Mermaids and Dolphins by Gillian Kemp

room

Drat, I've killed yet another thread.

One of the fills for the shells on the back of these cards looks like an engraved Italian (?) bank note with a picture of a ship. Very nice touch. On looking more closely, I'm wondering is she's collaged part of old engravings into her paintings? The seashells, seahorses and some of the heads of personalities do look like real engravings that she's incorporated into the art.

Poseidon and his lovely wife have asked me to lunch on Thursday for some calamari. We're going to discuss tropical weather patterns, 19th century cigarette cards, flower petal fairies, jigsaw puzzles, and J.P. Morgan.
 

6 Haunted Days

LOL no you haven't killed the thread! (I know, I get that feeling sometimes too, like if I comment, no one will after me)

I love the scans, so I MUST get this deck. Different artist, but just as gorgeous art IMO. They look lovely and very different from most mermaid/dolphin decks. To be frank I don't have any, always way too cutesy and not enough depth. But these look well rounded and researched.

Another one for the birthday list! At least this one is fairly cheap. I already have Mystic Faerie Tarot and Bohemian Gothic on my Bday list = )
 

room

6 Haunted Days said:
I love the scans, so I MUST get this deck. Different artist, but just as gorgeous art IMO.

And my poor excuse for reproduction doesn't do them justice at all.

But these look well rounded and researched.

There seems to be some Slavic mythology in here too, as well as German, Celtic, and Greek. I find that angle irresistible, and if you get tired of that, you can look up the various mammals and get extra information on that. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of dolphins.

I already have Mystic Faerie Tarot

Did HearthCricket's scans of her reading table and this deck with her figurines, hourglass, and matching spreadcloth get you to put it on your birthday wish? I'm positive she's sold a lot of decks with that scan. I'm not buying that deck, but I've decided to run away from home and go live with HC.

Back on topic, the cost of this deck is low, so worth an explore.
 

Darla

Great, thanks a lot for the scans and your insights. I have to have this deck! Not only do I love everything to do with the sea but mythology is also one of my big passions. So I'm really glad that you mentioned that. I also like that there seems to be diversity in the pictures. Not just mermaids and dolphins but also other whales and water creatures. :)
 

Myrrha

Room thank you very much for your scans and review! I love that there is a frog card.

It sounds much more substantial than I expected. I don't know why, when they publish something like this, the publishers don't just set up a little page with 5-6 scans and an excerpt from the book. I'm positive that the Claire Nahmad Faerie Pack would have sold much better if the publishers had done this. It seems like such an obvious thing to do and it wouldn't take long to set up a small page. I guess they just don't understand about oracle decks.

This looks like such a perfect deck for summer. I've decided to pass on the Mystic Faerie Tarot, at least for now but might just buy myself the Mermaids and Dolphins for a summer treat. I have a little book with a seashell on the cover and it would be perfect to go with this deck.

--Myrrha
 

room

Hooping it up

One of the cards is for The Hooper, which is not something I'd ever heard of, but concerns a Cornish folk tale. I had to look this up online because the M & D book doesn't really explain the origin of it.

http://www.celticgrounds.com/chapters/encyclopedia/h.html

The Hooper is so-called because it made a hooping sound. This article also says the Hooper is much like the "Manx Dooinney-Oie" which I've never heard of either. The M&D card depicts a ship flailing on a large wave--probably a reference to the fisherman who didn't heed the warning.

I was so pleased to learn something new.

I notice in my Celtic mythology book that several fog-like entities like the Grey Man from Scotland/Ireland or John of the Dunes from Brittany, (also called Yann-An-Ord), appear either warning sailors or calling them to their deaths in fog.

I wondered if anyone into folk tales had seen other references to the Hooper?
 

blackairplane

This is weird, but I do genealogy and am a direct descendant of a Hooper family from Cornwall, England. I have heard that the surname has a connection to a spirit that protected fisherman at sea. I checked my records and that is all that was said. I don't know more. I sort of dismissed it because my Hooper ancestors were all tin miners. No fishermen that I know of, but they lived so close to the sea in a place called Gorran and St Austell.
 

room

blackairplane said:
I have heard that the surname has a connection to a spirit that protected fisherman at sea.

OOOh, that's really interesting. While desperately searching for info on The Hooper, the surname Hooper came up and is apparently related to Cooper for the obvious reason that Coopers put hoops around the barrels they make.

BUT, it might be that in a certain area of Cornwall, unlike anywhere else, the surname is related to the folk tale about the entity that protected people.

Gives me shivers. We lose this chain of meaning so easily, don't we, if it isn't passed down?
 

MeeWah

I rather blindly ordered this deck months ago, based on its theme & that I already had Gillian Kemp's Good Witch, Bad Witch (which I like); The Love Spell Cards. & after receiving an e-mail from Overstock.com to pre-order the deck, set for release towards the end of March, 2007. The release was delayed, so that I wondered if the deck would ever arrive since this only the second time I ordered from Overstock.com (& been receiving their e-mails since).

I received the deck a few weeks ago.

I like the artwork very much. Delicately drawn & detailed, appears to be as room states, pen & ink & watercolour. Artwork very different from the afore-mentioned decks & more my preference, too. Love the backs, which rarely grab my attention. That the cards not limited to only mermaids & dolphins contribute to their being more appealing & versatile.

The book a surprise because it is quite substantial for its size. Contains dolphin legends & mythological references that are unfamiliar. Filled with many illustrations of various sizes, including full-page illustrations that could be suitable for framing as wall pictures. Not that I would remove those pages from the book, but perhaps could be scanned or colour-copied for the purpose. Explanations of each card accompanied by small pictures of the card.

There are 10 spreads included, of varying size & complexity. The spreads alone worth acquiring the deck. Each spread sample accompanied by small pictures of the cards.

I am puzzled, however, because the book & deck depicted at the Amazon link in Darla's post different from the set I have. Am I missing something, or are there two different editions? Mine matches the set shown at the second link.
 

room

MeeWah said:
I am puzzled, however, because the book & deck depicted at the Amazon link in Darla's post different from the set I have. Am I missing something, or are there two different editions? Mine matches the set shown at the second link.

I think this might be the difference between the North American edition and the UK edition. Similar to book editions, that often have different covers or titles for these markets. They both seem to have been published in March 2007.


UK edition is ISBN 1904991750

Other edition is ISBN 1904991769