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Yesterday I was absolutely delighted to finally have my copy of this deck in my hands for the first time!!
I ordered one way back in January, and it was lost in the mail... but Yves was kind enough to send me another copy. What great customer service; thank you!! I appreciated the friendly communication as well as the quick attention to my concern when the first deck didn't arrive.
The cards are really spectacular... The images are so sharp, and the colouring very intense and saturated.. very deep reds, blues, greens, and yellows. There is also some lighter blue that looks like shadowing or shading in some cards, creating depth. It looks very 'clean' compared to some antique decks.
It's lovely to look at the images and see crystal clear details that seem to be missing in the Conver and other later decks. One example is the Valet de Coupes clearly holding a hat in his hand, complete with a feather plume.. unlike in some other images where that object is more ambiguous. I also noticed the big teeth in the lion on strength.. it almost looks like he has dentures. The fish on the 2 of cups also have tiny little pointy teeth- pirahnas maybe? I love it!
Many of the people in the images have lovely decorative trims on their clothing, or extra frills and ruffles. They are fancier people than the average Marseille-deck citizen. They also have little heels on their shoes. That reminds me of the Swiss 1804 deck from Meneghello (the shoes and clothes are one of my favourite details about that deck).
The facial expressions are full of unique character. The Roy de Baston raises one eyebrow incredulously, the Reyne de Coupes looks at her cup with a penetrating kind of receptivity, and the driver of le Chariot is striking a pose and he wants you to know how handsome and great he is. The Hermit is skeptical, the Valet de Baston is determined, Temperance looks a little stoned, and the Reyne de Denier does not approve of your shenanigans at all.
The quality of the packaging, as others have said, is superb!
The box is sturdy (and really attractive, too!), and so are the cards. I think they would easily stand up to many years of shuffling, because the cardstock is pleasantly heavy. The finish is smooth and not too glossy. It's similar to 1804 Svizzera from Meneghello, but more matte, and a bit thicker I think.
The paper wrapper is a beautiful touch, and makes it feel really authentic.
The cards all have their images well-centred, and they are cut very uniformly and evenly, unlike some other self-produced decks I've seen.
I also appreciated the sample of the Star card from the Millenium Marseilles that was included in the box, and the personal note from Yves. My husband laughed when I picked up that Star card, because I uttered a very long "ooooooooooooooh!" because I think that has the nicest cardstock I have ever felt in my life! Wow! the texture! We throw around the word 'silky' a lot for nice cardstock, but I think that one really is super-silky.
I just wanted to share all my thoughts, because the Madenie really is a special deck. I hope that a lot of people are able to get a copy, and that it will be the first of many fantastic historic decks with these excellent production values.
I ordered one way back in January, and it was lost in the mail... but Yves was kind enough to send me another copy. What great customer service; thank you!! I appreciated the friendly communication as well as the quick attention to my concern when the first deck didn't arrive.
The cards are really spectacular... The images are so sharp, and the colouring very intense and saturated.. very deep reds, blues, greens, and yellows. There is also some lighter blue that looks like shadowing or shading in some cards, creating depth. It looks very 'clean' compared to some antique decks.
It's lovely to look at the images and see crystal clear details that seem to be missing in the Conver and other later decks. One example is the Valet de Coupes clearly holding a hat in his hand, complete with a feather plume.. unlike in some other images where that object is more ambiguous. I also noticed the big teeth in the lion on strength.. it almost looks like he has dentures. The fish on the 2 of cups also have tiny little pointy teeth- pirahnas maybe? I love it!
Many of the people in the images have lovely decorative trims on their clothing, or extra frills and ruffles. They are fancier people than the average Marseille-deck citizen. They also have little heels on their shoes. That reminds me of the Swiss 1804 deck from Meneghello (the shoes and clothes are one of my favourite details about that deck).
The facial expressions are full of unique character. The Roy de Baston raises one eyebrow incredulously, the Reyne de Coupes looks at her cup with a penetrating kind of receptivity, and the driver of le Chariot is striking a pose and he wants you to know how handsome and great he is. The Hermit is skeptical, the Valet de Baston is determined, Temperance looks a little stoned, and the Reyne de Denier does not approve of your shenanigans at all.
The quality of the packaging, as others have said, is superb!
The box is sturdy (and really attractive, too!), and so are the cards. I think they would easily stand up to many years of shuffling, because the cardstock is pleasantly heavy. The finish is smooth and not too glossy. It's similar to 1804 Svizzera from Meneghello, but more matte, and a bit thicker I think.
The paper wrapper is a beautiful touch, and makes it feel really authentic.
The cards all have their images well-centred, and they are cut very uniformly and evenly, unlike some other self-produced decks I've seen.
I also appreciated the sample of the Star card from the Millenium Marseilles that was included in the box, and the personal note from Yves. My husband laughed when I picked up that Star card, because I uttered a very long "ooooooooooooooh!" because I think that has the nicest cardstock I have ever felt in my life! Wow! the texture! We throw around the word 'silky' a lot for nice cardstock, but I think that one really is super-silky.
I just wanted to share all my thoughts, because the Madenie really is a special deck. I hope that a lot of people are able to get a copy, and that it will be the first of many fantastic historic decks with these excellent production values.
