noby said:
And if I ever was to locate and buy a copy of the Alchemical Tarot, as long as it was still OOP, one of the first things I would do would be to scan and share the images. So many people want some kind of access to these images, and it would be so easy to do these days with our access to the Internet! So I'm kind of surprised no one has done this yet.
Hey Noby,
Very torn about whether to post here. But I think it's important.
I actually had been thinking about your thread today because I was getting myself geared up to scan images for you to study and because I know I can't. I love love love the Alchemical Tarot with an enduring passion. But there's something that should be said here. The reason the posting hasn't been done might be because it's illegal. Scanning cards and distributing them (
even for no money) is a violation of copyright at the most basic level.
Thing is, I'm conflicted about this. In fact I recently emailed a PDF of a different deck to another Aeclectician, but only because (since the original deck is used in the RPG community) the scans themselves have been distributed online pretty openly for the past 6 years or so. I sent the PDF for exactly the purpose you describe: research and analysis of an OOP deck that just does NOT become available at a reasonable price often. Where's the harm?
This is going to sound more castigating than I mean it to, but there's something vitally important to consider.
Mr. Place actually makes his living off licensing his intellectual property, including the Alchemical. As much as the spirit of sharing knowledge moves me, I wanted to dig out my scanner and send cards winging your way. I do think it's ludicrous that people who want this deck can't pick it up at Barnes & Noble for $15... but I'm also a working writer and I've had my plays done illegally "under the wire" by well-intentioned people. That's called theft. It actually harms the artist more than anyone. This deck didn't fall out of the sky; it represents many many years of Mr. Place's work and mojo and sweat and blood.
People who work in the creative world struggle for scraps of recognition and recompense. Distributing work randomly and freely to all comers chisels away at their livelihood. Were you to email Mr. Place (who reads these boards occasionally) and ask his permission to "license" scans for study, perhaps he'd be willing. One can make the arguument that by distributing virtual Alchemical Decks we could initiate a grassroots movement to get them reprinted (cf Jeannette's oft-quoted post about the likelihood of that). I've also been thinking about all this becuause AS a writer I think that there's a radical shift coming in how we handle intellectual property (hence all creative work) in the decades to come. The internet cannnot be contained and I'm not suggesting it should. And we've ALL made mix tapes/CDs and given them to friends. So there is a shift in the paradigm coming. But there is a reason that every deck in the world isn't just posted for consumption: it's a crime, even if it's a crime for stupid reasons.
God this all sounds more negative than I mean it to! I am psyched that you're gonna have an opportunity to study the deck. And I guess in a way I'm apologizing for not scanning it myself. But I've been burned so many times by people who "didn't know" they were ripping someone off. I just thought it was a point worth mentioning.
Respectfully,
Scion