Tarot of Prague. June publication. Please take a look!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

baba-prague	26 Apr 2003
At long last, the Tarot of Prague website is up with the (almost :-) ) final cards. Please do take a look and please do let me know what you think: www.tarotofprague.com Thanks for all the support. All the comments have been fantastically helpful. Not everything is there yet, we will be adding more cards of course over the next week or so. There may be a few tweaks yet on the site - if anything doesn't work, just let me know. WE WILL ALSO HAVE MORE CLICKABLE CARDS so that you can see the card larger or send it as an e-card. So far, that just works on the front page. We can't show all the cards larger for fear of piracy, but we'll show as many as possible. We'll also put some nice photos on to the "Magic Prague" section, and get some samples of the prints up (hoping to show a close-up, as they have really nice detail and texture). Also - we will get a SECURE (for you and us) online ordering sorted. If you want to pre-order, please just send me your details for now - no money yet - and we will put you on the pre-order list (if you know what print you would like, do include that, and we will get the prints underway, they take a little time to do as they are individually made). Thanks again. Warm wishes from Prague, Karen

Hedera	26 Apr 2003
Hi Karen! First impressions: Wonderful!! The page loads very fast for me, has a good, clear structure. The images..... W O W !!! I love the colourfulness, the way you've blended the different sources, the 'classical' feel of them, mixed with a very contemporary sense of.... well, balance, I guess. Can;t quite put my finger on it yet. Every card I've seen feels very strong and lively. My favourite so far, I think, is the Four of Cups, a card that never really 'spoke' to me, but yours just has a perfect 'mood'. The only thing is that yes, I would definately like to see more 'clickable' cards: the small images are really hard to make out on my screen. Ok, I'm off to droole over your site a bit more....

Hedera	26 Apr 2003
Is it my imagination, or is there a dragon in the 5 of swords?? Great card!!

Astraea	26 Apr 2003
Karen, your cards and website are absolutely lovely. The site is beautifully designed and executed, easy to navigate, and quick-loading. And your cards...they thrill me, and I'm so excited to be on your preorder list! You and your partner have done a masterful job. Thank you! :)

baba-prague	26 Apr 2003
Dear Hedera, No the Dragon is there. Hey - glad you noticed! He or she (how does one tell? ;-) ) has been controversial. I think European dragons are sneaky and they gloat over their ill-gotten gains - definite Five of Swords material. However, I know Chinese dragons are different. However, whatever, I simply adore this dragon-drawing and it works for me. I hope it will for others. It is from 1902 and on the outside walls of our most famous beer-hall here in Prague. The little men trying to tiptoe away in disgrace (I know you can't see them well, but I'll make SURE this is one of the clickable cards) are from the mid 16th century. They make me laugh, one has a very furtive expression. I think we are going to have to go for a walk. It's a little overwhelming finally going live with the site :-) Karen ps - Alex says hi and thank-you and one day may post himself, his written English isn't nearly as good as his spoken as yet.

azuremariposa	26 Apr 2003
they are beautiful! :) amazing work...congratulations!! the site is terrific and loads quite quickly... there is very fine detail on the cards, they are exquisite! many blessings! ~azure

Diana	26 Apr 2003
Karen, Congratulations for your fine work! You aren't planning on also publishing just the Major Arcana, by any chance? Wow, the Hermit is looking for a Man. I love it! And the Hanged Man is incredibly meaningful. One of the best Hanged Men I've seen for a few hundred years! :)

Faerie Lin	26 Apr 2003
GREAT cards and GREAT site!!!! I really love the Temperance card and the Hanged Man... geez I can go on listing all the cards!

baba-prague	26 Apr 2003
Oh, er, bit of good and bad news here. The bad news is that we changed the Hanged Man this morning. Please remember that we are two "obsessive perfectionist" type people working together and the result is that we find it impossibly hard to think that anything is finished - LOL! Good news? Well, we think he is better. We have added pomegranates from the ceiling of the Wallenstein Palace (Wallenstein is another of the incredible people who lived in Prague. He had two famously accurate horoscopes done by the astronomer/astrologer Johannes Kepler and from these he was able to forecast his own death - he had a painting of his murder done a few months before it happened. His palace is full of symbols of transformation, life, death and - of course - astrology). So - we will try to get the new Hanged Man on to the site in the next day or two (honestly, he's better). Diana - I will pm you about Majors only (what a question!) Best wishes - and BIG thanks, Karen

Violet Gargoyle	26 Apr 2003
Hiya! The cards so far are gorgeous. I am particularly liking the themes and color contrasts shown in both the 9 (blue and cream) and 10 (light blush and cream) of swords, scenes and statuary. I saw that you mention that the book will have some in depth insights to the images, does this include any local folklore or legends rooted in Prague? (I want the book either way, because the historial aspects of the city are fascinating in of itself) I do have a question, and PLEASE forgive me if I missed this elsewhere, but do you know how much the deck and book set are going to retail for?

HudsonGray	27 Apr 2003
I've got a question too--will the deck be available only through your site or have you talked to buyers from Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstores about carrying it? I know distribution, especially worldwide, is difficult. It'd be great to be able to have people see it in major bookstores in the area though. Is your initial print run going to be large enough? (LOL, find out how quick your printer can do a turnaround on a second run, just in case).

baba-prague	27 Apr 2003
Oh goodness. Well, we have contacted a "small press" US distributor in the US, but of course they won't do anything without seeing the full set so it will be a while yet. We would love to imagine the set in Barnes and Noble or Borders - it would be great. But is it possible? To be honest, I don't know. There is a nice US guy here who runs a small press doing literature (nice editions). He may be willing to give us some advice - Prague is like a village and people do help each other out. Is the print run large enough? LOL Well, it's the very most we can afford to get printed so it will have to be! We decided to go for high quality (the book binding and deck packaging will both be a bit special) rather than cut that and stretch to a bigger print run. I haven't asked the printer about how fast they could do a reprint - never occured to us. However, I think it would be okay. They are nice folks and have a good, modern, set-up. A quick re-run of the planned deck packaging might be more of a problem as it is going to be partly handmade. Thanks for the questions. Hope this sort of answers them. You've made us think a bit. Best wishes, Karen ps - I don't have a ferret, but your tag-line certainly applies to my young female cat! She went FLYING off the end of the bed last night, and then looked indignant when I couldn't stop laughing.

baba-prague	27 Apr 2003
Hi Violet, You are not the first person to ask this. The cost is on the website, but right at the bottom of the "ordering" page. I think we need to move it, as no-one seems to see it. So, the cost for the set is $35.75 (US dollars - all the equivalents are on the site too). We will do cheap flat-rate postage of $5, as the "real" postage costs are pretty high and we feel we shouldn't charge the full amount. It is low price for a small-press set, but any more would seem very high in Czech terms and we want to keep the price the same all over the world. Also, printing here isn't cheap, but a good deal less than in the UK or US. The book is quite long, in soft binding (but very nice, with a flap, hard to describe, but much better quality than an ordinary paperback). It will be illustrated and has the background of each card - going into our reasons for using the symbols we've chosen. We've actually added exactly where the source material for each image is, as for visitors here it might be nice to go visit some of the places (the Queen of Wands, for example, is on Charles Bridge). We've added quite a lot of background history too. There are short sections on the Golem, the alchemists, "Golden Lane' and so on. Also of course a decent bibliography if anyone wants to study further. The deck is usable without knowing all this background history, but when you understand what, for example, the Black Sun means in alchemical terms, it does add depth to cards like The Hanged Man. Prague is rich in symbolism, and some of it has the most incredible history attached to it. Hope that answers the questions. Thanks for asking. Have you ever been to Prague? If so, you'll know exactly what I mean about the sheer magic of the place. Best wishes, Karen

bighairymonster	27 Apr 2003
wow...I'd really love to get this deck, but I suppose I wouldn't, since the deck would be a little expensive plus shipping to HK. :) I suppose I'll have to wait until some big publishing company decides to print the deck, thus, making production costs lower. :) But other than that, this deck is on my wish list!

baba-prague	27 Apr 2003
Hi, Well, we are saying we will do flat rate shipping ($5 US) anywhere in the world. This is for registered airmail, we've found shipping overland is just too risky - it takes forever - but airmail from here is pretty good. I don't know what else to offer. In fact, we will probably have some decks available without books so if you're interested in that, let me know (we've noted the threads here where some people say they don't want books). Actually, I think in some ways it's a shame not to have the book - it will add a lot to the understanding of the deck - but we know that it's the books that also add to the cost (both in printing and shipping). OR - we can find a HK distributor - but that would be just luck! I have a good friend and ex-colleague from Hong Kong, maybe one day I'll ask him what he knows about distribution of books in Hong Kong (he wrote the great little Ellipsis book on Hong Kong architecture so he just may know). Thanks for the comments though - tell me, do you find the dragon on the Five of Swords a problem? Some people have said that the European idea of a dragon as sly and untrustworthy is SO different from the traditional Chinese view of the dragon. What do you think? We are kind of attached to this dragon (s/he has bright green eyes to stand for envy, but you can't really see that in the little thumbnail!) Best wishes from a WET Prague (when it rains here, it really rains) Karen

Violet Gargoyle	27 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by baba-prague Hi Violet, You are not the first person to ask this. The cost is on the website, but right at the bottom of the "ordering" page. I think we need to move it, as no-one seems to see it. So, the cost for the set is $35.75 (US dollars - all the equivalents are on the site too). We will do cheap flat-rate postage of $5, as the "real" postage costs are pretty high and we feel we shouldn't charge the full amount. It is low price for a small-press set, but any more would seem very high in Czech terms and we want to keep the price the same all over the world. Also, printing here isn't cheap, but a good deal less than in the UK or US. The book is quite long, in soft binding (but very nice, with a flap, hard to describe, but much better quality than an ordinary paperback). It will be illustrated and has the background of each card - going into our reasons for using the symbols we've chosen. We've actually added exactly where the source material for each image is, as for visitors here it might be nice to go visit some of the places (the Queen of Wands, for example, is on Charles Bridge). We've added quite a lot of background history too. There are short sections on the Golem, the alchemists, "Golden Lane' and so on. Also of course a decent bibliography if anyone wants to study further. The deck is usable without knowing all this background history, but when you understand what, for example, the Black Sun means in alchemical terms, it does add depth to cards like The Hanged Man. Prague is rich in symbolism, and some of it has the most incredible history attached to it. Hope that answers the questions. Thanks for asking. Have you ever been to Prague? If so, you'll know exactly what I mean about the sheer magic of the place. Best wishes, Karen Thanks for the info! I myself have not been to Prague, but for a little bit I got to envision it when my best friend took a Czech language course while her husband was stationed in Germany. She would call me every week and email me pictures the whole time she was there. She loves the city so much that you would see her get offended if she saw a movie that misrepresented the layout of it (I think she saw "XXX" and spent the whole time "correcting" it in her mind when telling me about it). I, not having traveled that much for the moment, have sort of romanticized it. I myself am a history and folklore buff, including alchemy, so I will probably dig right into the bibliography. Its almost like code cracking and getting a story for the reward.

Rose	27 Apr 2003
Hi, Your deck looks wonderful and I'm looking forward to buying it. Your website seems to indicate that the deck will be available from Amazon.com. Is that correct? Also have you looked into using the Tarot Garden as another source for selling the deck? Rose

baba-prague	27 Apr 2003
Hi Rose, Well, we are certainly planning to make the deck available via Amazon. We've been looking into this and it takes quite a long while to set it all up (it's to do with the ISBN number, which we only got recently and which then takes 3 months to get to Amazon, so there isn't anything we can do to speed it up). However, the minute they have the ISBN we will do it quickly. We haven't talked to Tarotgarden yet. I'm not sure if they would want to see the final deck and book first before arranging anything? Certainly, we need to find some way to distribute a little more easily and Tarotgarden would make sense. I think distribution is always the problem when you aren't a big publisher. Still, we'll work it all out! I'm glad you like the deck. We are hoping to get more cards up on the site tomorrow - but we got a little distracted by adding a parrot to The Empress (I have always loved parrots and so just couldn't pass over the opportunity to sneak one into the deck). Best wishes, Karen

moon_mermaid	01 May 2003
Lovely deck. I always want to go to Prague. I have seen some pictures of this city in different seasons... I can't afford going there in person. Maybe, after I got the deck, I will put it under my pillow, then the tarot may take me to Prague in dream. :D Karen, I have sent you a PM. ;)

baba-prague	01 May 2003
Don't underestimate Prague - some people say that if Prague wants you to come here, sooner or later you will, and personally, I believe this. I'm sure you'll be here one day. All best wishes, Karen

Astraea	01 May 2003
Karen, since I am on your pre-order list, and you have now determined a price and shipping rate, how would you like to handle the matter of payment? Or should I wait until you have spoken with Amazon and Tarot Garden? Thank you! :)

baba-prague	01 May 2003
Hi Astraea, Well, no rush as far as we're concerned. We are going to get online payment sorted (I think it will be British Telecom - it needs to be someone we trust and they are big and reputable and use proper banking security methods - and take all international credit cards). We can take ordinary bank cheques (checks) as well - our bank here says they can clear them quite quickly and they were really helpful about it. You are on the pre-order list whatever, but I'm glad you pushed me on this because we need to get on with the BT thing (our web person is not entirely happy as it's more work for him to set it up - but then its probably the complexity of the set-up that makes it secure). Give us a week or so! Best wishes, Karen meantime there should be more cards up in the next 24 hours - and more "clickable" ones at higher resolution.

Astraea	01 May 2003
Thanks for this information, Karen. If I understand you correctly, I could either send you a check for $40.75 ($35.75 plus $5.00 shipping) or wait until your BT connection is set up (which is probably the safest option). I am so looking forward to seeing this gorgeous deck and giving it a good home!

firemaiden	02 May 2003
Very impressive, Baba prague. It looks very appealing indeed. Congratulations!

baba-prague	03 May 2003
Hi, There are more cards now up on the site, and many more are clickable. These are still almost (not quite) finals - we will probably continue to add and alter until the printer grabs the files out of our hands! The "old" Hanged Man is still there (the friend doing the web site is getting a bit befuddled - our fault as we keep sending small updates). The new Hanged Man will be there soon. We'll also continue to add pictures and more goodies as we can. Best wishes, Karen

The Tarot of Prague. June publication. Please take a look! thread was originally posted on 26 Apr 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.