People familiar with old tarot card decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

dragonfli	23 Dec 2002
Im curious to find out if these::: http://www.angelfire.com/darkside/chesterfire/tarot.jpg are old tarot cards or what they mean. Can any one help me out? thanx. sorry if they are kinda hard to see.

Dakini	23 Dec 2002
Do you know the names of the decks? I have the tarot encyclopedia I can look them up for you if you do. Dakini

ihcoyc	23 Dec 2002
They don't look like traditional tarot card designs to me. They might possibly be from a Minchiate deck, but they look more like alchemical or heraldic emblems.

dragonfli	25 Dec 2002
No i have no idea what the deck name is or anything. Thats what im hoping to find out. Im not even sure if it is a tarot deck!lol... but thanx for replying guys. It does help.

jmd	25 Dec 2002
Your link returns: http://www.angelfire.com/images/rloadblock.jpg I too was hoping to also see the images...

Pollux	25 Dec 2002
No, I don't think they are minchiate actually: they have pictures I have never seen in minchiate, and probably they are also too detailed to be such (at least to my eyes and for the little I see). The last pic on the right reminds me of a card from the Mantegna deck, I think it is the one I used as THE STAR. But actually the picture is a bit different, and possibly to small to see better... As for the others, I am reeally clueless. The first one on left must be a death card (?) as I think I see a skull somewhere... My diagnosis: - NON tarot - NON minchiate - Maybe Mantegna? - Possibly just some stamp... *LOL* Anyway, don't take me sriously (in case you had doubts) - I surely am not among the most knowledgeable people here... :)

wavebreaker	25 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux - Maybe Mantegna? No, definitely not. I have the old Mantegna (Meneghello edition) and it's not the same style. You can see some samples of the Mantegna here for comparison.

Pollux	25 Dec 2002
I have looked again, and more things came to my mind. I reckon there is a muse in the Muses group of the Mantegna, who has got a horn and a ball like the figure in the middle, and maybe the first one resembles the Hermit/Saturn or Davil/Mercury card. I am NOT saying IT IS - I am simply stating there are some similarities. They might be some amateur sketches inspired by the Mantegna cards, or minchiate too... well, that's all that comes to my mind. Dragonfli: if you could provide more info, images or even the source link where you saw those it would be much appreciated. :)

wavebreaker	25 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux They might be some amateur sketches inspired by the Mantegna cards There is indeed a card of a muse with a horn in the Mantegna (Melpomene), which however is very different from the card in the middle. And the card on the right looks like the Octava Spera card in the Mantegna, but it's not the same. So yes, it could be sketches based on the Mantegna.

dragonfli	25 Dec 2002
i will try to do some better scans later and post them. :) thanx for replying

jmd	26 Dec 2002
Thankyou for attaching the image, Pollux. The cards are from a game said to be invented in 1616 by Andrea Ghisi. The full deck consists of 44 pages of illustrations, apparently containing 1260 figures. Though they have some similarity to the Mantegna, these are definitely not Tarot. ... I wonder where you 'found' these, dragonfli? I can add some details, but all I have as reference is what can be found in Kaplan's Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol II, pp302-307. Hopes this helps.

Pollux	27 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux My diagnosis: - NON tarot - NON minchiate - Maybe Mantegna? - Possibly just some stamp... *LOL* }) *LOL*:D

The People familiar with old tarot card decks thread was originally posted on 23 Dec 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.