One of the more interesting-looking "antiqued" decks from recent years is a tarot from Japan whose title translates as "Kabbalah Tarot." You can see sample scans of this deck here:
http://www.tarotgarden.com/boutique/images/kabbalahcards.gif
It has the makings of a wonderful reading deck; however, the price for this tarot runs quite a bit higher than your average in-print, mass market tarot. The cards are produced on a very high quality card stock, which probably accounts for some of the extra cost. The majority of the cost, however, is most likely reflected in the books that accompany the cards -- two lovely hardcover books, one providing information on the major arcana cards, the other discussing the minor arcana. Thus, the overall price for the set is reasonable, given what's included and the overall exceptional quality... but be aware that the books are, not surprisingly, written entirely in Japanese (which is not a problem, of course, if you *read* Japanese).
Another odd feature of the Kabbalah deck is that the numbering of several of the major arcana cards is "non-standard." For example, in the samples shown at the link above, you can see that the "Balance" (Justice) card has been numbered as 9 (IX), and the "Devil" card has been numbered as 14 (XIV).
We can special-order this set upon request at Tarot Garden, so if anyone has questions about the Kabbalah set, please feel free to make a post on this thread, or write to me directly at info@tarotgarden.com.
Enjoy the pix!
-- Jeannette
The Tarot Garden
