Le Fanu
At first, I wasn't sure it was a deck, so I posted a query here, took a chance and bought it. It arrived today and it is a beautiful deck and so I thought it deserved its own thread and to be known in its own right because (a) it's beautiful and (b) it's cheap. You can see it on German amazon here and if you're up to ordering from a 2nd hand seller in another language (I'm up for anything) you can get it for 3 euros. So all you budding Lenormandees who want a cheap period deck, this is a great buy.
I paid just over 8 euros for mine from the Book Depository UK and I know that Lee bought one from the Book Depository in the USA for (I think) $12.
The down side is that you pay for a book in German which if you don't speak German may seem like a waste of money. However, you get a lovely reproduction Lenormand, lovely cardstock (similar to LoS but the cards are obviously smaller, the same level of lamination as an LoS deck) and an aged cream colour (which doesn't come across in the scans) and with completely plain backs, just like in the olden days! In terms of size the cards are almost exactly the same size as the Mystical Lenormand, maybe just a few millimetres shorter but the width is the same. The set was published in 2004 by the German division of Random House and the deck that comes with it is from 1840 and very typically Biedermeier in style. It is mentioned over at the Lenormand Museum here. They say it's from 1850 but the book says 1840.
Such a charming, gentile deck, with the symbols stripped down to the bare essentials. Slightly naive drawing and primitive colouring which - in my opinion - give it enormous historic charm, a deck for reading fortunes in the parlour on rainy Sunday afternoons. A very lovely deck I think, though maybe a bit "basic" for some people. I include a few scans. Note the delicate little arteries on the wrenched out heart
I paid just over 8 euros for mine from the Book Depository UK and I know that Lee bought one from the Book Depository in the USA for (I think) $12.
The down side is that you pay for a book in German which if you don't speak German may seem like a waste of money. However, you get a lovely reproduction Lenormand, lovely cardstock (similar to LoS but the cards are obviously smaller, the same level of lamination as an LoS deck) and an aged cream colour (which doesn't come across in the scans) and with completely plain backs, just like in the olden days! In terms of size the cards are almost exactly the same size as the Mystical Lenormand, maybe just a few millimetres shorter but the width is the same. The set was published in 2004 by the German division of Random House and the deck that comes with it is from 1840 and very typically Biedermeier in style. It is mentioned over at the Lenormand Museum here. They say it's from 1850 but the book says 1840.
Such a charming, gentile deck, with the symbols stripped down to the bare essentials. Slightly naive drawing and primitive colouring which - in my opinion - give it enormous historic charm, a deck for reading fortunes in the parlour on rainy Sunday afternoons. A very lovely deck I think, though maybe a bit "basic" for some people. I include a few scans. Note the delicate little arteries on the wrenched out heart
