Greg Stanton
Well, as a professional graphic designer, typographer, letterer and type designer, I can tell you that the lettering on the Noblet is not a "font". Flornoy re-drew every letter individually, to reflect the look of the original woodblock prints. Compare the same letter on different cards. They are all unique.
As far as his Dodal, he appears to have used the same approach, except the new lettering has more contrast than that on the originals (i.e. greater contrast between the thick and thin strokes), making it look more contemporary — high contrast in letter forms became common in the early 19th century. The minimized terminals (I wouldn't call them "serifs") lend to the impression of "art deco", though it appears that the original woodblock lettering shares this characteristic. I agree that it looks a little out of place -- but certainly much, much better than if he had picked a typeface that was "close" and simply set everything by typing it in.
Computer fonts -- I hate this word; the proper designation is "type" -- always look out of place when they are meant to integrate with art. I much prefer everything to be hand lettered, especially the titles and numbers on Tarot cards. Unfortunately, designers currently seem to be under the impression that the funkier the type, the better it is for "artistic" purposes. The results are always cheap and amateurish. Take a look at the Old English Tarot, a lovely deck that is literally destroyed by the highly decorative, mannered and anemic "font".
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/old-english/index.shtml
As far as his Dodal, he appears to have used the same approach, except the new lettering has more contrast than that on the originals (i.e. greater contrast between the thick and thin strokes), making it look more contemporary — high contrast in letter forms became common in the early 19th century. The minimized terminals (I wouldn't call them "serifs") lend to the impression of "art deco", though it appears that the original woodblock lettering shares this characteristic. I agree that it looks a little out of place -- but certainly much, much better than if he had picked a typeface that was "close" and simply set everything by typing it in.
Computer fonts -- I hate this word; the proper designation is "type" -- always look out of place when they are meant to integrate with art. I much prefer everything to be hand lettered, especially the titles and numbers on Tarot cards. Unfortunately, designers currently seem to be under the impression that the funkier the type, the better it is for "artistic" purposes. The results are always cheap and amateurish. Take a look at the Old English Tarot, a lovely deck that is literally destroyed by the highly decorative, mannered and anemic "font".
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/old-english/index.shtml