Do these look familiar?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Apr 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jewel-ry	30 Apr 2004
A couple of weeks ago, out of curiosity I bought a set of these cards from e-bay because they look so much like the Fournier. Thank-fully I didn't pay very much for them. The ones I bought did not have the book but a lwl (leaflet). They are identical to the Fournier deck except that the 3 coins is apparently upside-down, the coins are not numbered and the backs are different. Side by side you cannot tell them apart. The feel is different though. The 2 cups has the makers name, the 2 coins has Fournier name on it. What got me is the lwl states that they are copyrighted to Funtime Ltd England. Thoughts anyone? Does anyone else have these? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1523&item=4163663093&rd=1#ebayphotohosting A warning really. Why would you buy these for at least £3 plus postage when you can get the real thing for around a tenner direct from Alida? :)

Le_Corsair	30 Apr 2004
I have two different Fournier tarot decks, one is the standard Fournier, the other came in a fortune telling package along with runes and I Ching coins. That deck varies from the standard Fournier in having tan backgrounds on all of the cards and English titles. I would be willing to guess that Fournier allows variants of its tarot to be licensed and/or copyrighted to other companies, and makes changes to the standard Fournier tarot in order to accomplish this. Bob :THERM

Bean Feasa	30 Apr 2004
Hi Jewel-ry, I can't identify those cards, but I just wanted to say that I bought something purporting to be the Fournier deck from one of the Amazon marketplace sellers, and it turned out to be the Spanish Tarot, though it seems to be by Fournier. I liked it so I kept it, but it definitely wasn't what it was supposed to be. So obviously the name appears on a lot of different decks and they get marketed as the definitive Fournier Marseille deck.

Le_Corsair	30 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Bean Feasa Hi Jewel-ry, I can't identify those cards, but I just wanted to say that I bought something purporting to be the Fournier deck from one of the Amazon marketplace sellers, and it turned out to be the Spanish Tarot, though it seems to be by Fournier. I liked it so I kept it, but it definitely wasn't what it was supposed to be. So obviously the name appears on a lot of different decks and they get marketed as the definitive Fournier Marseille deck. Fournier, although founded by a Frenchman, is based in Vitoria, Spain. The Spanish Tarot is a Fournier product. Bob :THERM

Bean Feasa	30 Apr 2004
originally posted by Le Corsair Quote: Fournier, although founded by a Frenchman, is based in Vitoria, Spain. The Spanish Tarot is a Fournier product. Oh I see... that's interesting Bob. What I tried to buy though was called 'Le Tarot de Marseille Deck' by Fournier. That's not the Spanish Tarot is it... or is it??? Gettin' more confused by the minute :confused:

Le_Corsair	30 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Bean Feasa originally posted by Le Corsair Oh I see... that's interesting Bob. What I tried to buy though was called 'Le Tarot de Marseille Deck' by Fournier. That's not the Spanish Tarot is it... or is it??? Gettin' more confused by the minute :confused: They are two different decks, although both are Marseilles decks in that they follow the images of the various decks known as Tarot of Marseilles. The Fournier Tarot de Marseilles uses standard Marseilles French titles for the cards, and the Spanish Tarot uses titles in Spanish and English. The coloring of the decks is different, also. Bob :THERM

Bean Feasa	30 Apr 2004
Yes there's a pinkish tone to the Spanish tarot, which I quite like actually. (That sounds horrible I know, but it's a mellow, dusky kind of pink). I'm just beginning to try to include Marseilles decks in my tarot studies, and to be absolutely honest I'm not making enormous headway, so I don't suppose it matters which of the decks I've got. Thanks for all the info Bob, and apologies Jewel-ry if I sent your thread on a little detour. :)Kate

The Do these look familiar? thread was originally posted on 30 Apr 2004 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.