Epinal Tarot

Moonbow

I only heard about this deck a few days ago and there doesn't seem to be much about it here on Aeclectic.

From the scans I can find I see that it's a Grimaud re-print of a deck first published in France in 1830 by printers Pellerin. It also has Junon and Jupiter, I guess instead of the Papesse and Pape.

Does anyone have this deck, or any more information on it?
 

gregory

I have it. What did you wish to know ?? ;)

My own database says of it:

Reprint of popular catchpenny deck, France, about 1830. Originally published by Pellerin from woodcuts of Georgin, a famous engraver of the Napoleonic period. Very traditional, though some of major arcana depart from the traditional. Juno and Jupiter feature as in Swiss tarot.

And it has titles in English and French and an extra Consultant card.
There always feels to me to be a lot of BLUE about it !

And you can certainly buy it from Somerville for a mere £10.50, or from Tarotgarden for $35 - but that's further from you! It does look a little 1JJ-ish in places....

Have a few cards:
 

Attachments

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Moonbow

Thanks for your post Gregory.

I found it a bit of an oddity. The fact that it has Junon and Jupiter as the Schaffhouse decks do but the Hanged Man has just one foot tied. The Fool looks a little Wirth-y to me too.

I found these scans:

http://www.adnil.com/CARDS/epinal.html
 

Lee

Thanks for reminding me about this deck! It looks so intriguiging that I just ordered one. :) I like how it looks like the Swiss 1JJ but has more Marseille features than the 1JJ.

-- Lee
 

gregory

I have quite a few with only one foot tied; no time to look now. That didn't puzzle me too much.....

I do rather like it, actually.
 

Moonbow

Lee said:
Thanks for reminding me about this deck! It looks so intriguiging that I just ordered one. :) I like how it looks like the Swiss 1JJ but has more Marseille features than the 1JJ.

-- Lee

That's exactly what I thought was curious about it. Is it some sort of cross-over deck?

I'm considering ordering one as well Lee, infact it seems a little strange to me that it's not mentioned much here.
 

Lee

Here's what Kaplan Vol. 1 has to say about a 1976 edition:

"D'Epinal Tarot: Reprint of Tarot d'Epinal, one of the popular catchpenny tarot packs originally published in France by Pellerin during the 19th century. As the word "catchpenny" implies, these packs were inexpensively printed for popular distribution. This reprint was completed in 1976 by Arts et Lettres, France. Some of the Major Arcana deviate from traditional designs."

Among the differences Kaplan notes:

Fool - small beard.
Magician - plumed hat.
Empress & Emperor - unnumbered (it looks like they're numbered on the Grimaud edition)
Justice - next to a tablet entitled "Lois" (laws)
And there's an extra card called "Le Consultant" (don't know if the Grimaud has this) (oops, edited to add, it does have it, I should have read gregory's post more carefully)

Also I noticed some unusual French titles:

Magician - Escamoteur
Hermit - Le Capucin

I like tarot decks which are in some way reminiscent of playing cards, and the "popular" and somewhat lowbrow art style of these cards does that for me. It also reminds me a bit of the later Thomson-Leng deck from the 1930s, which I'll never be able to afford to buy. So I'll console myself with the Epinal. :)

Something I didn't know -- Epinal is a city in France, a former center of the print industry, according to Wikipedia.

-- Lee
 

coredil

Lee said:
Something I didn't know -- Epinal is a city in France, a former center of the print industry, according to Wikipedia.

-- Lee
Yes and we use this expression: "Une image d'Épinal" to describe something (picture or situation) with a typical "traditional" taste or where only "nice" and "good" things are shown
I dont know if now young people know and use this expression in France, but I did as I was young :)
 

shaveling

Lee said:
I like tarot decks which are in some way reminiscent of playing cards, and the "popular" and somewhat lowbrow art style of these cards does that for me.
I feel this way, too.

It's a quirky deck, especially if you have the French/English edition. Calling a Capuchin a monk would earn you a long, boring lecture from either a Capuchin or a monk, saying why one isn't the other. I love the Death card: the expression on the face of the reaper is what finally persuaded me to buy this deck. And there are some fun things in the Batons (or Sticks, as the English titles say). Some of the batons' ends look a lot like boots, as does one of the clouds in La Lune (see Moonbow's attachment). And some of the ornamental leaves in the batons look like tobacco leaves to me, which I find inordinately amusing.

Also, I like it when the curved swords have hilts, which is the case in this deck. Only, some of the swords have hilts at both ends, as in the two of swords in Gregory's attachment. And some of the swords have no hilts at all, but trefoil tips at both ends.

The whole deck is full of things that you could find amusing or really irritating. For me, it's the former.
 

gregory

I've got another called "aux Armes d'Epinal; I am at work at the moment but will look it out later.....

PS it is tarock from Grimaud/France Cartes:
78-card tarock deck. Double-headed major arcana show military scenes; French pattern court cards are upright except for the knights, and also bear military images. The knights show uniformed cavalry officers. Characters shown are taken from historical archives.

Not really relevant here now but since I had mentioned it....