Angel Tarot - US Games

Open Arms

About 20 years ago I bought my first Tarot deck - and I am wondering on its provenance.

It seems very much to be a Marseilles deck going by what I have read/seen in this thread, but it isn't mentioned in any of the reviews etc.

According to the LWB that came with it (written by Stuart R Kaplan)- it is one of the first to come out of Japan and is a full 78 cards. The 2 of Coins has the words Manufactured by Angel Playing Cards wrapped around the two discs.

I am curious as to how close it follows the traditional decks as I haven't any other TdeM to compare it to and I was wondering if any of you could share some light on it.

Many thanks for you help with this!
 

Moonbow

The Angel Tarot is a really nice deck for many reasons. The Majors are outstanding and based on the TdM II. I also enjoy the colouring and the simplicity of the drawings. The Court cards are also a good rendition.

The pips are different though, in that they don't follow the same patterning as what I would consider captures part of the essence of a Marseilles deck. The implements of each suit on the Ace to 10 are arranged differently to a Marseilles, the Swords are not curved, all four suits include either a spade, club, heart or diamond depending on the suit.

Maybe not a deck for the historians, but still a really nice deck which reads well and is more than pleasant on the eye. I would call it a Marseilles.
 

Open Arms

Yes - that's them.

Its just that after reading some of the posts I wasn't quite sure where this deck fitted in to the scheme of things.

Thanks for your help Moonbow*!
 

Open Arms

Considering I have had this deck for so long - I was really surprised not to find a mention of it here - that is what made me wonder about just where it fitted in.

I probably shouldn't tell you then that I saw one for sale on eBay for I think $5 last week!!
 

6 Haunted Days

This deck always looked quite interesting to me. I think it's the unique colouring in the majors and courts, and the pips are very pretty.
 

jmd

I like this deck...

In terms of being classified as a 'Marseille', however, the pips just don't correspond - as mentioned above!

To my eyes, they appear to have a major Portuguese influence - straight swords; and Besançon influence with the Cups (though again perhaps Portuguese).

...but a great deck to consider and work with.

I cannot recall what the LWB (booklet) says of its provenance, nor if Kaplan in the Encyclopedia discusses it, but it may be worth checking as well.
 

Sulis

I don't have it and I don't think I've ever seen it before but it's lovely.

Thanks for the scans.
 

Open Arms

The LWB (all 57 or so pages of it) goes into the history of tarot, mentions the other styles (Tarocchi of Venice, Minchiate of Florence, Kabbalah etc) and so forth but does not actually say which style/format this deck follows. The LWB has Stuart R Kaplan's name on it so I am assuming (and I hate doing that!) he wrote it.

If I get to the next Tarot Cafe, I'll bring the deck, box, LWB with me.
 
Tarology Film now available for pre-order Le Livre d' or Tarot De Marseille