Tarot cards on vellum

[lizziecat]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone been fortunate enough to examine any of the early cards painted on vellum?

There is a lot of buzz about the history but I'm really interested in the techniques. Of course, I can make a fairly accurate guess at the materials (pigments, medium, gilding, etc.) but what I'm curious about is whether or not the vellum cards were mounted on card stock or treated in some way to stiffen it enough to actually be used to play the Tarot game. I'm guessing that would also depend on what part of the hide was cut for the cards - some areas would hold their shape quite well while others would be too "floppy" and require some sort of backing.

Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to see any other than pictures in books, so its difficult to tell what is actually going on with the vellum. I kicked around the idea of making a tarot deck using medieval-style materials and techniques years ago, but the thought of what would happen to gilding (whether its shell gold, patent or raised gesso) during a shuffle makes me shudder .

Thanks

Lizziecat

[Ross G Caldwell]

Originally Posted by lizziecat

Just out of curiosity, has anyone been fortunate enough to examine any of the early cards painted on vellum?

There is a lot of buzz about the history but I'm really interested in the techniques. Of course, I can make a fairly accurate guess at the materials (pigments, medium, gilding, etc.) but what I'm curious about is whether or not the vellum cards were mounted on card stock or treated in some way to stiffen it enough to actually be used to play the Tarot game. I'm guessing that would also depend on what part of the hide was cut for the cards - some areas would hold their shape quite well while others would be too "floppy" and require some sort of backing.

Unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to see any other than pictures in books, so its difficult to tell what is actually going on with the vellum. I kicked around the idea of making a tarot deck using medieval-style materials and techniques years ago, but the thought of what would happen to gilding (whether its shell gold, patent or raised gesso) during a shuffle makes me shudder .

Thanks

Lizziecat

Which packs in particular are you thinking about?

I don't recall any of the "luxury" packs from the 15th century on vellum (animal skin); my memory only brings up paper.

But I have only seen a few (in France), and was not able to handle or examine them closely.

[jmd]

Jean-Claude and Roxanne Flornoy have a recently beautifully made (I think Dodal) reproduction of one of the cards on vellum. They also have a number of other recently made cards on vellum (also exquisite, in my view).

It seems to me, from the simple joy and privilege of having seen it, that vellum decks are unlikely to have been made: the material continues to expand and contract (ie: deforms), and is thus rather unsuitable for card-making. It appears that if there are early decks on vellum, they are unlikely to have been considered as high a quality as those made on very heavily compressed cardboard (even its name suggests its primary function - in English in any case!).

If the surface is vellum, I would then surmise that the backing would indeed have to be rather high quality card stock - but then, why use the vellum?