Ancient Italian Tarots

Measurements: 2.4 x 4.55 inches; or 60 x 115 millimeters.

Back of card: Fine red diagonal cross-hatching in an overall diamond pattern. Border is pink, which is the overall color. Can be inverted.

Booklet included: No. Nine supplemental cards with basic instructions in Italian, German, English, French & Spanish. One side printed black on white, the other red on pink, the color scheme due to printing limitations.

Publisher: Lo Scarabeo S.r.l. Printed in Italy.

Comments: "Ancient" to me means at least 40,000 years old, or for Tarot, 300-400. I confess my Italian is limited to musical scores & what I can work out from French, but so far as I can tell, "ancient" refers to this phrase on the title card: "stampati dalla Cartiera Italiana in Serravalle Sesia nel 1880".

This deck is otherwise similar to the 1JJ Swiss & Marseilles tarots. Note the Magician as a bartender, inviting us to a healthy drink. The cards have a mat appearance, as if they were printed on newsprint (relax, they're on the usual cardstock), which gives them a cheap appearance. For the most part this deck looks like it was originally intended as an inexpensive, mass-market item, say, circa 1880. If that's the case I wonder why they were reprinted in 1996. A good deck for collectors, I think.

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