Ur-Lenormand, aka Game Of Hope

German publisher Königsfurt Urania published an enlarged edition of the Game of Hope:

At EUR 12.99 an interesting deal.

The cards measure 8 cm x 11 cm

More info at
http://www.amazon.de/Ur-Lenormand-S...8&qid=1419259204&sr=8-1&keywords=ur-lenormand

The 59 page LWB is in three languages: english, french and german

Just ordered this. Will post reactions when it arrives, though it might be a while as it has been sent to work and I'm not back till January.

I have it! I thought it had been sent to work but was mistaken. It arrived out of the blue on New Year's Eve.

I like it. I like it a lot. This deck, the Game of Hope deck, is such a beautiful deck and yet I never seem to see photos or readings on instagram/facebook/ etc etc of people using it. I wonder why that might be? This edition is a lovely reproduction. I also have Tag's mini version which is one of my favourite, most used decks.

I have very little that is new to say about the actual deck. Only possible, potential criticism by some on this edition is that some might think it is a little large. It is more or less standard playing card size, perhaps a little wider. Comes in a lovely sturdy two-part box which it deserves to remain in. It has a very useful LWB which contains, as mentioned above, text in German, French and English, 59 pages but for all 3 languages, plus information about the history of the deck, plus the instructions for actually playing the game and then divinatory meanings. There is no actual spread included.

Cardtstock is, in my opinion, perfect. Sturdy, with enough "give" and a gentle, unintrusive, hardly perceptible lamination. I have some friends here for a few days who have requested a reading. I shall give it a spin later, see if it fits on the dining room table 9 X 4.

But I love it. I'm not bothered at all by the size.

Le Fanu, is there any new information in the text or does it contain only what we already know about the deck? Any mention of the Austrian Coffee-Cards as its source?

I use the deck quite a bit for my readings. Love it!

Teheuti said:

I use the deck quite a bit for my readings. Love it!

Click to expand...

It is a truly beautiful deck. I think of it as the Marseilles - or probably more the Visconti-Sforza - of Lenormand. This is the deck to which all others are indebted. I 'm hoping to do a short review on my blog, as I have been reflecting quite a lot on this deck recently - even before I got this edition in my hands.

Nothing at all on the Austrian coffee cards, Teheuti. The focus of the LWB is the game aspect - then subsequently the structure of the game suggesting an oracle. It is cleverly worded - that these cards had a new lease of life after having been pound in the possessions of Mme Lenormand after her death (not clear at this stage in the LWB whether it is meant some generic, symbolic cards or these Game of Hope cards, neither of which I thought was true.) A brief note is made regarding the upsurge of popularity in Lenormand cards circa 2000 and then a history of Hechtel's set. The full instructions of the game are then translated (almost 5 pages). Then a note on the 1840s reprint by Reiff of Koblenz sold on the back of Mme Lenormand's Fortune Telling cards, as it was claimed that these very cards had been found in her possessions (I didn't know this claim - is this in other literature or have I forgotten it?)

There is then a list of divinatory meanings for the cards and on the back cover a facsimilie scan of the original Game of Hope instructions. I don't think there is anything very new here. I'm not sure about the idea that it was these very cards which those close to Mme Lenormand claimed had been found among her possessions after her death.

But the edition is lovely. Silky, smooth and with excellent printing and reproduction quality. Delicate colouring, bold in size, the symbol is a great size and the card inserts really come into their own - they're only a little smaller than Tag's mini decks. For a grand tableau, it might not be very intimate but if doing 5 / 7 / 9 card spreads the deck is a stunner. If you like and use this deck then you can't miss out on this edition.

I got this just the other day and it's true: it's really beautiful and the cardstock is so great.
The size doesn't bother me either. On the contrary, especially for this deck.

Instantly a top favorite!

I Want this deck so badly!! Does anyone know if they ship to the UK? :/

It's available on amazon.co.uk. But I'm sure amazon.de will send it to you as well -- I just ordered mine to be sent to the US.

Is it?!! I haven't seen it!! Thank you for the heads up joon!!

Joon do you have a link to the UK version as I can't seem to find it on there