Versions of the 1JJ Swiss Tarot

[Emily]

Hi Coredil,

That was what I noticed too about my two decks - the one I've had for over 20 years has two cards with Stuart Kaplans book on it and the other advertises other US Games decks. The card stock of this deck is very hard to shuffle and sticks together.

The second 1JJ Swiss is better quality card stock but still not laminated but this deck shuffles like a dream, no where does it mention either Stuart Kaplan or US Games just two cards for Waddingtons. I know now that this is the older of my two decks but both the colouring and card quality are much nicer.

I'm finding I like the slightly different tones of the Waddingtons version much better, it seems just a touch darker than the Kaplan version.

 

[Lillie]

Waddingtons is a name from my childhood.

They did many toys and games in Britain back then.

I think they did Monopoly and stuff like that.

They also did an early version of Tarot Classic. Which might be the 'Brownish one' that there was a thread about.

I don't know if they are still around these days.

I can't give any other info, but it's just one of those names that brings back tons on memories of my childhood (60's/70's).

 

[tmgrl2]

I just bought a "Waddington's" version of this deck on e-bay.

It said "rare" deck...and published by Waddington's....and the box just said Tarot Cards...later I realized the cards were the IJJ Swiss, but my IJJ Swiss says that on the box as well. These are "new" ...opened once to look at them, but supposedly from Waddington's.

So , I'll see what I get when I pay...it was 10.50 British...about $18.50 U.S. dollars.

terri

 

[Trogon]

Don't know much about the 1JJ Swiss

... in particular. However, I would think it would be a pretty safe bet that any Tarot deck which did not have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) would be older than any Tarot deck which did have an ISBN.

The ISBN was developed in the late '60's, but I don't know when it started being seen on things other than books. My Albano-Waite deck (which my mother originally bought around 1970 or so) does not have an ISBN (as far as I can recall - I'll have to check that when I get home). I would also suppose that since barcode readers weren't in practical use until the mid '70's, it is likely there are some books or Tarot decks which have ISBN's without a barcode? Does anyone have one like that?

So... anyway... Lark, your 1JJ Swiss Tarot which does not have an ISBN should, I would think, be at least 30 years old.

"Wikipedia" entry on ISBN:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN

"Wikipedia" entry on Bar Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_code

 

[lark]

So... anyway... Lark, your 1JJ Swiss Tarot which does not have an ISBN should, I would think, be at least 30 years old.

Wow! Trogon thank you that is so good to know.
They feel very old and the card stock is nice and thick and matt finished.
The colors are very crisp and the printing is excellent.
Glad I picked them up when I saw them....I think they were only $5.00.
The box is in excellent shape too..one of those nice sturdy boxes with the lift off lid.

 

[Emily]

The card stock is different on the Waddingtons version too - there doesn't seem to be any lamination or maybe its just very light but they feel really good to shuffle, they slide but the cardstock is a little thicker than modern decks.

Now my version bought around 25 years ago is very different in cardstock - this is the Kaplan version - its terrible to shuffle, they won't fan and clump together.

The only thing I can put it down to is that Waddingtons had been making playing cards for a very long time and they used the same methods, although slightly thicker cardboard, for their Tarot decks.

 

[xerat]

... in particular. However, I would think it would be a pretty safe bet that any Tarot deck which did not have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) would be older than any Tarot deck which did have an ISBN.

The ISBN was developed in the late '60's, but I don't know when it started being seen on things other than books. My Albano-Waite deck (which my mother originally bought around 1970 or so) does not have an ISBN (as far as I can recall - I'll have to check that when I get home). I would also suppose that since barcode readers weren't in practical use until the mid '70's, it is likely there are some books or Tarot decks which have ISBN's without a barcode? Does anyone have one like that?

So... anyway... Lark, your 1JJ Swiss Tarot which does not have an ISBN should, I would think, be at least 30 years old.

"Wikipedia" entry on ISBN:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISBN

"Wikipedia" entry on Bar Code:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_code

I'd say this sounds about right. My first deck was a Swiss 1JJ that sounds identical to yours which used to be my mother's. She bought it when she was about 19/20, so 30yrs is precisely the right age for the cards.

 

[Trogon]

A brief followup...

After I got up this evening, I pulled out my mother's old Albano-Waite Tarot deck. It definitely does not have an ISBN on it. Also, in very small print on the back of the deck, it has a copyright notice with a date of 1968. Just thought I'd add that ...

 

[tmgrl2]

My deck just arrived from England...definitely a 1970 IJJ Swiss, but the box says simply "Tarot Cards."

Here's the Two of Cups in the other newer IJJ Swiss that I have:

http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/photo/115/103.jpg

and here is the scanned Two of Cups from the Waddington deck along with the card backs. They are in quite good condition, although obviously old and used and in need of fanning powder.



I paid $25 total for deck and shipping and am quite happy with the deck!

terri

 

[Abrac]

I've been thinking about getting a 1JJ for a while now and I just bought one off eBay. Thanks everyone for your contributions to this thread. It made finding the right one so much easier!

The one I got only has the 78 tarots, no other cards. The lid says Complete With Instructions so I know it had a LWB and probably a couple of extra cards at one time.

The box says A.G. Muller and Cie, distribud exclusively by U.S. Games Systems, Inc., New York, N.Y. There's no bar code or copyright on the box. Judging from several others I saw on eBay I figure this deck is probably a 1970 version. It has the hard, two-piece box with gold bottom and red top; however, it only says Tarot Cards across the top, not 1JJ Tarot Cards like the Waddingtons. The titles are in French. The colors on the cards are rich and quite beautiful, imo. They have a thin coating and shuffle like butter as you described, Emily.

From what I can figure, the Waddingtons version must be the boxed set that Moonbow* described. It would be interesting to write an eBay seller and ask them if the boxed set is published by Waddingtons and see if they reply; but alas, that will have to wait another day. There are a couple of sets on eBay right now, both from the U.K. The links are below. If you look carefully at the tops of each box you can see 1JJ Tarot Cards across the top. The boxed sets must have been published by Waddingtons for distribution in the U.K. around the same time as the earlier U.S. Games version came out in the early 70s. They definitely appear to be the same cards, only some minor packaging differences. That's my theory anyway.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tarot-Fortune-T...oryZ1523QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tarot-cards-boo...oryZ1523QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

-fof