coredil
Not long ago I could get an old Etteilla III deck also known as "Le Grand Jeu de l'Oracle des Dames".
This deck is sometimes dated with 1870.
To my knowledge this deck has been reprinted by Dusserre and by Lo Scarabeo.
There are 72 from 78 cards and the deck feels as if it is really very old.
Many cards are quite damaged and the whole deck suffered about humidity or has even been completely wet.
I add some scans to illustrate this thread.
The cards measure 130 mmx 52 mm.
This means that the deck has probably been vertically trimmed.
Several sources for this deck (like Hoffmann / Kroppenstedt "Wahrsagekarten" from 1972) mention 130 mm x 65 mm.
I am not aware of any other source mentioning other dimensions for this deck.
There is a tax stamp on the two of swords, it says: 12 Avril 1890
There are a lot of handwritings, almost on each card.
On some cards the handwriting was even made after the cards has been damaged and the writing is on the backside of the cardback as you can see on the scan of the five of swords!
The cardback is quite particular in this deck as it seems as if the original cards have been at some point glued on an additional cardboard that is black on one side.
Many of the cards have this added black cardback but many other cards have lost it or it maybe has been removed showing then what should probably be the original cardback as you can see on the scans.
There is even one card (seven of swords) that does not have the original cardback anymore and which is glued on a thin sheet of thin paper!
The pattern of the cardback is identical to the pattern used by LS reprint of this deck.
There are scans of the LS reproduction on Trionfi site:
http://trionfi.com/m/d0yyyy.php?decknr=1769
But it does not look like the cardback pattern of the 1870 edition showed also on Trionfi.
Carefully examining the deck one can clearly see that the cards consist of two layers: one thin sheet of paper with the picture glued on a second layer made of thicker beige cardboard with the printed cardback pattern.
On many cards the first layer does not glue anymore to the cardboard and it is possible to see the back of the first layer.
There is nothing on it.
The first layer with the picture is a very fine printing without any finish on it.
It looks and feels like the pages of a well printed older book.
In the previoulsly mentioned book "Wahrsagekarten" Hoffmann describes the printing technik used for this deck as Chromolithographie.
I am indeed aware that only a few people have an original copy of this deck, but if someone does, I am very intrigued how the cards look like or how do they feel, or how is the cardback on other copy.
Any information is welcome
Best regards
This deck is sometimes dated with 1870.
To my knowledge this deck has been reprinted by Dusserre and by Lo Scarabeo.
There are 72 from 78 cards and the deck feels as if it is really very old.
Many cards are quite damaged and the whole deck suffered about humidity or has even been completely wet.
I add some scans to illustrate this thread.
The cards measure 130 mmx 52 mm.
This means that the deck has probably been vertically trimmed.
Several sources for this deck (like Hoffmann / Kroppenstedt "Wahrsagekarten" from 1972) mention 130 mm x 65 mm.
I am not aware of any other source mentioning other dimensions for this deck.
There is a tax stamp on the two of swords, it says: 12 Avril 1890
There are a lot of handwritings, almost on each card.
On some cards the handwriting was even made after the cards has been damaged and the writing is on the backside of the cardback as you can see on the scan of the five of swords!
The cardback is quite particular in this deck as it seems as if the original cards have been at some point glued on an additional cardboard that is black on one side.
Many of the cards have this added black cardback but many other cards have lost it or it maybe has been removed showing then what should probably be the original cardback as you can see on the scans.
There is even one card (seven of swords) that does not have the original cardback anymore and which is glued on a thin sheet of thin paper!
The pattern of the cardback is identical to the pattern used by LS reprint of this deck.
There are scans of the LS reproduction on Trionfi site:
http://trionfi.com/m/d0yyyy.php?decknr=1769
But it does not look like the cardback pattern of the 1870 edition showed also on Trionfi.
Carefully examining the deck one can clearly see that the cards consist of two layers: one thin sheet of paper with the picture glued on a second layer made of thicker beige cardboard with the printed cardback pattern.
On many cards the first layer does not glue anymore to the cardboard and it is possible to see the back of the first layer.
There is nothing on it.
The first layer with the picture is a very fine printing without any finish on it.
It looks and feels like the pages of a well printed older book.
In the previoulsly mentioned book "Wahrsagekarten" Hoffmann describes the printing technik used for this deck as Chromolithographie.
I am indeed aware that only a few people have an original copy of this deck, but if someone does, I am very intrigued how the cards look like or how do they feel, or how is the cardback on other copy.
Any information is welcome
Best regards