Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism, and the three volumes of Kaplan's Encyclopedia of Tarot, be included. In terms of decks, I don't know if Jeannette meant the Wirth deck when mentioning Papus, but I would definitely include it. Also, for the sake of general 'acceptability', I would include Salvador Dali's deck, as well as the Royal Fez Moroccan, designed (a Waite 'clone) by the founder of MENSA. These two last should certainly make Tarot more acceptable to possible problem viewers - by showing its broader acceptability in the world, and also make those interested in Tarot generally feel more supported.

dolphingirl	23 Jul 2002
Hi I loved te literary idea and I might also do decks that are hapy and fun and geared for all audences such as the Whimsical, Inner Child Cards, Halloween (all time favorite) Childrens tarot :) What ever you choose please, please keep us informed :) I would love to do this window display! Dolphingirl

Pollux	23 Jul 2002
I agree with jmd and Jeanette. Etteilla, Wirth and Papus (is this the order?) Cannot be left out. And with Royal Fez Moroccon and Minchiate there might also be room for those cute Marseille-like decks, whose names are different... *tries to focus* One is sold as the "Antichi Tarocchi Lombardi" - the one KAZ posted LOVERS from. GGRRRRRRR!!! Maybe you might also consider MANTEGNA (even though those are not really tarot cards...). And World Spirit and Glastonbury too!!!

VGimlet	24 Jul 2002
Thanks for the great responses so far (and of course, more are always welcome :)) You guys have all given me some great ideas for decks and books to include. I do work in a pretty cool library, although it's in one of the more conservative parts of the Puget Sound, LOL. But I can pretty much do what I want as far as the displays go. Right now I think I'm leaning toward the historical display, although I have a feeling if response is positive I'll do another one sometime. I am going to include many of the books and videos we have in the library system (and we have quite a few). I'm also going to put in a request that we buy a few titles that are missing, hopefully we'll get them before my display. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. :D

Cerulean	24 Jul 2002
Christina Oleson's Art of the Tarot is an inexpensive gift book that has displays of many historical decks that range from the Visconti variations through Etteilla and the Pomo to the Salvador Dali. You could mount the minature pages that would work for a public family place and then include one or two variations of cultural decks or fantasy decks. If you were to buy along the lines of the historical tarots that Christina Oleson shows, my suggestions follow: Visconti Gold, rather than the Cary Yale or Pierpont Morgan, unless you like the worn look. Silver Mantegna Tarot of Marseilles, which might include the beautiful di Gumppenberg of 1840 (Classical Tarots by Lo Scarabeo) or the detailed delicacy of the Napoleonic era in the 1810 (Ancient Tarots of Lombardy from Lo Scarabeo) Grand Etteilla, which could be bought in the Grimaud version or Ancient Esoteric Tarots by Lo Scarabeo. The Jeu Des Dames version depicted in Christina Oleson's gift book seems to be only available through French publishers. Oswald Wirth, by U.S. Games Rider Waite, 'original version', by U.S. Games Variations abound in the 20th century, including Cosmic with old film movie stars. I think Amber and Dali and Pomo are great, though expensive. Rachel Pollack and Julia Sharman Burke have lovely color books also with samples of historical tarots in their pages. Julia Sharman Burke has samples ranging from the Visconti through the Ukiyoe in one of her books. Her Mastering the tarot show 20th century variations. I don't know if the suggestions help...but happy collecting! Mari H.

Pollux	24 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mari_Hoshizaki Tarot of Marseilles, which might include the beautiful di Gumppenberg of 1840 (Classical Tarots by Lo Scarabeo) or the detailed delicacy of the Napoleonic era in the 1810 (Ancient Tarots of Lombardy from Lo Scarabeo). I think that the english/commercial name for it is "Soprafino", right? As for this Ferdinand Guppembergs's version, I must agree with you... I think it has many fans on this Forums... :D And I would also suggest the Northen Italian versions of playing-card Tarots, those with the picture both upright and reversed. I know they are called "Antichi Tarocchi Pienmontesi", Ancient Tarots from Piemonte. Thay have Marseille-like pictures for majors, but only the upper half is printed, both in the upright and the reversed face. (I hope I made it clear which ones I'm talking about - I'll try to look for pictures)... And Leonardo's Tarot too would be a nice addiction.

midnightmerry	24 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux I'll try to look for pictures)... And Leonardo's Tarot too would be a nice addiction. *Laughing* (I love Freudian slips.) Ummmm, I'm quite sure Leonardo's Tarot would be a nice addiction- to go along with my tarotholicism in general, perhaps? :D :D

Pollux	24 Jul 2002
Quote: Originally posted by midnightmerry *Laughing* (I love Freudian slips.) Ummmm, I'm quite sure Leonardo's Tarot would be a nice addiction - to go along with my tarotholicism in general, perhaps? :D :D Sorry... :P *feels so embarassed* I won't correct the post, so this all won't be meaningless to others...

midnightmerry	24 Jul 2002
Oh, goodness, please don't be embarrassed! I was just having some fun with you. I do this kind of stuff all the time- I'm famous at my house for mis-pronouncing words! I read them & know what they mean, but don't have the foggiest notion how to pronounce them. I thought your slip of the fingers was rather charming!

Pollux	24 Jul 2002
Midnightmerry, I wanted to PM you but it seems not possible... DUH? How come you can't get PMs? Anyway, it's ok! I know you were joking! :) Freudian slips are daily-based for me. And I also tend to be disleptic (sp?). Maybe because I am too intelligent... :D *LOL*

midnightmerry	24 Jul 2002
Hmmm, I don't know why you couldn't pm me! I thought I had it set so that it would work...I'll double-check. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. *Ok, it's fixed now. I was wrong; I had the pm turned off!

The Decks for a Display? thread was originally posted on 21 Jul 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.