1JJ Swiss deck; falling out of fashion?

[tmgrl2]

I love mine.

I have one that is old...and one that is new...I used the older one for readings ....I have about 5 or 6 decks I read with frequently. This is one I love. Maybe because it is so worn, but yet in good reading condition.

terri

 

[MareSaturni]

I just received my 1JJ Swiss after a long time wanting it...and i'm loving the deck. Just recently i've started my non-scenic pips journey, with my (so far only) Marseilles deck....and the 1JJ is great for that too.

I know many people think it's not good looking, compared to a Soprafino, but i like it. No real Marseilles that i know is a masterpiece of art, but that's what makes it interesting.

And thirdly, well they've changed the French titles to English and have used the term 'Pentacles' for the Coins suit (even though they are obviously coins!). A very silly and totally unnecessary thing to do (and the main reason why I haven't bought this deck)...

Weird, my deck has the titles in french. Well, i got it used from a fellow ATFer, maybe it's an older edition...didn't know they had translated the cards. That's so lame

I think many people still like the 1JJ, they just don't use it anymore because other 'traditional-looking' decks are more available. But this fashion think is like a wheel...things go out of fashion, then usddenly they return. I wouldn't be surprised if in some years the Trading Forum gets full of 'ISO: 1JJ Swiss FRENCH TITLES!!!', LOL

 

[uwe]

The cardstock on my old 1JJ is now a bit more brittle then it was. My one feels a little bit like the 'Hoi Polloi' in that regard...not totally but there is not much lamination left. It's just too well used for that.

I went to a fayre a few years back were i bought a new 1JJ, but the backs are electric blue with Mind/Body/Spirit printed on it. I remember that my old felt just like this new one years ago, so i assume that they still use the same stock as always, but i could of course be wrong.

 

[philebus]

The 1JJ has been made available through a couple of magazines, with the backs branded - I think yours may be one of those.

 

[uwe]

Yes, i have seen this too some years ago now, though my one was bought as a deck but it came in a plain white box, which was curious. In fact i remember i was quite taken by the fact that i found a 1JJ, that i bought two decks. They were £8 each if memory serves.

 

[Le Fanu]

Im thrilled at having managed to trade - with an ATer in exchange for The Golden Tarot which did nothing for me - - an 1JJ Tarot from the time I bought mine. It was my first ever deck in the early 80s and then I lost it! I was so reluctant to buy a new copy as I feared that the card stock would be different and Id be devastated if I opened up the box and the titles were in English and the backs were different and the cardstock flimsy. I wanted a copy circa 1980, just like the version I originally had. Well, it looks like Ive got one. It should arrive soon.

What Im curious about (in preparation for my 1JJ renaissance!) is what is the history of this deck? It looks 19th Century - or maybe earlier - and yet it is impossible to find any image of this deck which isnt the 1970s+ US Games version. Why are there no archive versions, or images from a library or anything? Why is there nothing on where this deck came from and where these images were pre-1970? The accompanying Kaplain book tells us absolutely nothing... Id love to know the date for this deck. Im usually pretty good at estimating dates for engravings etc, but for this one, Ive absolutely no idea...

 

[philebus]

All that I can tell you is that this was being printed by AGMuller for use in Switzerland for game play and was the first pack that USGS brought to the States and to the UK (at one time printed by Waddingtons). That makes it an important stepping stone in the development of the modern occult tarot, previously restricted by the limited availability of cards.

 

[Mabuse]

What Im curious about (in preparation for my 1JJ renaissance!) is what is the history of this deck? It looks 19th Century - or maybe earlier - and yet it is impossible to find any image of this deck which isnt the 1970s+ US Games version. Why are there no archive versions, or images from a library or anything? Why is there nothing on where this deck came from and where these images were pre-1970? The accompanying Kaplain book tells us absolutely nothing... Id love to know the date for this deck. Im usually pretty good at estimating dates for engravings etc, but for this one, Ive absolutely no idea...

There is a website called "World Web Playing Card Museum" Google it. I have seen earlier editions of the 1JJ under the categories Switzerland and AGMuller.
They even include a very early version with the Pope and Popess cards instead of the later Juno and Jupiter!

 

[Le Fanu]

Thanks for the tip. Just been in there but nothing there under Switzerland / AJ Muller....

 

[frelkins]

old cards of any type can be hard to find since people didn't used to value such quotidian things. Also old cards were commonly reused as visiting cards - by ladies who wrote cute sayings on the back, apparently, when they left them with the butler!