Shopping for Cards
Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink….
Tarot cards seem to be everywhere these days. I would guess that if you look around, you can find them for sale in just about every high street - but for all this plenty, there are very few among these that are of any use to you for gaming. At the beginning of the 20th century, a pack known as the Rider-Waite (now, in recognition of the artist, more commonly known as the RWS) altered the face of occult tarot. Instead of following the Marseilles pattern and illustrating just the trumps, these cards featured a great deviation from the traditional images and illustrated with equal artistry, all of the pip cards with their occult meanings. Since then, most tarot artists have followed suit and illustrated their entire packs this way.
Now, when tarot trumps were first added to a pack of cards, their illustrations had the job of distinguishing them from the ordinary cards. But with the fully illustrated packs, it is harder to tell a pip from a trump at first glance - particularly without indices. This renders most of the tarots sold in the UK and the US high streets useless for playing games with.
Fortunately for us today, the internet has made possible niche stores that import goods, and a whole global market place with international shipping.
I’ll start by talking about some of the internet sources for cards and will then list a number of packs that I would recommend as suitable for gaming.
Where to shop?
There are three sites where I do most of my shopping for card games. The first of these is www.playingcardsales.com and is based in France. This store has probably the largest and broadest selections of playing cards in one place anywhere. The catalogue is divided very logically, making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for. The information is a little concise but it tells you what you need to know and, with very few exceptions, around 8 to 10 images from each pack are available. If you are looking for French suited cards and 54 card tarocks, then this is the first place to look. The owner himself doesn’t seem too happy with the French postal service - however, I pay a little extra for the delivery and my orders arrive within the three to five days quoted.
The second site is www.alidastores.com which is based in San Marino. There are very few 54 card packs here - the emphasis is on tarot and most of the packs are of the occult variety. However, the stock is impressive and if you want modern Italian suited cards, then this is your first stop. There is also a large range of reproduction cards and collectables here, including some of the rarer limited editions. The information about the cards is rather concise and there are fewer images of the cards, sometimes only one or two are shown. The dispatch is next/same day and delivery is five working days later - without fail!
I’ll also add about both of these stores, that they package their goods with care for their journey. However battered the parcel may get, the cards and their boxes are always in perfect condition.
The third site that I use is eBay. This can be a hit or miss affair. There are a couple of stores that I use regularly but for one-offs I recommend caution. What a trader calls rare or collectable, often isn’t - check other internet sources first for information and prices. Always take note of the postage price - 25euros to post a pack of cards from France to the UK just isn’t on. There are few real bargains here but this is the best source for some of the Asian packs that you might want and for one or two European packs, such as the Hungarian Ludvig.
It is also worth checking Amazon, they only really stock cards for readers but they do sometimes have something.
If you are in the US, then the two stores in Europe will be somewhat expensive, both for postage and the exchange rate - as I write this, the dollar is very low. For modern Italian playing cards, I would recommend eBay traders, who seem to import them regularly - but watch the prices, some of them overcharge!
There are two US based internet stores that will be of help to you. The first is www.tarock.net which is an excellent source for French suited packs, with an attractive range of the 54 card tarock packs. The second is www.tarotgarden.com which specializes in imported and rare packs, it has an extensive collection with a selection of images from every pack. Tarot Garden also makes for an excellent source of information about packs past and present.
What Cards Should I Buy?
The complete modern game player’s collection will have:
A 78 card Jeu de Tarot - a standard French suited pack
A 54 card Tarock - another French suited pack
A Tarocco Peidmontese - a 78 card Italian suited pack
A Tarocco Bolognese - the tarocchino
A Tarocco Siciliano
However, all of the games in parts I-III can be played with any pack of 78 cards, consisting of four regular suites each of 10 pip cards and four court cards; a fifth suit of trumps numbered 1-21; and an extra un-numbered card called a Fool, Excuse, Skus, or some variation thereof.
Jeu de Tarot
The game of tarot is very popular in France and there is a range of standard facing packs at a range of prices. The images on them are all alike, having standard French suits and double ended trumps that feature a range of rural and domestic scenes. Of course, there have been a range of novelty and art packs produced, from Asterix for the children to Druuna for the adults.
One of the nicest packs that is readily available is the Tarot of the Regions of France, which features rather more rustic trump scenes and court cards showing traditional costumes.
If you want something a little bit special, then I recommend the Tarocchi di Alan. This is not widely available now and I suspect that stocks are dwindling - so if you want a copy, don’t wait too long to buy. The Alan of the title has no claim to the cards at all, he’s a fortune teller who picked up on an attractive but long forgotten pack and got it re-printed with a booklet by himself. The joke is on him though, as he seems quite unaware of French suited cards or their use in games, attempting to force occult interpretations onto the designs that just don’t fit. Still, we mustn’t get too upset - because of him, the pack was re-printed. The cards were actually designed at the beginning of the 20th century by Italian artist Argio Orell. The court cards feature figures from different cultures and the trumps are some of the most beautiful nouveau designs you will see. Shoppers in the States might find these on eBay, in Europe, Alida still stocks them.
Tarock packs
These 54 card packs are again available at a range of prices but with little variation in design. They look much like the French packs, though the designs are more baroque. However, central European countries seem to take their games rather more seriously, as they don’t publish any novelty packs or variations. You can, however, find a number of attractive reproductions of older packs which are a pleasure to play with.
Reproduction Packs
Although modern occult packs are much easier for tarot readers to use, having pictures for the pips as aid memoirs, there has been a strong market in reproduction packs with the old designs and pips. These older packs were usually designed with game play in mind but players are probably only a small part of the demand for them. There are many occult tarotists who prefer the older designs but I suspect that the greater demand comes from collectors. Tarot collecting is a bug that affects many occult tarotists and game players alike - take care not to get bitten yourself, as it will cost you a lot of money!
Il Meneghello publishes the biggest range of reproduction packs, usually as limited editions and can be quite costly. They are not always suitable for play however as the card stock, while strong, is a little inflexible, the surfaces are not varnished, and the corners are square, reducing their durability. The presentation is beautiful and they are a pleasure to play with, so you if you become an enthusiast, you will want to buy some for occasional play at least. As I write this, Il Meneghello publishes the only Minchiate in print.
Lo Scarebo, one of the biggest occult tarot publishers, publishes a few reproduction packs. Some of these are marred by multilingual borders but there are a couple that you might want to look for. The Ancient Tarots of Lombardy is a beautiful 19th century pack that is an easy size to handle. However, the card stock is rigid and unvarnished, so they will not be very durable. The Ancient Italian Tarot is a late 19th century pack that is probably the more attractive of the two, in 2000 it had a re-issue with a much better card stock and varnished surface, making it very durable for play. There are still copies of the old issue around, so make sure that you buy the one with a dark green box.
Dal Negro publish the I Tarocchini which is a Bolognese pack by Gioseppe Mitelli, pre-dating the introduction of the four moors. They are a little large but the presentation and colouring are beautiful. If you’re confident that you know your trumps (they are neither named nor numbered) and love the tarocchino games, then this is a pack for you.
Modern Packs
The modern Piedmontese pack is one of the easiest to use, the cards being all numbered and double ended. However, the double ending is achieved by chopping the trump image in half and repeating the it top and bottom. People often feel that this takes something of the charm away and so turn to reproduction packs instead. However, although most are made with illustrated pips, there are still some modern cards produced for the tarotist market, that are suitable for game play.
The Swiss 1JJ is very widely available and is used in Switzerland for playing Troccas and Troggu. It is quite traditional in design and very attractive. This has long been a favourite of mine.
Fournier publish Le Tarot De Marseille which uses traditional Marseille images, familiar in reproductions, and gives them a modern colouring. The result is clear and very attractive. They are traditional without looking very occult and have an advantage for beginners in that the regular suits have different background colours to distinguish them. Very often I have known beginners to confuse swords and batons but with the colours, that isn’t going to happen here.
The Hungarian Ludvig Tarot was produced for the International Playing Card Association in 1996. The only place I know of to buy it is from a Hungarian trader on eBay - the price is low and the dispatch very fast! The pack uses simple drawings that look very traditional but have a somewhat rustic feel to them - perhaps it’s the colours, perhaps the style. It is a subtle difference that makes the cards very attractive to me and a pleasure to play with.
The Tarocchi Di Giulietta E Romeo (Romeo and Juliet - also called the Shakespeare Tarot) is published by Dal Negro and created by Luigi Scapini. It comes in two sizes, one is very large with gold but is not really suitable for game play, so you want to consider the smaller edition. These are wonderful for game play, taking Shakespeare’s plays as their theme, they still manage to look fairly traditional and not at all occult. The pip cards are partly illustrated but never enough to be distracting and the text appears painted - which is so much nicer than the usual intrusive typefaces.
The Tarot Favole is a new pack published by Fournier, as I write this it has not yet worked its way into the usual stores - I had to order mine from a German site. I should think that it will become more widely available very soon though. Anyone who enjoys the modern gothic vampire will want this pack that showcases the art of Victoria Frances. The artwork was not created especially for the cards but has been taken from her existing portfolio, however, it all fits the requirements for tarot. The pip cards are a little novel, being crosses, roses, butterflies, and masks - their execution is perhaps a little half-hearted but they look good none the less and serve well for game play. Like other Fournier packs, they are of a smaller, comfortable size, and sport a reasonable price-tag of around £12.
Il Tarocco Bizzarro, published by Dal Negro, is an entertaining pack based on the Piedmontese packs. Artist Franco Bruna has given the cards a comic twist that should appeal to young and old alike.
Tarot is not something we tend to think of as an Asian phenomenon but Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan produce a large number of different tarot packs - often in the cartoon like style of Manga. Some of the art is simply stunning and among these are a couple of Taiwanese examples that have un-illustrated pips. In both cases, they follow only the themes and are not at all traditional. If there is anything that will make them awkward to use, it is that the court cards are not clearly distinguished by their appearance - but this is a very minor quibble. Availability is limited, but there are a couple of eBay stores that are very reliable. The cards themselves are not very costly but postage from the US or Taiwan will double the price to about £20.
The first is usually called The Tarot’s Numen Fairy Deck. The images are fairies, but Asian styled rather than western twee. The second is the Dezhen Chinese tarot, sometimes called the Chinese Ladies tarot. This pack has also been published by Lo Scarebo but their multilingual borders get in the way for card play, so I recommend getting the Taiwanese edition.
