Assistance needed with Burdel decks

I highly recommend the original 1751 edition.
One of my all time favorite decks.
It's very well drawn, and the engraving quality is particularly fine.

The re-drawn versions do very little for me.

I'm thinking - judging by the Pierre Madenie - that Yves' reproduction will be the closest to that. The Madenie even FEELS old !

Thanks for your help everyone!

Debra said:

Where did you get these pictures? That might help us figure it out for you

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I got these images from a Google search, but I see these three deck images pop up on Amazon and eBay, but I have not been able to find scans of the actual cards in them to be able to make any comparisons.

shaveling said:

The top picture is my favorite Tarot deck. It's full sized, and I think it's out of print, replaced by Lo Scarabeo's Universal Marseille.
The mini deck corrects a couple of tiny mistakes in the artwork. I can't recall which cards right now. But it was just a matter of coloring things so the right piece was on top of the other.

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Do you happen to know the dimensions of the two sizes?
The other LS mini-decks I have are 3.25" x 1.25". Is this mini-deck that size?
I often see people call playing-card sized decks "mini-decks" which confuses me.

Yves Le Marseillais said:

First, look at sources and after make up your mind.
Secondly either buy your choice or.....
Thirdly: Be a little patient. See above.
Yves LM

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Thanks Yves, if only I could find scans of the cards from the different versions to make such a comparison.

Yves, where is Burdel in your queue? Chosson is next right? When do you predict you'll publish your Burdel deck? I'll of course by buying all the decks you publish! Your Madenie deck is a treasure.

Debra said:

I don't like that they cut down the pictures to make room for the ugly titles.

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Yuck. I didn't notice that before, but the tops definitely look cropped. How disappointing. I wish LS would abandon their ridiculous borders. They ruin cards.

gregory said:

In garmonbozia's place, I might actually hold out for Yves' reproduction, myself, if the time frame was acceptable.

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I'll be getting that for sure, regardless, but I still hope to find a more casual, bumming around with deck for heavy use. (You know, one that if I lost or damaged, it would not make me weep?)

It sounds like though that none of these are all that great? Please correct me if I misunderstood. I was hoping for a deck that was more of a reproduction, but should I just get the Universal instead?

garmonbozia said:

Do you happen to know the dimensions of the two sizes?
The other LS mini-decks I have are 3.25" x 1.25". Is this mini-deck that size?
I often see people call playing-card sized decks "mini-decks" which confuses me.

Click to expand...

As far as I recall; that is the size of my mini - it seems, in the memory stick of my fevered brain, to be the same as all the others in the drawer next to it - but I cant' LOOK right now

There are a few image links in general (but sadly not to any other repro except the Classic (from US Games./Muller, which has very different colours...) here.,

It is very like the Madenie, says tarotpedia... I wouldn't dare to say whether or not...
On this site (we are allowed to link this site, as he has permission from publishers !) you can see both LoS versions and the Classic - but without borders, as he chooses "not to waste bandwidth on them...".

There are LOADS of TdMs with full deck links on his site - here

Who's next ?

Hello garmonbozia,

You said:

"Thanks Yves, if only I could find scans of the cards from the different versions to make such a comparison.

Yves, where is Burdel in your queue? Chosson is next right? When do you predict you'll publish your Burdel deck? I'll of course by buying all the decks you publish! Your Madenie deck is a treasure."

Well Burdel is next after Chosson as you wrote.
My timetable is "one deck per year".
Pierre Madenié was issued in 2012 Dragon Year
François Chosson is booked for 2013 Snake Year
Claude Burdel for 2014 Horse Year

Some enthusiasts suggested me other decks to be edited prior this announced ones.
But this three are my top priority for various reasons, first one being their quality and importance regarding tarots of Marseilles history.
Later I will consider other decks until.... next body ?

In fact I seriously think about publishing Chosson asap: Possibly December 2012 if all things goes well. More probably January 2013.

For Burdel I wish I would issued it for beginning September 2013.
But I would face to a financial problem in this case because each deck means investments and as says British "No money , no honey".

Claude Burdel deck measures are 62 mm wide X 116 mm high. I means original deck, not copy.

About scans of Burdel versions, on my website you have only the real one scans sorry. And I don't have copy of others you mentioned even if I knows them.

Thanks for your compliments that encourage me to continue.

Best from France

Yves

garmonbozia said:

Do you happen to know the dimensions of the two sizes?
The other LS mini-decks I have are 3.25" x 1.25". Is this mini-deck that size?
I often see people call playing-card sized decks "mini-decks" which confuses me.

Click to expand...

As I measured it the mini was 3 1/8" x 1 3/4". I might be getting something wrong: but yes, it's a real mini deck, not playing card size. The other one is the size of my other Lo Scarabeos: 4 1/2" x 2 3/8"

I'll be getting that for sure, regardless, but I still hope to find a more casual, bumming around with deck for heavy use. (You know, one that if I lost or damaged, it would not make me weep?)

It sounds like though that none of these are all that great? Please correct me if I misunderstood. I was hoping for a deck that was more of a reproduction, but should I just get the Universal instead?

Click to expand...

I meant it when I said the full size version was my favorite deck. I don't bother defending it when people are dismissive of it, but my enthusiasm for it is quite strong. And my advice stands, that if you're interested, and you find one at a reasonable price, then you should get it while you have the chance.

Both the standard and mini sized have the stenciled flat color over woodcut line effect that is traditional in TdM's. The colors in the Universal are shaded, which gives it a vey different look.

Oh, flipping through the decks I have out: In the large deck the seven and the ten of swords each had a spot where the red of the swords was printed over what should have been an open space in the interlacing of the blades. The mini deck corrects that. And the blue is lighter in the mini, making it easier to see the line work.

shaveling said:

I meant it when I said the full size version was my favorite deck. I don't bother defending it when people are dismissive of it, but my enthusiasm for it is quite strong. And my advice stands, that if you're interested, and you find one at a reasonable price, then you should get it while you have the chance.

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It is shown on the LoScarabeo site as available (but their postage is kind of scary !) - though not on alida for some reason. Also on Amazon.

It is sad that the lovers lost their feet, though...

Here are a few side-by-side comparisons between an original 1751 edition Claude Burdel, and the re-drawn version by Lo Scarabeo.

Apart from the titling and serious coloration issues, I think the re-drawn version suffers from quite overly heavy linework, and fails to capture the crisp lightness of the original woodcut. Unfortunately, this problem is most obvious in many of the faces.

Though perhaps appealing in itself, I also find the LoS back design to be an odd choice for a TdM.



I'm looking forward to seeing what Yves does with Burdel's art.

Yes - the back is - awful. Someone had an odd day there

The fronts are awful too
Of those readily available, the cheap Thunder Bay deck seems to me the best.