Tarot de Louttre B

Creator(s): Marc-Antoine Bissiere
Date: 1981
Country: France
Publisher: Grimaud 
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:    
Type: Marseilles
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp.320, 323

Notes:
Louttre B is the pseudonym of the French painter Marc-Antoine Bissiere (1926-2012). The deck was published in 1981 by Musee des Arts Decoratifs in cooperation with Grimaud on the opening of an exhibition called "Antique Playing Cards - A Collectors Dream". The cards originally were part of a book called "Le Tarot des familles", which was printed in a limited edition of only 75 copies. The book contains hand painted engravings of the cards with explanations.

The deck shows no human figures, but only the objects taken from Tarot de Marseilles. The images of this deck play with symmetry in various aspects. The three cards, where the symmetry of Roman numbers allows it, have mirror-inverted images. That leads to the first impression, that both The Emperor and The Lovers have number VI and Sun and Fool both have number XXI.

La Force (Strength) has no explicit number, but the number XI is part of the image.

Card titles are in French. The suits are d'Epee, Baton, Coupe, and Deniers. The courts are Valet, Cavalier, Reine, and Roi.  The backs are reversible. The 78 cards plus titlecard and a French only lwb came in a lidded cardboard box.

Primavera Tarot (Tarot Art Nouveau)

Creator(s): Antonella Castelli
Date: 1998
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:   
Type: RWS
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 222, 223  

Notes:
The Primavera Tarot was also called  Tarot Art Nouveau, but there is another deck by Matt Myers called the Art Nouveau Tarot. The Myers deck is less representative of art nouveau and shows mainly influence of stained glass design, while Castelli's tarot looks like the works by Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley.

The cards are are elegant, flowery and ornate, the minor arcana do show a distant influence from the Waite-Smith designs. People, which are the focus of the deck, are uniformly young and attractive. The colours are soft greens, blues,  pinks, and yellows, inset into a white border. The main title, in Italian, is purple; other language titles are pink.

There are Knights and Knaves, rather than Prince and Princess or Knight and female Page; but the Kings all have women beside them who appear to be consorts, whereas the Queens are alone. Most of the minor arcana cards have only women in them.

Death is female and Strength is male, the rest of the majors adhere to the genders usually assigned to them. There were no deeper esoteric meanings, no associiations with Kabbala, Numerology or Astrology.

The deck comes with a lwb that gives very brief card meanings.

Tarot Essentiel

Creator(s): Andrea Wedell, Francoise Bitton
Date: 2010
Country: France
Publisher: Arcadia Editions
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 978-2913-0197-13   
Type: Marseilles
Reference: artist's page





Notes:
The Tarot Essentiel uses abstract paintings of Andrea Wedell and came with a book in French titled La Legende du Tarot, which is written by Francoise Bitton.

Most of the arcana are renamed, the number of the card is part of the image. The cards are based on the Marseille Tarot but abstractly...so they are open to interpretation.

The art is oil on canvas, 39 x 28 inches. Wedells paintings were exhibited in Paris in March 2010.

Tarots Universels

Creator(s): Segio Toppi
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 570, 571








Notes:
Sergio Toppi (1932-2012) was an Italian illustrator and comic-strip artist

The original edition of the Tarocchi Universali from 1988 was limited and numbered; this is a later, smaller-format edition that is not officially released as a limited edition.

The deck has Italian titles. It included a title card, a card with a poem and came with two little leaflets in Italian only. The double-ended back design shows the bird from the Magician card.

Graphik Tarocchi

Creator(s): Zoltán Tamássi
Date: 1992
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:   
Type: other
Reference:  Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 367, 370

Notes:
Zoltán Tamássi (1912-1997) was an important poster artist and graphic designer. In 1945 Tamássi was one of the leading graphic artists who renewed the visual language of the political poster in Hungary. He designed election campaign posters for opposite parties, like the Peasants’ Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Hungarian Communist Party. Tamássi was initially the propagandist of the Peasants’ Party, but he was commissioned by other political parties as well.

The art for this deck was rendered in tempura. Each card is titled in Italian and includes a poem by Gianni Brunoro. The reversable red and white back design shows a hand surrounded by the alphabet.

I Tarocchi dei Colori

Creator(s): Elena Assante
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Italcards
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 279, 284

 

Notes:
Limited edition of 3,000 copies. All cards are titled in Italian as well as in English, Spanish, French and German. The deck includes a title card and a card describing in Italian the artistic conception. Mine came with  an additional explanation sheet in German.

Bold areas of color form minimalistic figures and objects. The back design is wavy stripes in various colors.

Italcards stopped producing playing cards around 1993. The most recent date on any of their packs is 1992 (I tarocchi nei colori della Toscana).

Hive Tarot IV

Creator(s): Collaboration
Date: 2013
Country: USA
Publisher: The Hive Gallery
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 
Type: Other
Reference: The Hive Gallery

HIVE TAROT MAJOR ARCANA ARTISTS:

1. The Magician: Stephen Holman
2. The High Priestess: Branden Lukes
3. The Empress: Dustin Myers
4. The Emperor: Roxy Morataya
5. The Hierophant: Alex Schaefer
6. The Lovers: Charlie Chiodo
7. The Chariot: Josie Portillo
8. Strength: Allison Torneros
9. The Hermit: Daisuke Okamoto
10. Wheel of Fortune: Clark Walter
11. Justice: Brian Kesinger
12. The Hanged Man: Matt Dickson
13. Death: Taslimur
14. Temperence: McEvoy & Rodriguez
15. The Devil: Yoko D' Holbachie
16. The Tower: Alan Kocharian
17. The Star: J. Salvador
18. The Moon: Simon Lee
19. The Sun: Peter Adamyan
20. Judgement: Erik Siador
21. The World: Erick Rodriguez
22. The Fool: Lizz Lopez


Limited edition, which came in a transparent plastic bag.

Dante Tarot

Creator(s): Giordano Berti, Andrea Serio
Date: 2001
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3933-939951  
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.IV, pp. 305, 305






Notes:
This Deck is named after the Italian philosopher and poet  Dante Aligheri (1265-1321). The Dante Tarot is a themed art deck, not a standard tarot deck. The 22 major arcana cards combine ethical, philosophical, and spiritual concepts, as expressed by Dante in his Convivio, with the traditional tarot images.

The Major Arcana is almost entirely renamed, reflecting the Renaissance list of virtues and ranks of celestial authority:

0 - Need  (Fool)                          I - Intellect  (Magician)
II - Philosophy (Priestess)           III - Wisdom (Empress)
IV - Government (Emperor )         V - Hope (Hierophant)
VI - Love (Lovers)                        VII - Direction (Chariot)
VIII - Justice (Justice)                  IX - Prudence (Hermit)
X - Luck (Fortune)                       XI - Strength (Strength)
XII - Charity (Hanged Man)           XIII - Death (Death)
XIV - Moderation (Temperance)     XV - Authority (Devil)
XVI - Virtue (Tower)                      XVII - Thrones (Star)
XVIII - Angels (Moon)                   XIX - Domination (Sun)
XX - Archangels (Last Judgement) XXI - Principalities (World)

The suit of Bricks (Pentacles) traces Dante's life, depicting influential characters, his work, and his marriage. The other three suits correspond to the sections of the Divine Comedy.

 Flames (Swords) depict the main events shown in Dante's Inferno. The cards feature Charon, Cerberus, the suicides, and the King of Flames -Dante’s meeting with the Devil, which is the culminating event in the Inferno.


The suit of Clouds (Pentacles) shows slices of Purgatorio, the place where souls come to reflect their earthly sins. Lights (Cups) representing Paradiso-the ascension into heaven.

The backs are not reversible, and depict Dante seated at his desk, writing the Divine Comedy with a feathered pen. The LWB gives background information on Dante and explains how the works of Dante were integrated into the framework of the tarot. The artwork is surrealistic and created in pastels.

Peace Tarot (Japanese Tarot Deck)

Creator(s): Misuzu Itateyama
Date: 2007, 2012
Country: Japan
Publisher: self-published
Number of Cards: 22+2
ISBN: 978-4-87035-473-9
Type: other
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
Misuzu Itateyama is an illustrator based in Fukuoka City. She was inspired by ancient Japanese culture, Buddhist art and Ukiyo-e. The deck on her website has a copyright 2007, my printed edition is from 2012.

The art is watercolor with elegant black lines of Chinese ink.

The deck came in a cardboard box with a Japanese only LWB and two extra cards. The English title on the box says "Japanese Tarot Deck", but it was sold on ebay as "Peace Tarot".

Tarocchi di Dario Fo

Creator(s): Dario Fo, Dominique Gobbo
Date: 1999
Country: Italy
Publisher: Dal Negro
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: other
Reference: aeclectic







Notes:
This tarot deck is conceived by Dario Fo, the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Literature. The pictures were jointly created by Dario Fo and Dominique Gobbo, an Italian graphic designer.

The inspiration behind this deck was to create a series of cards with the Holy Year as its theme. The Tarot scenes are inspired by Renaissance art, and are framed inside the card.

The cards are large (3 3/8" x 6") and came in a slip-case box which includes a 96-page paperback in Italian and English.

Dali Tarot

Creator(s): Salvador Dali
Date: 1984, 2004
Country: Germany
Publisher: Königsfurt Urania
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 978-3-898756433    

Type: Mixed
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.III, pp 578, 580-581

Notes:
This deck was first published by Distribucions d’Art Surrealista and Comos Naipes of Spain in 1984. It consists of collage compositions which incorporate the works of other artists. Amanda Lear claimed to have assisted Dali in the completition of the collages.

Dali adds his own touch to each design by using washes of color and semi-abstract shapes and adding his abstract signature onto the cards, incorporating them into each design.

The Major Arcana bear German titles on top and Spanish titles below and are numbered I through XXI from the Magician to the World. Justice is numbered VIII and Strength is XI.

Hebrew letters are assigned to the cards starting with Aleph at the Magician through Resh at Judgment, and Tau is assigned to The World. The Fool is unnumbered and has the Hebrew letter Shin.  Planetary and Zodiacal associations are somewhat different from those usually found.

The four suit emblems are painted into the designs. Wands are painted as green staves with small leafs,  Swords are depicted as blue double-edged broadswords, Cups are painted as yellow lotus-patterned chalices and Coins are illustrated as flat disks of yellow with  pentagrams.

The Court Cards are titled in Spanish. The Suits Bastos, Copas, Espadas and Oros refer to Staffs, Cups, Swords and Discs, respectively. And the Court Cards Sota, Caballero, Reina and Rey are Page, Knight, Queen and King.  

Tarot of the Tattoo Age

Creator(s): Collaboration
Date: 2012
Country: USA
Publisher: Flaco Productions
Number of Cards: 78+1
ISBN: 
Type: RWS
Reference: artist's page






Notes:
78 different tattoo artists were randomly assigned one of the cards from the Waite Smith deck and each produced their own unique take on it.

The Major Arcana have a Roman numeral at the top and their title at the bottom.  They are all traditionally named,  Strength is VIII and Justice is  XI.  The titles of the Minors appear at the bottom of the image. There were two Fools both by artist Tim Lehi .


The cards are large (3 1/2 by 5 inches). The backs are non-reversible with a green Pentacle surrounded by esoteric symbols. The deck came with  a LWB that features the name of the artist that created that particular card along with Rider-Waite keywords. The list of artists can be found here

Baphomet - Tarot of the Underworld

Creator(s): H.R. Giger, Akron
Date: 1993 / 2010
Country: Switzerland
Publisher: AGM / Akron Edition
Number of Cards: 22  + 1
ISBN: 978-3-905372-29-8
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 235, 237

Notes:
The Baphomet Tarot is a collaboration between the Swiss artist H.R. Giger  and the occultist Akron (C.F. Frey). Giger painted the images between 1973 and 1992 (not as tarot cards) and Akron chooses from Giger's paintings those, which fits for the tarot cards. Akron also wrote the book  that came with the cards.

The first edition was 1993 by AGM, since 1999 the deck was published by Akron Edition and there was an edition published by Taschen America in 2000. Mine was from Akron Edition in 2010.

The first edition had 22 cards the later editions have an extra card "The Virus". Backs are not reversible.

Bosch Tarot

Creator(s): Alexandrov Atanassov
Date: 2000
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 9783933939142
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 250-251






Notes:
The Bosch Tarot by A. Atanassov is based on the work of Hieronymus Bosch, a Dutch painter who lived from 1450-1516.

Atanassov has taken key figures and scenes from Bosch's works and modified them to fit the tarot, he has also added suit symbols to the scenes in the minor arcana . Many of the scenes of the cards are pieces from Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights".

The backs are six art pieces in two rows and three columns and the same six inverted on the other side and therefore they are reversible. 

Il Tarocco delle Vetrate

Creator(s): Luigi Scapini
Date: 1997
Country: Italy
Publisher: Dal Negro
Numer of Cards: 78
ISBN: 
Type: Marseilles
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 578-579







 Notes:
 Luigi Scapini worked with his daughter Giulia to create the Tarocco delle Vetrate (Stained Glass Tarot). As a professor of art history Scapini is well aquainted with Gothic stained-glas windows and with the Aristotelian and Tomistic thought their symbology is imbued with. The early tarot decks appeared near the end of the Gothic era, which saw the developing sciences of stained glass windows and manuscript painting in Europe.

Scapini believes that the esoteric nature of the tarot is derived largely from Neoplatonic thought and the medieval Cabbala. Scapini describes three primary kinds of energy represented in his deck: iod as the active component, the energy of heh connected with the world of feelings and vau, which joins iod and heh and connects with the world of balance.


Each card is bordered with a sandstone arch. The minor cards in this deck use a huge variety of beautiful patterns, ornamentation and colors. The back design shows awindow set with clear glass rounds.

Lowbrow Tarot

Creator(s): Aunia Kahn, Russel J. Moon
Date: 2012
Country: USA
Publisher: Schiffer Books
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 978-0-7643-4235-6   
Type: RWS
Reference:  artist's page





Notes:
The Lowbrow Tarot is documenting a 2010 Los Angeles gallery show that brought together 23 pop-surrealist artists, each interpreting one of the Major Arcana (the 23rd artist did the back design). A list of the artist can be found here.

The lowbrow aesthetic — too ubiquitous now to be properly called a movement, and too wide-ranging to be properly called a school, popularized by painter/publisher Robert Williams and his journal Juxtapoz is inspired by Dali and Margritte.

In the LWB a full page  image is shown of each card with meaning and  reversed meaning. Each artist’s website is given at the bottom of the page.

Victorian Romantic Tarot - mini

Creator(s): Alex Ukolov, Karen Mahony

Date: 2012
Country: Czech Republic
Publisher: Magic Realist Press
Number of Cards: 78 + 1
ISBN:   
Type: RWS
Reference:  artist's page





Notes:
The mini edition has only the new lovers card based on an engraving of a picture by Max Švabinský (no original Dante and Beatrice card). It came with an extra Fortunte Teller card.

The mini deck is the exact same size as the Baroque Bohemian Cats mini and card stock feels to be the same quality.

It is a  signed (not numbered) limited edition of 1200.