Gilt Renouveau Grimaud deck

coredil

BTW this thread has nothing to do with TDM, except the fact that the deck has been produced by Grimaud.
Grimaud produced a lot of non TDM decks!
It should possibly be moved to the Tarot Decks forum.


This thread leaded me to some further research and I found out that the BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) provides online pictures of the very first edition:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10510159t

According to the BNF, this copy belonged once to Georges Marteau who was at this time director of the company Grimaud.
It is called "Tarot Allemand".

Beside of the name of the deck on the cardbox there are some differences with the next edition which was renamed Tarot Nouveau after (or during) world war I.
The most evident difference is the numbering of the Trumps which is in the middle of the top and in the middle of the bottom.
This is BTW the numbering as in the german deck from Wüst.
The ornaments on the trumps are different and without BP Grimaud logo.
The font the "BP Grimaud" label and the "France" label on the court cards and the Excuse is different.

The cardback is the same as on my three early copy of the Tarot Nouveau.
The card box are similar but have a different title and sides.
There is the 12 avril 1890 tax stamp on the As de trèfle.

The pictures of the trumps are identical as well as the suit cards.
The BNF gives 1898-1899 as printing date.

For anyone interested to compare the cards, you can find nice scans (though not complete) of the Tarot Nouveau on Sumadas site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/sets/72157631642921250/

The name "Tarot Nouveau" seems to have been used at least in 1962.
I have a Tarot De Luxe edition which has an extra card with the name "Tarot Nouveau."
The LWB mentions France Cartes which was created in 1962.
I also have several copy of the deck with a FFT LWB, all these decks do not have the Tarot Nouveau extra card any more and nowhere does appear the name Tarot Nouveau.
As the FFT has been created in 1973 one could assume that this about this time that the decks were not named Tarot Nouveau any more.

Here a try to date and identify the several editions of this important deck.

1. Edition: Tarot Allemand (1898-1899)
Trump number on top or bottom middle
No numbers on the suit cards
Tartan card back
"BP GRIMAUD" and "FRANCE" labels on the court cards and the Excuse
Pictures:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b10510159t

2. Edition: Tarot Nouveau (1917?)
Trump number on top left and bottom left
"B.P. GRIMAUD" and "FRANCE" labels on the court cards and the Excuse
The font for the labels is different from the 1. edition
The BPG logo on the trumps is different from the logo on the box
No numbers on the suit cards
Same Tartan card back as the 1. edition
(The two copy of my collection have this typical beige background one can find on decks of this period)
Pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/sumadas-treasure-box/sets/72157631642921250/
http://www.leschambon.com/index.php/2012-04-23-12-15-51/tarot-nouveau-3

3. Edition: Tarot Nouveau (1930?)
Trump number on top left and bottom left
"B.P. GRIMAUD" and "FRANCE" labels on the court cards and the Excuse
(The same as in the 2. edition)
Two numbers in diagonale on the suit cards
The suit symbol are not truncated on the pips cards
The suit symbol are truncated on the court cards
New Tartan card back
(The copy of my collection have this typical beige background one can find on decks of this period)
Pictures:
http://www.leschambon.com/index.php/2012-04-23-12-15-51/tarot-nouveau-3

4. Edition: Tarot Nouveau (1962-1972)
The cardstock is completely different from the previous editions and more "modern"
The card background is white and differs also from the earlier editions.
Trump number on top left and bottom left
The BPG logo on the trumps is like the cardbox logo of the previous editions
"B.P. GRIMAUD" and "FRANCE" labels on the court cards and the Excuse
Two numbers in diagonale on the suit cards
The suit symbol are truncated on the pips and on the court cards (except on 1, 2 and 3)
New Tartan card back
Extra card (b&w) with the Name Tarot Nouveau.
The design of the extra card is almost identical to the front picture of the box of the previous editions.
There are several variations of this deck, among them the DeLuxe edition in the red and grey two part box.
There are also a lot of decks with advertising custom card backs.
Pictures:
http://www.leschambon.com/index.php/2012-04-23-12-15-51/tarot-nouveau-3

5. Edition (from 1973 and later)
The decks do not have the name Tarot Nouveau any more and come in several variations and size
There are Four Numbers for trumps and suit cards in each corner
A smaller BP Grimaud logo between the trumps number
"GRIMAUD" and "FRANCE" labels on the court cards and the excuse
The decks come with a LWB made by the FFT
White card background
The cardback can be tartan or concorde or any advertising custom design
There are also several sizes available
Pictures:
http://www.france-cartes.com/portfolio-item/jeux-de-tarot/