"Mignon" Decks?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Macavity	09 Jan 2003
Yeah, I know what "mignon" means - Or do I? ;) Looking around card dealers on the net I am seeing a lot of Lo Scarabeo "Mignon" decks with similar titles to the normal ones but at 1/3 of the price. Some of the sales sites are not too specific over the number of cards - usually 22+ (sic) - Another clue is size - typically around 42x80mm. Are these MAJORs only decks? I suspect they wouldn't be a bad thing for a collector of representative decks - or the financially challenged? I mean, once you've seen one lot of marseille-like "pip" cards, Right? :D I wouldn't be using them as a full reading deck anyway. What's the deal? Any thoughts... or guesses? Mac

Keslynn	09 Jan 2003
Did you look at the measurements? I'm thinking "mignon" might be referring to the miniature decks in this case. Though I have no idea how mm translates into inches. And I'm too lazy to do the conversion. Sounds pretty small. :) Kes

Macavity	09 Jan 2003
Yeah, they are pretty small aren't they? I'm old enough to be a feet and inches man :) I surmise that Lo Scarabeo have a whole series of these (probably) miniature decks which may parallel some of the standard ones? I was looking at the http://www.playingcardsales.co.uk/cards/ site. I may have to ask them or buy a set to find out if they are major arcana ONLY - Some of them are only UKL 5-00 or so! But it looks like a job for daylight hours (here). Thank you Kes :) P.S. Evidently it's an Italian "mignon" rather than a French one.

Verbena	09 Jan 2003
I don't know Italian but I can do conversion. Mignon cards are mostly I.5" x 2" in size. Hope it helps.

juice	10 Jan 2003
That would be about 1 and 2/3 inch wide x something longer. The micro are only 1/2 inch in the shorter dimension. Too small to truly appreciate the art work but great choices for cary around decks.

fairyhedgehog	10 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Macavity Are these MAJORs only decks? Oooh, I love small decks :) I've just emailed R Somerville to ask if the Tarocchi degli Gnomi Mignon and the Mini Tarot de Marseille are Majors only or not. I'll let you know.

Magus Ten	10 Jan 2003
I don't speak any french, but my friend does and she says that mignon translates roughly to "cute". I think she would know, seeing as that's also her name. I think the deck is called a mignon deck b/c its small and....small is cute (i would suppose?). Magus Ten

Macavity	16 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog I've just emailed R Somerville to ask if the Tarocchi degli Gnomi Mignon and the Mini Tarot de Marseille are Majors only or not. I'll let you know. Did you conclude anything on this? More importantly, did you get your Gnomes? Heheh :D Quite a quick service - Parcel left Fr. on Monday a.m. Arrived here THIS a.m. Can't be bad. :) Macavity

fairyhedgehog	16 Jan 2003
I've just got a holding email from R Somerville as the proprietor is apparently away for a few days. Which deck did you get and what is it like?

Macavity	16 Jan 2003
My TV decided to end it's life, so I had to revise deck buying plans. :( Fwiw, I did get a Camoin/Marseille (long on my wish list) and softened recent blows by getting a LS "Classical Tarot" (In case I really didn't like the Marseille? LOL). But the Classical is indeed a pretty deck and now in fact, I REALLY like it a lot! I guess it will function as a sort of "generic" Italian deck, since I probably won't be getting an "Ancient Italian" deck for every state of pre-unification Italy! :D So both the above were standard size decks. But it has to be said that the small decks (of which I hadn't been previously aware!) are indeed rather appealing - particularly pricewise. So this has been an interesting thread anyway. Thanks Fairyhedgehog :) Macavity P.S. I suspect "22+ cards" means Majors + some documention cards?

fairyhedgehog	28 Jan 2003
I've heard from R Somerville about the mignon decks: Quote: The Tarocchi degli Gnomi Mignon has 22 cards but the Mini Tarot de Marseille from Fournier (ref. no. 12542) and the Tarot de Marseille (mini) from France Cartes (ref. no. 11080) both have 78 cards. I don't want to get the gnomes, now, cos I'm not into major arcana only decks.

The "Mignon" Decks? thread was originally posted on 09 Jan 2003 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.