Grand Tarot de Belline

**fyreflye** · 31-10-2004

A copy of this interesting if unorthodox deck has recently appeared on eBay and I'm trying to determine which edition it is. The seller is one of those eBay junk dealers who devotes two sentences to describing his product and ten paragraphs to telling you what will happen to you if you don't follow his exact instructions. As always, he invites you to write if you have any questions, and as usual doesn't reply to the query. I can't give a url because of Solandia's recent crackdown on eBay links, but an eBay search using "Grand Tarot Belline" will bring it up. It's from an estate sale so it could be the 1966 edition, it could be the Gold; my Googling hasn't brought me enough details to be sure. Whatever edition it may be, it 's of some value; collectors here may be interested.

Paul · 01-11-2004

Fyreflye,

I have a newer release of the Grand Tarot Belline, packaged in a black box, red "velvet" interior, with gold edges.

My understanding from reading the reviews of this deck, is that the earlier release packaged the cards in the Gold Box you see pictured on the Ebay site. I do not know if there was any difference in the actual aesthetics of the cards, per se, between the earlier Gold Box or the newer black box. I want to say that both have gold edges, but that could be just some delusion of mine...

**fyreflye** · 01-11-2004

Thanks, Paul
It looks like the Gold box to me, too. Your set sells for $100 at Tarot Garden and even more at Alida and Trionfi. The Gold box appears from online chatter to be valued more, perhaps because it's rarer.
Have you read with this at all? Obviously it requires a completely different aproach than your own. Any comments would be appreciated. I've put down a minimum bid just to keep the seller from changing his description if he finds out how valuable it is

But I don't want to bid seriously without more input . Not to mention an assurance that all the cards are there.

Paul · 01-11-2004

Yes, I was surprised at the low minimum bid the seller was indicating; then, oddly, the seller emphasizes "Rare".

Yes, I've tried reading with the deck, but honestly, all of the writing on the cards loses its charm quickly. After awhile, it just becomes noise. In fact, if you're like me, and you like to intuitively respond to the actual details of the card images (Minor pips included), you will probably find yourself "negatively hallucinating" to tune out the actual card image and simply note its title. Well, that simply won't do.

Moreover, the size of the cards can be cumbersome. But, the gold edging is gorgeous. You almost don't want to read with them to mess with the pristine aesthetic (of a new deck anyway).

At the end of the day, the pictures on the cards appear to be juvenile versions of Marseille images. Of course, Marseille images are notoriously crude, I suppose one could say, but these are especially simple. I eventually concluded that there were simply more superior Marseille images out there, without the noisy writing and symbols (that don't fit for me anyway).

If you read French, it can be fun to see how this deck provides meanings to the Minors.

As far as the astrological symbols all over creation on this deck, there appears to be a system of decanates on the minors, but I have not extensively analyzed it. I only know sometimes it matches with Papus, sometimes not.

If the price stays low, why not? It is a piece of Tarot History and worth the intellectual meal of its analysis. But, I wouldn't pay what I paid.

**fyreflye** · 01-11-2004

Every used tarot deck on eBay is "vintage" unless it's in a foreign language and thereby "rare."

Thanks for the input.

Huck · 01-11-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by fyreflye
Thanks, Paul
It looks like the Gold box to me, too. Your set sells for $100 at Tarot Garden and even more at Alida and Trionfi.

Hm .... Who's "Trionfi"?

**fyreflye** · 01-11-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Huck
Hm .... Who's "Trionfi"?

Oops! I meant http://www.trigono.com/Tarocchi/TA03TAGB.htm

fyreflye the dude abides Join Date: 23 Oct 2003 Location: Turtle Island, USA Posts: 1,495	Grand Tarot de Belline A copy of this interesting if unorthodox deck has recently appeared on eBay and I'm trying to determine which edition it is. The seller is one of those eBay junk dealers who devotes two sentences to describing his product and ten paragraphs to telling you what will happen to you if you don't follow his exact instructions. As always, he invites you to write if you have any questions, and as usual doesn't reply to the query. I can't give a url because of Solandia's recent crackdown on eBay links, but an eBay search using "Grand Tarot Belline" will bring it up. It's from an estate sale so it could be the 1966 edition, it could be the Gold; my Googling hasn't brought me enough details to be sure. Whatever edition it may be, it 's of some value; collectors here may be interested. __________________ -fyreflye

31-10-2004	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #1

Paul Citizen Join Date: 07 Oct 2004 Location: - Posts: 405	Fyreflye, I have a newer release of the Grand Tarot Belline, packaged in a black box, red "velvet" interior, with gold edges. My understanding from reading the reviews of this deck, is that the earlier release packaged the cards in the Gold Box you see pictured on the Ebay site. I do not know if there was any difference in the actual aesthetics of the cards, per se, between the earlier Gold Box or the newer black box. I want to say that both have gold edges, but that could be just some delusion of mine... __________________ Paul

01-11-2004	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #2

fyreflye the dude abides Join Date: 23 Oct 2003 Location: Turtle Island, USA Posts: 1,495	Thanks, Paul It looks like the Gold box to me, too. Your set sells for $100 at Tarot Garden and even more at Alida and Trionfi. The Gold box appears from online chatter to be valued more, perhaps because it's rarer. Have you read with this at all? Obviously it requires a completely different aproach than your own. Any comments would be appreciated. I've put down a minimum bid just to keep the seller from changing his description if he finds out how valuable it is But I don't want to bid seriously without more input . Not to mention an assurance that all the cards are there. __________________ -fyreflye

01-11-2004	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #3

Paul Citizen Join Date: 07 Oct 2004 Location: - Posts: 405	Yes, I was surprised at the low minimum bid the seller was indicating; then, oddly, the seller emphasizes "Rare". Yes, I've tried reading with the deck, but honestly, all of the writing on the cards loses its charm quickly. After awhile, it just becomes noise. In fact, if you're like me, and you like to intuitively respond to the actual details of the card images (Minor pips included), you will probably find yourself "negatively hallucinating" to tune out the actual card image and simply note its title. Well, that simply won't do. Moreover, the size of the cards can be cumbersome. But, the gold edging is gorgeous. You almost don't want to read with them to mess with the pristine aesthetic (of a new deck anyway). At the end of the day, the pictures on the cards appear to be juvenile versions of Marseille images. Of course, Marseille images are notoriously crude, I suppose one could say, but these are especially simple. I eventually concluded that there were simply more superior Marseille images out there, without the noisy writing and symbols (that don't fit for me anyway). If you read French, it can be fun to see how this deck provides meanings to the Minors. As far as the astrological symbols all over creation on this deck, there appears to be a system of decanates on the minors, but I have not extensively analyzed it. I only know sometimes it matches with Papus, sometimes not. If the price stays low, why not? It is a piece of Tarot History and worth the intellectual meal of its analysis. But, I wouldn't pay what I paid. __________________ Paul

01-11-2004	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #4

fyreflye the dude abides Join Date: 23 Oct 2003 Location: Turtle Island, USA Posts: 1,495	Every used tarot deck on eBay is "vintage" unless it's in a foreign language and thereby "rare." Thanks for the input. __________________ -fyreflye

01-11-2004	Ask a Professional Tarot Reader Top #5

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