Restored Alte Deutsch Lenormand Deck c. 1880

Tag_jorrit

This deck doesn't really have a name, I just called it Alte Deutsch because it's most likely German. It's origin is unknown, I could discover nothing about this deck and am only making a guess as to its age which, based on the garb of the Lady and Gentleman, looks like the late 19th century.

The symbols are on a light background which makes them very easy to read in a GT.

If you love these historic decks, you can find more here, These antique decks only rarely surface. When they do appear on eBay they are extremely expensive. I love bringing these beautiful old, old decks back to life for those who appreciate the traditional look of the cards and want to be able to use them daily. One of the things that makes these decks so special is that the art in the antique decks was all commissioned for the decks, hand drawn and colored, and reflects the time period in which they were created.

When I restore these fantastic little works of art, I make no radical changes to the artwork. I reconstruct the worst damage and erase most of the evidence of use and abuse while allowing slight traces of their past lives to remain, adding no additional grunge. Since some people like to see the hard lives some of the decks have had, I have reproduced them rather than restoring them.

They are not for everyone but if you love the old cards, they are made for you.

intothemusic

Tag_jorrit said:
This deck doesn't really have a name, I just called it Alte Deutsch because it's most likely German. It's origin is unknown, I could discover nothing about this deck and am only making a guess as to its age which, based on the garb of the Lady and Gentleman, looks like the late 19th century.

The symbols are on a light background which makes them very easy to read in a GT.

If you love these historic decks, you can find more here, These antique decks only rarely surface. When they do appear on eBay they are extremely expensive. I love bringing these beautiful old, old decks back to life for those who appreciate the traditional look of the cards and want to be able to use them daily. One of the things that makes these decks so special is that the art in the antique decks was all commissioned for the decks, hand drawn and colored, and reflects the time period in which they were created.

When I restore these fantastic little works of art, I make no radical changes to the artwork. I reconstruct the worst damage and erase most of the evidence of use and abuse while allowing slight traces of their past lives to remain, adding no additional grunge. Since some people like to see the hard lives some of the decks have had, I have reproduced them rather than restoring them.

They are not for everyone but if you love the old cards, they are made for you.

I own the original deck! Yes they are german and they are called the Frommann and Bunte from the 1880s!

Barleywine

Tag_jorrit said:
This deck doesn't really have a name, I just called it Alte Deutsch because it's most likely German. It's origin is unknown, I could discover nothing about this deck and am only making a guess as to its age which, based on the garb of the Lady and Gentleman, looks like the late 19th century.

The symbols are on a light background which makes them very easy to read in a GT.

If you love these historic decks, you can find more here, These antique decks only rarely surface. When they do appear on eBay they are extremely expensive. I love bringing these beautiful old, old decks back to life for those who appreciate the traditional look of the cards and want to be able to use them daily. One of the things that makes these decks so special is that the art in the antique decks was all commissioned for the decks, hand drawn and colored, and reflects the time period in which they were created.

When I restore these fantastic little works of art, I make no radical changes to the artwork. I reconstruct the worst damage and erase most of the evidence of use and abuse while allowing slight traces of their past lives to remain, adding no additional grunge. Since some people like to see the hard lives some of the decks have had, I have reproduced them rather than restoring them.

They are not for everyone but if you love the old cards, they are made for you.

Thanks for posting this! When the images first popped up on my screen, I sat straight up and took notice

It may be my overactive imagination, but the scenes do seem a bit more dynamic and crisp than some of the other historical decks. If I ever manage to disentangle myself from my Gilded Reverie (and stop buying tarot decks), I will be visiting your website.

Tag_jorrit

Yes, Barleywine, they are crisp and dynamic! And especially good for GTs since you can clearly see them at a glance.

And here is a slide show of all of the minis.

Thanks to intothemusic for the jokers, the minis have all the aces replaced by the jokers for a bit of fun!

The story behind the jokers is that back in the old days every deck of cards was taxed. At the time in history when this particular deck was produced, the publishers got around having to pay tax on these decks -- there were no aces in this deck -- and because there were no aces in this deck they were considered unsuitable as playing cards. Therefore no taxes.