Sloppy Meneghello

BSwett

I just received my last Il Meneghello deck. Such a shame that this people have the access and the resources to bring to us this ancient relics, yet at the last minute fail to do a good job just out of lack of care and sloppy "artisanship"!

When I got my first deck by them (The Svizzera TdM) i thought it was just a fluke, maybe a very challenging deck to recreate. Then I got number two (The Besançon) and again, the edges and printing butchered.... such a lovely deck too! And no warning about the crooked images or scribbled on cards! But I let it pass, thinking that OK, i'll just get used to it...

And then today, I got the precious Soprafino as an exchange with a kind fellow ATer, and to my surprise, again, messy and carelessly chopped! Like if an 8 year old was given the task to trim the 2000 decks in one sitting...

All the ingredients where there. The dough was allowed to ferment and properly rise, and then they burned the bread in the oven....

So, if you are thinking about purchasing a deck from the highly rated Il Meneghello "Artisans", be aware that you will probably get an unfinished and inferior product.

Bummer...
B.














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Abrac

Their quality control is hit and miss. I've acquired some IM decks that were spectacular and others that were pretty inferior in my opinion. When they're good they're great and you hear a lot about it, but not so much about the downside. I think it's good that people know not all IM decks are created equally. That's a big part of their charm for some people but it's also frustrating to not know what you're gonna end up with. :)
 

Madame Squee

I've attached photos of my "i Tarocchi della collezione 'il Meneghello' del 1845", published by De Vecchi Editore.

Nearly every card showed the edge of the photo image along the right side. So...

I brought out my trusty Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Vintage Photo, 1 oz. sponge bottle) and went to town! :D

These photos actually bring out the fault lines. I was actually afraid they wouldn't photograph at all. In reality, the distress stain looks darker, and the lines recede into nonexistence -- unless I really look for them.

This isn't a solution for everyone, but I'm happy with it. Now, when I bring the deck out, I'm glad to read with it. :)
 

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Sumada

I too have had mixed results over the years, and it's always the cutting that's the worst feature if there is a fault; such a shame. Although I have had sloppy boxes too.
Thankfully my Soprafino and Dotti decks score about 97%, and my Sola Busca a full 100% :)
...but then it beeping well should at the price those 22 cards fetch!
It would seem that the earlier the edition the better the quality.
 

DeToX

I think the cards in those images look okish to me. I think you are winding yourself up needlessly over it personally. I've seen far worse - e.g. the Vieville cards are much worse - but then how much of this skewing is simply carried over from the originals I don't know. I think with Facsimiles you have to expect a little 'ruggedness'. I was scanning The Tarot of Ceremonia Magick today and noticed that the corners of the cards aren't actually right angles - i.e. the cards aren't perfectly rectangular! ;-D

If there are scribbles on some of the cards, well those are the only images available of those cards to the card makers, so I don't think that's a big negative but they probably should mention it on their web site for the deck listing as a kind of warning.
 

BSwett

Of course it's a matter of taste. Enough praise is given to Il Meneghello that I'm aware I'm in the minority. Still, I just spent about 5 hours re-trimming the Soprafino with a $15 cutting tool. That's about $40 minimum wage plus $15 for a total of $55. In my book, Il Meneghello owes me a deck, free shipping....

I can think of various different ways they can solve the irregular original edge problem. To name a few; zoom out a bit and let the entire edge show. That would be the easiest one and it would very nicely display the true character of the old cards. Or, trim the images very tightly to the black border, then recreate the texture of the background and print images over this. OR, just do what I did, and cut with a little more care. Just a little more care!

So yes, it might not bug the tarot masses to have those irregular edges, but I consider it a lack of respect and 'artisanship' to have access to these originals and not invest some thought and time to finish the product properly. The images are printed SOOO beautifully: Finish the dream please! Either that, or charge accordingly... I'll give you $10 for that Svizzera deck!

Check this out:


snagit


Perfect deck! True love!
B.
 

mrpants

@BSwett: That's a really nice trim job! Unrelated: is that Mezzanine on the turntable?
 

BSwett

@BSwett: That's a really nice trim job! Unrelated: is that Mezzanine on the turntable?

Thanks Mr.Pants!

I wish I had Mezzanine on Vinyl, but no; It's Flying Lotus' Los Angeles, which I bought in Seattle ;)
 

BSwett

I've seen far worse - e.g. the Vieville cards are much worse - .
With all due respect Detox, I disagree with this. I believe the Vieville (SIVILIXI) is fantastic, and those messy lines are part of the original. It's not like you can see the background cardboard of the new edition! Same with the Pierre Madenie and the ghost images on some cards (which are noted on the website); those details don't bother me at all, just like the stains on the Soprafino or even the pencil writing on the Besançon; true, they add a certain antique charm to the facsimiles.
 

DeToX

With all due respect Detox, I disagree with this. I believe the Vieville (SIVILIXI) is fantastic, and those messy lines are part of the original. It's not like you can see the background cardboard of the new edition! Same with the Pierre Madenie and the ghost images on some cards (which are noted on the website); those details don't bother me at all, just like the stains on the Soprafino or even the pencil writing on the Besançon; true, they add a certain antique charm to the facsimiles.

Ah ok I see what you mean now about the white edges. I wasn't clear from your initial post exactly what you were referring to - I thought you maybe had some backing behind the card to illustrate that the card was printed or cut at an angle or something. Yes I can see how that might be a bit annoying. If the white edge was consistent on all four sides, I don't think it would have been an issue - as most card decks have white borders. You did a good job of trimming them - I guess the rounded edges are a matter of personal taste but I don't think it's fair to want to invoice Meneghello for that ;-)

I didn't mention which Vieville edition I was talking about, but both the Heron and SIVILIXI feature cards that are more skewed than other decks - like the various decks reproduced in the pictures above from yourself and Madame Squee. Like I said, I didn't know what was error in the original cards and what if anything was introduced error during production. Either way - if the images are not centred properly, or are at angles, whether it is 'original' or not, they are still not centred/positioned properly. Does this make the man who called himself Jacques Vievil(le) any more or less of an Artisan than Menegazzi? That's why I tend to be more tolerant of errors in facsimiles.