Lo Scarabeo's Ancient Italian in Green Box

Hello everyone.

My Lo Scarabeo's Ancient Italian deck finally arrived at the only brick and mortar shop that can order one for me. For some reason I decided not to order this online. It took a long time but I was not in a hurry so I thought it is always good to support the local mom and pop shop.

I have Meneghello's Suprafino, and ordered this to use as a 'working deck', keeping the other one to collect and to gaze only

As I look around to refresh my memory of its particulars, I came across Lo Scarabeo's "Ancient Italian" pictured on Amazon in a yellow and green ornate leaf/floral design.

Can any one confirm whether that is an old edition, and the green box is a newer print?

If so, anyone can tell me how different they are from each other....? Not that it matters since I have the green one already. But I am curious

Thanks in advance!!

I've never seen that other box - the one often pictured on amazon with yellow and green swirls.

For as long as I've known it (I bought mine in 2003 and it was the green box with The Chariot and the Queen of Cups. I have also bought two others since and they have both been in this box).

There is also a LoS / Fabbri / Orbis publication of this deck, but even that doesnt have a box like that. I know because I have that one too.

I have no idea which edition that image refers to.

I just got mine, and it came with two boxes, a yellow box in English and a green box in Italian that has the Star in front, the King of Swords on the back and the Queen of Wands on both sides. The green box is the LoS / Fabbri / Orbis one, the yellow box I think LoS, but I can't find it at the moment.

ETA: My green box is a dark olive green, very different from the green that has the Chariot. The design and the font are also different.

Is there any difference in the cards? I have the Chariot Green Box version bought in 2002, and the fronts of the cards are an artificial beige colour, while the backs with the green floral pattern are a pristine white.

I remember seeing photos of a version of AIT last year that had the fronts as white as the backs, no tanning. It may have been a result of the camera flash. Is there a newer version of the cards that has white fronts?

Aeric said:

Is there any difference in the cards? I have the Chariot Green Box version bought in 2002, and the fronts of the cards are an artificial beige colour, while the backs with the green floral pattern are a pristine white.

I remember seeing photos of a version of AIT last year that had the fronts as white as the backs, no tanning. It may have been a result of the camera flash. Is there a newer version of the cards that has white fronts?

Click to expand...

Mmm. Mine has white fronts, no beiging (Beijing?), and the backs are a simple but lovely diamond pattern in red and white.

FLizarraga said:

Mmm. Mine has white fronts, no beiging (Beijing?), and the backs are a simple but lovely diamond pattern in red and white.

Click to expand...

Oh, my memory must be off. I don't ever recall AIT with a red diamond back. I've only ever known the green floral back, so yours must be a newer one.

I have this version, where you can see further down the page the World card and a link to a pip card, a definite creamy off-white hue. This must have been corrected for the new edition.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I'm looking at mine, and they are not "white white," more what I would call off-white. But definitely not that beige.

It's possible that the red-and-white backs come with the LoS/Fabbri/Orbis ed, but we'll have to wait for LeFanu to chime in on that.

Hm. How weird about that Amazon stock pic!

Mine has a green box with Chariot under the title "Ancient Italian Tarot" and then on the other side is the Queen of Cups. Above her written in black small letters are "The entire Tarot tradition in Italy contained in a single deck". On each side, which is like the 'spine' in books, are the same pictures, of a naked lady with what looks like a large towel, blue around her back, and red between her thighs.

What I noticed immediately was that the cards are cream, off white, beige based. It looks like it meant to look a little old fashioned, but they just look cream, or off white, which is fine.

The back has this elaborate black, red, and green swirls which appear to be inconsistent in its design and feel to the period design of the deck.

That is about the only thing that bothers me, other than the title. I am chucking the box, the title is so clumsy.

At the bottom of the box are

ISBN-10: 0738700266
ISBN-13: 978-0738700267

Then the longer bar code has this at the bottom of it

9 780738 700267

and the smaller bar code has this along the top of it

52295

The booklet has c 2010 on it.

But since it was said that the box and the booklet have often nothing to do with the cards inside, these may proof to be mere trivia.....

I am just curious to know how many versions out there

Le Fanu, could you share what the differences are between the various "Ancient Italian" editions that you own?

Aeric said:

Is there any difference in the cards? I have the Chariot Green Box version bought in 2002, and the fronts of the cards are an artificial beige colour, while the backs with the green floral pattern are a pristine white.

I remember seeing photos of a version of AIT last year that had the fronts as white as the backs, no tanning. It may have been a result of the camera flash. Is there a newer version of the cards that has white fronts?

Click to expand...

I have seen this version on Lo Scarabeo's website.

The one I have seem to be a newer edition. The 'white' on both sides are of the same shade of cream or beige colour. So the front back uniformed backs of the white you saw might be this cream, but appeared whiter due to flash light. I am not sure. Does the back of the one you saw has black red green swirls of decorative vegetation that appeared to be a bit out of sync with the period of the card design?

Mine came without LWB, and apparently I threw away the yellow box, which was slightly damaged. <sigh>

The olive green box says "copyright 2001." That's all I can say. The backs are completely different, more discreet than the black and green, I guess, but IMHO equally out of sync.