Mary Packard - Tarot de Marseille

[FLizarraga]

Too bad that the cards are so large. And why?

I have a feeling Race Point decided to try out the Tarot market and create a niche for themselves. Decent large-size reproductions of historic decks and pretty hardcover books with color reproductions, which are well-written and well-researched but do not try to cover new ground. Probably the reason they chose a writer without a Tarot background, but got Robert Place to do introductions for them. Sort of a budget luxury thing, since each kit costs the same or less than any Lo Scarabeo deck.

Let's see what the third kit will be, if they do well.

 

[Le Fanu]

Too bad that the cards are so large. And why?

These are MASSIVE! I received mine today - as one who has huge hands that can span an octave + one more key on the piano - I cannot shuffle these normally. Like the Rohrig, I would have to shuffle lengthways. It really is extraordinarily large!

First thing I notice - the cards have been redrawn and it has lost the woodcut quality. It looks like it has been redrawn with a fine paintbrush. Lovely though, and I suspect that most people (I speak as one who studied antique engravings and woodcuts) won't notice that distinction and will just see a generic *old*. Rather glossy but it is overall an excellent set - thank goodness high quality accessibly priced historic decks are becoming easily available. I applaud her and the publishers for getting this out. Robert Place's intro is pretty minimal for anyone expecting something substantial. Four paragraphs; (1) Invention of Tarot /gaming, then (2) the appearance of the Marseilles, (3) then Gébelin & Etteilla and then (last paragraph) why the Madenié is so special.

It is funny - this deck was hidden in a Swiss vault for 300+ years and suddenly it is the most representative Marseilles ever and overtaking the Conver. The book includes a comparison of the Lovers from this deck and from the Conver and weirdly, the Conver is placed next to this - i.e the redrawn - version of the card. Why not next to a reproduction of the actual historic deck card so we can see like with like?

Even more weird are the divinatory readings - all positive when upright - 3 of Swords; "happy outcome", 9 of Swords "winning against all odds", 5 of Swords, "ability to ignore negativity". Sort of like 18th Century Doreen Virtue (joke!) Very noticeable though.

But I think it is a gorgeous product and I do want them to keep on producting these sets so I don't want to be negative because, overall, it is a great addition. I shalln't be swayed from using my 3 Madenié deck by Yves because the original really is the best (for me), but for those who want something a bit more "smoothed out" in a nice box and with a book to help out, this is a great set.

 

[agviz]

Thanks for the details, Le Fanu. It gives me a better image of the deck. I'm on the fence with this; my Yves deck seems best suited for me.

 

[FLizarraga]

Even more weird are the divinatory readings - all positive when upright - 3 of Swords; "happy outcome", 9 of Swords "winning against all odds", 5 of Swords, "ability to ignore negativity". Sort of like 18th Century Doreen Virtue (joke!) Very noticeable though.

So much for well researched....

To be frank, I haven't bothered with either book beyond a quick first skimming. I did read reviews of the first one claiming that it was well researched. They all agreed that Packard was a newcomer in the world of Tarot, though (I'd rather not use the iffy expression "Tarot community").

As a "poor man's Madenié" is a good choice, though, despite its mammoth size. And I love the box. It's already holding a bunch of Lenormand decks...

 

[gregory]

I think she has been quite upfront about the fact that she repaints old decks, to be fair. She's never for a moment suggested she's doing facsimile work - we have Il Meneghello and Yves for that. (Not that mine is here yet...)

 

[coredil]

These are MASSIVE! I received mine today - as one who has huge hands that can span an octave + one more key on the piano - I cannot shuffle these normally. Like the Rohrig, I would have to shuffle lengthways. It really is extraordinarily large!

Would you mind to precise the length and the width of the cards (in cm)?

 

[FLizarraga]

I think she has been quite upfront about the fact that she repaints old decks, to be fair. She's never for a moment suggested she's doing facsimile work - we have Il Meneghello and Yves for that. (Not that mine is here yet...)

Of course. The box says "78 authentically re-created Tarot cards."

I don't think, however, that Packard is the mind behind this at all. She's just a person who churns out educational books for a living and was commissioned the book for both this deck and the "Golden" Visconti; that's why her name is on it. The art for both decks is by illustrator Rachel Clowes.

 

[Samweiss]

If these cards are the same size as The Golden Tarot, I'm skipping this deck. While The Golden Tarot set was good value for money, the cards are just so huge and unwieldy and they haven't seen any use because of that. I don't want to buy another deck I'm not going to use.

 

[Emily]

I think the deck is nice, huge cards. I like the faded appearance of the artwork, love the backs and the cardstock is good. I'm not sure if I like the beige mottled backgrounds yet, I think its supposed to make them look aged and its different on each card.

My deck box is too tight for the cards, there is no wiggle room at all and because it has no extra cards, I have to be careful when pushing the flap of the deck box in or I could damage cards.

I thought the book would go into numerology but it doesn't, unless I've missed it. Not read it all the way through yet but it seems interesting. I like the interpretations she has done for the cards.

 

[Cesar]

I received mine yesterday and it made me know that I am a purist.