'Signed' Conver deck on eBay

Shalott

My...somebody once told me that I handle my cards "with kid gloves," whomever has had this deck for the past 200 years must have done the same! WOW!
 

Rusty Neon

Re: Signed Conver deck on eBay

fyreflye said:
Here's your big chance:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=19271&item=5512198044&rd=1
Someone whose French is better than mine should inquire about how authenticity was verified.

Fyreflye ... Thanks very much for posting this.

The ebay deck looks a lot like the 1760 Italian museum specimen that's the basis of the Lo Scarabeo TdM Conver photoreproduction. I wonder if the ebay item is in fact an original deck. I'd be interested in what others on the list would have to say. Besides the deck, the ebay vendor has a number of antique items currently listed on ebay.

I note that the card title for the Judgement card in the ebay deck is more legible than in the Lo Scarabeo deck, while the two cards have similar colours. Interesting.

I would love to see the 6 of Batons from the ebay deck. That's the card that's missing from the Italian museum specimen.
 

Laura Borealis

I don't see the signature.
 

fyreflye

This is a stunning complete set of the famous Marseille Tarots deck, complete with each of its figures: 21+1 "atouts or triomphes", + 4 x 4 = 16 "roi, reine, cavalier and valet" + 10 cards in each suit.

This certainly implies that the Baton Six and every other card is present.
How many "complete" decks are known to exist?
 

HudsonGray

ONLY $175? Isn't this supposed to belong in a museum if it's real?
 

Rusty Neon

HudsonGray said:
ONLY $175? Isn't this supposed to belong in a museum if it's real?

$175 is the first bid made by someone. However, that amount hasn't met the reserve.
 

Ross G Caldwell

laura_borealis said:
I don't see the signature.

By "signature" they apparently mean the *printed* name "Conver" shown on the valet and 2 of Deniers, for example.
 

Laura Borealis

I thought that might be what they meant, but the wording is "signed by." If they just mean Conver's name is printed on it -- and by the photograph, it must be -- then saying it's signed by Conver is totally misleading (lying, actually).

I think it's a scam.
 

Ross G Caldwell

Re: Re: Signed Conver deck on eBay

Rusty Neon said:

The ebay deck looks a lot like the 1760 Italian museum specimen that's the basis of the Lo Scarabeo TdM Conver photoreproduction. I wonder if the ebay item is in fact an original deck. I'd be interested in what others on the list would have to say. Besides the deck, the ebay vendor has a number of antique items currently listed on ebay.

I note that the card title for the Judgement card in the ebay deck is more legible than in the Lo Scarabeo deck, while the two cards have similar colours. Interesting.

I would love to see the 6 of Batons from the ebay deck. That's the card that's missing from the Italian museum specimen.

It looks great, but caveat emptor. How is authenticity verified? They say 1780-1820 - on what authority? Perhaps the rounded edges...

It looks like the 1760 plates were used to print the deck. The flaws in the impression are the same as those of the Heron and Lo Scarabeo exemplars. There is nothing in the photos that gives away a hoax, to my amateur eye.

Indeed, the vendor should be contacted first, before buying. At least you judge if they are trustworthy or not.

Personally, I would think anyone with such a deck would know its historical value. It seems suspicious, although I have no hard evidence.