Nicolas Conver images in High Resolution

kenji

SWORDS images uploaded

Debra & le pendu,
Thanks. Have fun, my friends:)

Abrac & jmd,
My impression on yellow in Conver cards is, "The newer, the more acid".
And I have come to think that the woodblocks used for Camoin-Conver decks
(including mine) are not the original ones carved by Nicolas Conver(?).

kwaw,
Haha! I have never thought about that. You are just terrific!
Perhaps the three judges in the trump VI are discussing which should be
the winner...;)
 

OnePotato

kenji said:
...My impression on yellow in Conver cards is, "The newer, the more acid".
And I have come to think that the woodblocks used for Camoin-Conver decks
(including mine) are not the original ones carved by Nicolas Conver(?)...

Hello kenji.

Thanks for posting these. They're very interesting.

Why do you think these are not the original blocks?

It seems to me that they have continued to be used way beyond their normal useful lifespan. They are simply so worn, that as these later printings are made, the images have developed an entirely new character. As the wood fibers collapse, or are worn away, the lines get heavier and lose their original definition. As worm holes appear, or whole chunks split off, white spaces appear accordingly in the art.

Whether they are cut by Conver or not, these woodblocks appear to have a tremendous amount of mileage on them.

Normally, it would be most interesting to follow a progression of subtle changes in the image quality throughout the whole life of the blocks, reprint after reprint, through time. But in this case, there seems to be a large gap between the fine condition of the BN copy, and the mushed quality of all of the more recent versions.

Of course, still and all, it is very nice to have prints directly from the block, even if they have worn down some...
 

Abrac

The lines in kenji's deck match my Bicentennial pretty closely. It looks like they were both printed with the same blocks, but kenji's looks a little better, having been printed while the blocks were in a better state of repair. There could have been another set made earlier, however this is a subject about which I know absolutely nothing.
 

Le Marseillais

Nicolas Conver Images

Hello Kenji and all Tarot fanatics,

Seeing this very nice cards, and looking my own Conver deck dating from same period according Mr Depaulis I consulted too, I dreams to make a restoration of a mix of our two decks.
Adding my own details that miss to Kenji deck and reverse depending of various cards.
I can't do it of course coz it is not my job.
But Kenji knows what I means no ? :)
Times they are a changing and Historical decks merit to see again the lights of celebrity in place of soft lights of Museums (I do respect Museums they are necessary of course because individuals all dies...).

It is first time I see on web such a high quality reproduction of a Marseille' Cards maker and Kenji, I have to thanks you on behalf of all Marseille citizens that are proud of their glorious past.

Un chaleureux bonjour de Marseille et de France / A warm hello from Marseille and France !!

Yves Le Marseillais
 

venicebard

Thanx for the images, Kenji!

I was led to understand that the Conver formed the basis for the standard Grimaud Tarot de Marseille, hence two things surprise me here:

1) the prevalence of green, which is missing from the Grimaud, and

2) use of red rather than yellow for both the headdress of LaJustice and the stick of L'Hermite.

At this point, it seems to me even more to the credit of the Grimaud's design that these two 'errors' were corrected therein. For the prevalence of blue-and-red figures in trumps VIII, 0, IIII, II, III, and XIIII conveys a very important point -- one obscured by the Conver coloration, I fear -- as does the yellow of both headdress and stick.

Can anyone help me on the exact relation of the Conver to the Grimaud?
 

kenji

Uploading completed

OnePotato,
I should have written, "I have come to FEEL that the woodblocks used for Camoin-Conver decks (including mine) MAY NOT HAVE BEEN the original ones carved by Nicolas Conver(?)". Some cards had me feel so (eg. LA JUSTICE).
So, I am not at all sure about it. Just a feeling.


Le Marseillais,
Let's hope the dream will come true...;)


Venicebard,
Grimaud bought up Camoin's firm in the 1880s.
And in 1930 Paul Marteau, head of Grimaud, published his deck after Camoin's less-coloured version which first appeared around 1890(?).
 

venicebard

kenji said:
Venicebard,
Grimaud bought up Camoin's firm in the 1880s.
And in 1930 Paul Marteau, head of Grimaud, published his deck after Camoin's less-coloured version which first appeared around 1890(?).
Thank you. I was inclined (I've said this before) to semi-deify Paul Marteau for his correct (in my studied opinion) coloration, but I see I may have to change this to worship of Camoin. I have limited time on the net these days and would like to know more about this fellow, so if anyone can direct me to concentrated information on Camoin or the designer of his deck, I would be eternally grateful (and since I believe in the 'imortality of the soul', I mean that).
 

hoo

Thanx for this Kenji. I've tried photographing a few cards with my Nikon CoolPix. They don't come out so good. Big white spot of glare in the middle, etc. Got any tips for doing such high quality photos ? It would be great if lots of people started doing this with their historic decks. It would really help Tarot research. - Bravo!
 

Teheuti

hoo said:
Thanx for this Kenji. I've tried photographing a few cards with my Nikon CoolPix. They don't come out so good.
Hoo - Scan the photos. Ideally at minimum 300 dpi - for your own records.

Kenji - Thank you so much for these.