Fantastic Menagerie Tarot - a few cards online

[Sophie]

Glad you enjoyed the cow - I feel she is the one who sees the spilt milk, while the kitten only sees the milk that hasn't been spilt. Your interpretation works just as well - and I hadn't thought of it like that.
I like her a lot - good to see an angry and action-taking cow!

I love that card...but in the book, I've taken a back-to-front approach to it. I am imagining the cat after he's been chased by the cow, mourning his lost milk, but still enjoying the joy of stolen milk...Or rather, I describe Grandville in the same situation

 

[baba-prague]

Well, cats DO prefer the thrill of stolen food, anyone who has lived with a cat knows that!

It's a beautifully dramatic little scene - and very similar to the way it is in the original of course.

 

[jackdaw*]

Just saw all the Cups on your site, Baba - the more I see, the more excited I get for this deck! Beautiful, and I love the Seven and the Nine (reminds me of Winston Churchill).

 

[Chubby Mummy]

wow this deck is gorgeous! You really do have the midas touch baba-prague!!

Is it available to buy now?

xxx
cm

 

[baba-prague]

No, unfortunately we are still working on it - it took longer than we expected (which is the story of our lives!) But it won't be long - we think it will be out in March.

I've just put Cups up on the site (QueenofP found it already). Here is the Nine of Cups - just so you can see why she says it reminds her of Churchill. Good association actually - and I believe he liked more than the occasional bottle of port himself!

Oh drat - I am having SUCH trouble getting attachments to work - I'll try again in a bit. Meantime here is the Cups page:

http://www.fantasticmenagerie.com/Cups.htm

 

[Sophie]

I've just put Cups up on the site (QueenofP found it already). Here is the Nine of Cups - just so you can see why she says it reminds her of Churchill. Good association actually - and I believe he liked more than the occasional bottle of port himself!

I love that elephant too! Actually, I don't think Grandville had much time for the character, who was supposed to represent the type of rich, lazy and over-indulgent bourgeois of his day. In the card vignette I kept the over-indulgent angle (hard to get away from, with that belly and all those bottles!), but I made the character sympathetic, in keeping with the card. Times have moved on - our greedy capitalists tend to be represented differently nowadays, and elephants are sympathetic animals to most.

Chubby Mummy - pressure's strong enough already! It will be there soon

 

[baba-prague]

IIn the card vignette I kept the over-indulgent angle (hard to get away from, with that belly and all those bottles!), but I made the character sympathetic, in keeping with the card. Times have moved on - our greedy capitalists tend to be represented differently nowadays, and elephants are sympathetic animals to most.

You know, he also reminds me of the recent story about elephants in Moscow being given a large amount of vodka daily to keep them warm. By the way, there is a rather stern article here about why this is in fact NOT a good idea (even if the elephant likes it!)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1691774,00.html

 

[Sophie]

Oh, that's funny (and alarming).

In Southern Africa, elephants are very keen on the fruit of the marula tree. They eat it when it is rotting and fermented - i.e. when it has become a powerful liquor by natural process.

And no, you don't want to see a drunken lurching 8-tonne elephant. It's scary. I had to drive off the road for one in Botswana once. But maybe they do it to get cool in the harsh desert heat of the Kalahari?


Mmmh - puts a rather more dubious interpretation on this card altogether. Drunk truck drivers, maybe?

 

[Lee]

The cards look absolutely wonderful, I think this will be my favorite animal deck (and this is high praise because I'm very fond of the Animal Lords deck).

I'm also looking forward to reading Helvetica's book.

Congratulations, all!

-- Lee

 

[baba-prague]

The cards look absolutely wonderful, I think this will be my favorite animal deck (and this is high praise because I'm very fond of the Animal Lords deck).

I'm also looking forward to reading Helvetica's book.

Congratulations, all!

-- Lee

Thanks Lee, and yes, I'm very fond of Animal Lords too. I think the two decks are very different in feel (though I bet they will be endlessly compared!) Grandville's illustrations have a very definite 19th century feel - and at the same time they are quite wickedly humourous and sceptical. We hope we've got some of that very dry humour into the deck. It is wonderful working with such rich, accomplished material - we learn a lot from it.

Helvetica's book is also rather wickedly humourous - not a quick, easy read, but rather something to savour and return to - absolutely full of delights. It fits with the cards marvelously.