What are they thinking?

Logiatrix

There are oodles of decks available now that are quite
stunning. Most of them are beautiful pieces of art work
that I can stare at and admire for hours, but they are not
readable for me. Nevertheless, I can still see why someone
might be in love with the Gilded or the Baroque Bohemian
Cats
or the Hanson-Roberts, and so on.
:)

My "what are they thinking?" decks are a couple that are
now OOP: the Greenwood and the Alechemical. Why are
people willing to pay so much for these decks? They're not
so stunning as to merit the high prices, IMO.

I had the Greenwood a long time ago--twice, in fact; one
copy was a gift. I didn't like the artistic difference between
the minors and the majors; however, I liked the idea behind
it. Still, it's hard for me to grasp why it's so valued now. I
just don't understand what all the fuss is about, when lots
of people didn't like it before, but now it's desired by many,
OOP, and rather expensive.

It's the same with the Alchemical; nice deck, but not worth
all the hoopla, IMHO. I like Robert Place's art, and I especially
enjoy his scholarly works, but I just don't see what all the
hype is with this deck, now that it's scarce.

I can understand a collector wanting to have a particular
deck to round out a collection, but I don't get it when people
rave about a pricey OOP deck that was just an average deck
(with only average demand) five years ago (for example). It
seems like no one gets interested until the deck is all of a
sudden hard to find and the price has gone up.

I know there must be a reason, but I just don't understand the
phenomenom behind those decks that get this kind of attention.
:?:

EDITED to add:
(However, I can completely understand a desire for the PoMo,
and paying lots of money for it, if one had to...)

:angel:
 

OakDragon

Hmm, the Tarot de Marseilles is the only one I can think of offhand. I have never been able to get past the artwork, personally. Other decks may occur to me later. :)
 

WolfyJames

Some decks I don't understand their popularity, in particular the Robin Wood Tarot. That one freaks me out, I was so happy when the Druidcraft Tarot came out and almost beat the Robin Wood for popularity. I don't like the Hanson-Robert and the Universal Tarot, both done by the same artist. These too are so fluffy, she even put lots of smiles on the rigid faces of the Original Rider-Waite Smith Tarot, totaly changing their expressions. People were never smiling then when being painted or being photographed. Check out the last centuries of photographies and paintings and count the smiling ones, very very very rare. NO SMILE!!!

One more deck that is very popular and yet I don't get is the Froud's Faeries Oracle. I'm not saying it's not pretty, it is, but I guess I've spent so much decades with his art everywhere that I'm not touched by it anymore.

I'm only mentionning here popular decks...
 

Bean Feasa

Lillie said:
Every deck I have, I like...
Usually, before buying a deck, I look at pics, here or TG, or somewhere.
If I don't like them I don't buy them, so I havn't really be disapointed yet.

I look at the scans too, Lillie, but I often find that I feel differently about a deck when it's in my hands. It's difficult to assess size, texture, weight, finish, overall shuffleability etc., online, and sometimes even colours vary a bit. Often something that looked marvellous and that I was absolutely panting for can turn out to be underwhelming. And the opposite can hold too - sometimes a deck disappoints a bit when it arrives and then turns out to have hidden depths. So I don't think it's just as simple as 'look before you buy' - unless you can actually hold the deck in your hand, that is.
 

Emily

I don't like the Enchanted (Large Zerner Farber) - some of the cards seem really out of proportion and distorted.

Also I know some on here do like the Liber T - but it was one I couldn't wait to get out of my collection, much too negative for me to even understand let alone read.
 

baba-prague

Oh whoops, maybe I'll stay off this thread, but just wanted to say that the proportions of the Bohemian Cats are entirely deliberate - we spent quite some time looking at the classic Victorian illustrators who made dressed cat illustrations and realised that they were using a "build" that was something in between a real cat and a person. As a reference to the style we used a similar set of proportions. Doesn't mean you have to like it though, we always did say that it's somewhat of a "love it or hate it" deck as the humour is quite definitely a bit pointed and surreal.

For a bit more on this style as part of a historical illlustration style, here's what Endicott Studio has to say:

http://www.endicott-studio.com/recreading/SprSum05/Art.html

We're currently doing some (she ducks) Victoriana cats - but not for a deck!
 

WolfSpirit

Fae tarot - the faeries look so weird and often grumpy...don't like the colours, don't like the way it is drawn.

Voyager - full of symbolism, ok, but a bit too full for me, it is as if they tried to cram as much as possible into one card.

Quest - some of the images are quite pretty but it just looks so cold...and there is too much going on in the borders (names and symbols etc.) I could enjoy some of the cards to look at but never read with a deck like this.

And I am forcing myself not to start defending my favourite decks ;) hehe, I know not everyone likes what I like.
 

Moongold

I picked up a long ordered copy of the Druidcraft this evening an must confess my first impressions were negative.

I think I prefer the Tarot of the Old Path :(.

I must admit to being very tired. I think all the enthusiasm around the deck has put me off a little as well.

Perhaps I need to sit with it. I did not like my Conver Marseille when I first got it either.
 

Sophie

There are plenty I don't feel drawn to on the strength of a few scans, but here are decks I've actually seen in their entirety & don't like (none of them I own):

- The Hanson Roberts. The cutesiness makes me queasy.
- Universal Waite. Oh no, those terrible Hanson Roberts faces! In fact, any of the redrawn & recoloured RWS put me off. Yes, including the Radiant, though it's better than the Universal Waite by a mile.
- The Gilded & the Tarot of Dreams - I find the art too flashy, too perfect & artificial-looking, and I'm still bothered by the all-white-faces thing, though I appreciate & agree with Ciro's response to that on another thread.
- decks that are too busy - the Voyager springs to mind. I looked through it all recently, and felt slightly dazed & confused at the end!
- umpteen angel & goddess decks (tarot or oracle) that I find sentimental - basically anything that reduces goddesses & angels to soft-focus squishy-toy status, or that removes their dangerous element.

Having said all that - I agree with Marion. I never say never. I used to dislike the Marseille intensely, and now I love it. I've learnt to look at the woodcuts - I suppose my eye is better trained now. So I know my taste changes, though I doubt I'll ever like anything cutesy sentimental - that has been the one consistent thing in my taste since I was a little girl.
 

Elven

Gosh!! Im thinking, but none come to mind. The Tarot I own are ones I like or which have been given to me. I may not have used them much, but as Ive come to realize, as I grow, the decks are already there for me to move onto, and somehow they're the right ones for that moment in time.
Oh well!! :D

Blessings
Elven x