Baroque Bohemian Cats' Tarot Question

Little Baron

Thanks Lee and Eco ....

I was planning on giving it a go and picking it up this morning (since it is just down the road, hehe) ... however, with what has happened in London today and speaking to friends that are in their offices, worried and not knowing what it is going on, my enthusiasm has been dampened somewhat.

I have to go out a little later so I may take a look; those little kitties may just make me feel a bit better since the scenes I am seeing live on the television have made me quite emotional.

LB
 

Little Baron

And just to add:

Very wise words from MeeWah ... but of course, I would expect nothing less :)

LB
 

sunflowr

Be safe out there, Little Buddha. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the people there.
 

Little Baron

Thanks Sunflowr ... I am not actually near London, a little bit out, but I have a lot of friends there and was working there until quite recently.

Well, I went to the local shop that I knew had the deck and looked at it again. I also looked at a few books of interest. I held it for a bit and thought 'what the heck' and took it to the counter.

I went to see my friend and her new daughter afterwards and had a very pleasant afternoon. In the late afternoon, I went for a cigarette in her garden and unwrapped the deck for a little look. I was only going to look at the LWB but since the cards were not wrapped, I took a little look through them.

First impressions? Absolute works of art - every single one of them. I am a real pain for details and in most decks, one of my main problem is an inconsistancy in artwork.
Sometimes, the majors are exquisit, and the minors look like an afterthought. Sometimes, there is just one or two cards that ruin the overall feel of the deck.
Not here! I love the different characters, the scenes are beautiful, as is the backgrounds. The borders (remember, I HATE borders usually) are beautiful and do not take anything away from how beautiful the images are.
You can really tell when something has been well thought out; you can really tell when something is a labour of love, rather than some kind of sterile business idea. You can really tell when someone knows a lot about the history and tradition of what they have presented (ie. the tarot). In these cards, I can tell that Karen and Alexandr have thought about every single little detail added and the best way to present it.

My friend came into the garden and looked through them. She does not know much about tarot but does own a deck somewhere. She has seen many of my decks and I have read for her with quite a few. She hated the Rohrig. She despised the Thoth. She flicked through this one and her response was 'these are gorgeous ... they are the loveliest deck of cards I have seen since that one by Brian Froud'.

So, yes. I am very, very impressed.The only tiny problem was that one card was printed 'off' so the border is cut by the card and it is not central to the framing - not enough to stop me from enjoying the image though. I have not had a chance to look through them properly but I intend to this evening. I have no idea what they will be like to work with but I am so impressed by the artwork and feel that I am excited to have a go.

This really wasn't a serious consideration until I jumped into the thread about the white cats deck last night. I am glad that I did though.

Alexandr and Karen ... I have never looked at the entire Tarot of Prague, but have heard the recommendations here. To produce one deck of this kind of standard is a great achievement. To produce two ... well, what can I say. I wish you both all the best and thank you for sharing your vision.

I am sure I will be back to give more insights as I get to know the deck.

LB
 

Little Baron

Oh, and did I mention ... the backs are just 'perfect'.

LB
 

Eco74

Don't you mean purrfect? ;)
 

Little Baron

Hehe ... yes, they are Eco.

Have just had a slow look through them and they are just that. What I really like is that they all look like paintings. They are sumptuous and the colours are beautiful.

As I have mentioned before, I wasn't that bothered by the fact that just one card was not central ... until I looked at the back, just now. The back image is also further down, like the front, which means that when they are fanned out, you can pick that one card from the 78 because it is the only one that has no white border at the bottom of the back design. There is a mail address in the (also great) LWB, so I think I might just write to the publishers and see if they can send me a replacement card. I hope it does not mean having to get the whole deck replaced or having to work without the one card while I wait for a replacement.

LB
 

Eco74

Is the email to the Baba-Prague-studio?
Baba herself would surely be willing to help you out aswell.

Usually when things like that happen, all you need to "exchange" is the one card. The whole deck is only ever exchanged by the vendors since that's the "natural order of things" in retail.
It's far better to contact the publisher directly since the help you can get tends to be both quicker, friendlier and more efficient that way.
 

Little Baron

The book shop that I bought the deck in only had the one copy. I have just written to the publishers (Magic Realist) to see if there was a possibility of replacing the one card. Selfishly, I don't want to let the rest of the deck out of my grip now that I have it, lol. I could send a message to Baba, but to be honest, I didn't want to bother her with such a small problem. Hopefully, the publishers will be able to help.

However ... it hasn't spoilt my enjoyment of the deck in any way. I am still as impressed by the card's beauty.

LB
 

Eco74

It's not a flaw, it's a personality trait. ;)

And I'm sure Magic Realist will be able to help you out. Extra cards are usually kept from the printruns just in case situations like this arise.