I just received the Tarocco di Marsiglia (Svizzera 1804) from a purchase on this forum. I was slightly put off by the somewhat crooked trimming, but soon got over it. That anomaly (for me) is now part of its charm. I take the modifications made by IM as part of the reproduction's story. It seems to fit this high jacked deck with an abused but colorful history.
The lamination is more or less okay with me. I do, however, have a Tarocco de F. Gumppenberg, Milano 1840 from Il Meneghello which is heavily laminated. I don't like the feel of that one. I received it by mistake and Cristina at IM is compensating me nicely. I was so put off by the lamination on that deck that I trimmed the corners just to exercise some control over the situation.
I'm glad to say that the Svizzera 1804 is only moderately laminated, which makes it useful as a working deck.
Glad you where able to make peace with the crooked trimming. It's a super charming deck. Unfortunately for me, the IM transaction went a bit sour with this one.
I received the deck and was shocked to see the sloppy edges, so i contacted Cristina and sent her some clear photos of the bad edges, and she quickly replied that it was a defective deck. She asked me to send the tarot back and that they would send me another.... so I did. I paid bout $25 to mail it back hoping that maybe I get that money re-funded.
A couple of days later she sends me an email saying that they are artisans, and that the decks are made by hand and that because of the uneven edges of the original, that that was the normal look of the Svizzera deck and it's borders! That I should pick a different one....!?
So I answered that had she told me this before I would have kept it and made peace with the characteristics of the facsimile! Regardless, I ask her to send me the Besançon tarot.
THEN, she proceeds to hustle and try to sell me back the Svizzera along with the Besançon, without offering any kind special deal. Considering that I ended up paying about $80 for a deck I didn't even have in my hands, I would have thought that costumer service common sense would have inspired some sort of deal... But no.
I got no refund for the back and forth shipping. All I got is the Besançon, which also shows some poorly copied and trimmed edges. It's for sure a lovely deck, but don't tell me that with some care and creativity you can not make a historical reproduction without those defects. Sivilixi has done it. Yves Reynaud has done it. Even Piatnik has done it.
People love Il Meneghello around here, good for them. I refrained for a long time from voicing my opinion and sending any bad vibes, but I'm not dealing with those people anymore. Bummer...
P.S. And regarding the Besançon, and those 'charming' pencil marks on some of the cards, I can get behind the historical value of those details, but in all honesty, those guys should give a warning on the website about them. I consider it sketchy dishonest business not mentioning that you're gonna receive a deck full of scribbles...
La Mia opinione, Grazie.
B