Newbie question: Visconti Sforza

Sherryl

I recently gave a summary of the many versions of the V-S deck on facebook (the tarot History group). Here's a copy..

The big differences between Visconti-Sforza decks are: the size (original size is 6.5 by 3.25 inches), whether it's a facsimile of the original showing all the damage, or a cleaned up version, and the quality of the replaced Devil and Tower cards.

U.S. Games is original size, a facsimile and atrocious replacement cards – psychedelic colors and totally anachronistic style.

Schiffer deck by Mary Packard is original size, cleaned up, very aesthetically pleasing with antique gold borders and background. Devil and Tower look like the Tarot de Marseille which is anachronistic but almost everyone does this. Did a good job on the Knight of Coins. The artist did a nice job of blending these two cards with the rest of the deck. Deck comes with a very nice hard-bound book with color illustrations. I like her treatment of the trump cards, but her interpretation of the court and pip cards owes too much to Waite for my taste.

Lo Scarabeo has several versions of the deck. The gold version is regular card size, cleaned up, with gold foil background on the trump and court cards and gold touches on the pips. Devil and Tower are very TdM and something about these cards turns me off. This version of the deck has the usual Lo Scarabeo left border with the card name in a zillion languages.
They also do a jumbo size gold foil version of just the trumps with the card names top and bottom so you don't have the extra-wide left border that unbalances the card. It's very stunning visually.
Lo Scarabeo does a mini version of the deck, cleaned up, soft tan background, very pleasing. A medieval Devil (hallelujah) and a semi-medieval Tower.
They also have a regular sized version without the gold foil, but I can't find my deck right now.

Dal Negro produced a deck that is very similar to U.S.Games.

Il Meneghello's deck is slightly smaller than the standard card size, a facsimile, and the Tower and Devil have details taken from very early decks.

My favorites: Schiffer and the mini Lo Scarabeo. They are very pleasing visually and the Tower and Devil are reasonably well done. Of the facsimile cards, DalNegro is the best – colors, and replacement cards better than U.S. games
 

Abrac

The things I like about the US Games 2nd edition are:

1) The stock has a "paper" feel to it, compared to the 3rd edition which has a more modern feel with slick lamination.

2) Overall the reproduction of the 2nd edition is very good. It has great color and image quality.
The colors on the 3rd edition are mostly pretty good, but the image quality seems to go downhill.

3) I like the choice of Devil & Tower replacements, even though they may not be the best ones out there. Personally, I think the 3rd edition replacements by Scapini are the best of all of them, so it has that going for it in my opinion.


For example, here's a scan of the Queen of Wands from the US Games 3rd edition:

http://s18.postimg.org/atilhayrt/dnwands.jpg

The scan is from the Dal Negro but it uses the exact same images as the US Games 3rd edition (Not so. See here). Its stock is a little thinner, and the finish is different too from what I remember, a bit more textured. You can view all the Dal Negro cards here.

Here a picture of the Queen of Wands from my 2nd edition US Games:

http://s8.postimg.org/v3hsp208l/usgwands.jpg

Not all the cards in the US Games 3rd edition are as bad as the Queen of Wands, but there's really not a bad card at all in the 2nd edition.
 

The Happy Squirrel

Ooooh. Thank you thank you.

Abrac, those are very useful info. I am selecting my facsimile Visconti-Sforza deck right now, and your info will help me narrow my choices down. It doesn't look like I will be able to decide anytime soon!

The Mary Packard's Visconti-Sforza is amazing......the card stock is sturdy, matte, and the gold is muted. All and all balanced in size, texture, and colouring. And as you said, the modern creation blends in well with the rest of the deck.

When you said the Tower and Devil look like those in Tarot de Marseilles, and this is anachronistic, out of curiosity, how would you imagine they would be if more in line with the period of this deck...?
 

The Happy Squirrel

So I am looking through a variety of Visconti decks, and pardon me if this has been asked elsewhere. I saw the Cary-Yale Visconti deck, and the fool card is a different design compared to the Visconti-Sforza deck (I am not sure which other ones in the deck are too).

Because it is from a different collection I understand how it was different cards that need modern replacements. But, if the fool is different than the other deck, should I take that this is *another kind* of deck amongst many "Visconti" decks because presumable a rich man like him could very well afford to commission many decks throughout the years?
 

The Happy Squirrel

OK. The two decks have different designs :p

Found a good Cary-Yale Visconti deck.
Still looking for a good Visconti-Sforza facsimile deck I am originally asking about here :)

Thanks again everyone!
 

Teheuti

No one seems to have mentioned the Visconti-Sforza edition known as "I Tarocchi dei Visconti" produced in 1974 by Monumenta Longobardica, Bergamo and printed by Grafica Gutenberg in Italy. It comes in a fake leather book and slipcase. The missing cards have been replaced by an artist's conception - the Devil is rather overdone and cartoonish, but the Tower is quite nice.
 

The Happy Squirrel

Thanks Teheuti! I am still making my choices there are so many versions out there....!!! The more info I get the more I will be able to consider all the facts and make my decision soon hopefully. After that, I will have to hunt one down! :)
 

Teheuti

I believe you can a used copy of Il Tarocchi dei Visconti for $77 right now. But decide what's best for you.
 

Abrac

I think US Games must've made some kind of a deal with Longobardica so they could publish their version of the VS in the US (I'm talking about US Games' 2nd edition). The replacements are the same, and both versions use the same Italian printer. The Longobardica case sounds like it might be a little nicer but I believe the cards are virtually identical.
 

The Happy Squirrel

Thanks everyone! I found a Longobardica ed. :) but it doesn't have the fake leather book casing, only a normal big box that opens at the front. So you think this is the same deck just different packaging....? No info on publisher or year of.


Another one has "Mandel, Gabrielle" on it.....


Are those the right ones...?