Grand Etteilla

Creator(s): Etteilla
Date: 1826, 1970
Country: France
Publisher: Grimaud
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 
Type: Etteilla
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. II, p. 409








Notes:
Etteilla was the pseudonym of the french occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette (1738 – 1791). In around 1770, he had created the Petit Etteilla, a cartomantic divinatory deck based on playing cards for the French card game piquet (32+1 cards). The Grand Etteilla was a purpose-built divinatory tarot deck designed by Etteilla around 1788. It was Etteilla's own deck, he did not publish any tarot decks during his lifetime, but some of the card images were used as illustrations in Etteilla's books on tarot. This type is referred to by card historians as Grand Etteilla I

The first known variant of Grand Etteilla I appeared in 1826, published by Pierre Mongie l'aine, an important Parisian bookseller and publisher. This deck was packaged in a green original box that has a label reading Le Grand Jeu de Cartes Soixtante-Dix-Huit Tarots, pour Dire La Bonne Aventure. L'Art de tirer les Cartes et les Tarots, ou l'explication de ce jeu, est en I vol. in-18, et coute 3 fr. pris a Paris, et  3 fr. 50 c. franc de port, chez Mongie aine, libraire, Boulevard Italien, No. 10. The hand colored cards show the same design as this Grimaud deck, except that there is no sun on card 1 and the figure on 14 Force Majeur are nude on this deck and clothed on the Grimaud deck. The 1826 version has blank backs.

It's interesting to compare the Dusserre Grand Etteilla (not to be confused with the Dusserre Tarot Égyptien) with the Grimaud Grand Etteilla. The Dusserre has rounded corners,
the older keywords and is a photoreproduction deck. The Grimaud has newer (revised) card keywords. The Dusserre's keywords are French only; the Grimaud's are bilingual French and English.

A variation, which differed only slightly from Grand Etteilla I, was published in 1838 by Simon Bloquel, this variation is referred to as Grand Etteilla II.

Like the Tarot de Marseille Etteilla’s deck has twenty-two Major Arcana and fifty-six Minor Arcana. But, aiming to restore the purported ancient Egyptian elements, Etteilla reinterpreted the Majors; he re-ordered them and often applied radically innovative iconography and new names. He did so in part because, as he explained in his book, the first seven Trumps should depict a creation myth. In addition, Etteilla first publicly assigned the zodiacal signs and Four Elements to selected cards. The Minors were also redesigned, but the changes were far less radical than with the Majors.

Dame Fortune's Wheel Tarot

Creator(s): Paul Huson
Date: 2009
Country: Italy
Publisher: Lo Scarabeo
Number of Cards: 79
ISBN: 978-07387-1529-2 
Type: Etteilla
Reference: artist's page


 

Notes:  
Paul Huson is the author of Mystical Origins of the Tarot. Dame Fortune's Wheel  is a historic style deck with scenic pips, but not a Tarot de Marseilles with RWS-illustrated minors. Huson mixed Marseilles inspired iconography with Etteilla's 18th century cartomantic tradition.There are no cabbalistic and few astrological associations on the cards. The Hanged Man, Death, Justice, and a few others, are derived from the 15th Century Gringoneur deck. Other images are related to medieval mystery plays such as the Dance of Death and to historical and allegorical figures like pope Joan and Judas Iscariot. Justice is VIII and Fortitude is XI, its The Female Pope and not the High Priestess, The Fool is unnumbered and Death unnamed.

The four cardinal virtues are also part of the Majors. Three of the cardinal virtues are named, the fourth, Prudence, is represented by trump XXI The World, where it is illustrated with an image based upon the 15th century Este design in which the figure of Prudence stands upon the material world holding mirror and snake. The backgrounds of the Majors are green and yellow. 

The elemental associations of the suits were acknowledged in the colour coding. Coins are green, Cups are a dark indigo, Swords are orange and Batons sky blue. Other than these thematic colours the elements seem to play little part in the design of the cards; instead the meaning and symbology follows almost entirely  Etteilla's  interpretations. The court cards (except the Knights) have -according to the French playing card tradition-  names and personalities from history or legend : Hector as Knave of Batons, Pallas as Queen of Swords etc. Kings and Queens are enthroned, Knights on horseback and Knaves are standing.

The backs are reversible. All card titles are in English (not as in other Lo Scarabeo decks titles in different languages) and the deck came with an additional  significator card.
  

Der Ägyptische Tarot

Creator(s): Bernd A. Mertz, Kamilla Szij
Date: 1987
Country: Germany
Publisher: Bauer
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 3-7626-0324-3    
Type: Egyptian
Reference: artist's page

Notes:
The cards (designed by the Hungarian artist Kamilla Szij) appeared in sheets in the back of the book, Der Ägyptische Tarot, authored by Bernd A. Mertz, a well-known writer of tarot and esoteric books in Germany.

The card backs are not reversible and depict numerous symbols associated with Egyptology.

All cards can be viewed here

Tarot Egyptien

Creator(s): G. Regamey, Haugard-Mauge

Date: 1890*, 1985
Country: France
Publisher: Dusserre
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:  
Type: Etteilla
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.III, p. 587 








Notes:
This Etteilla  type deck was originally published by Delarue of Paris around the turn of the century. The tax stamp on the two of swords was valid from 1890 to 1917. The original title was 78 Tarots Egyptiens Grand Jeu de L'Oracle des Dames. A case for the deck in the British Museum indicates that the designer was G. Regamey and the lithographer was Haugard-Mauge.

The reprint was issued 1985 by Dusserre with a pink and white geometrical back design. It was a reproduction of a deck in the Bibliotheque Nationale De Paris

Lismon Etteilla Tarot

Creator(s):  Z. Lismon
Date: 1890*, 2012
Country: France
Publisher: Blocquel*, HistoricalRetrospective
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:   
Type: Etteilla
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.II, pp. 404, 405







Notes: 
The Lismon Etteilla is of type Grand Etteilla II and was -according to Dummett- the work of Simon Blocquel, a publisher at Lille, who worked in collaboration with his father-in-law Jean-Baptist Castiaux. The two of them liked using anagrammatic pseudonyms such as Blismon, Z. Lismon, Zlismon, Buqcellos, Milbons and Monblis.  A French biography of Blocquel can be found here.

The first evidence for this deck was in a book called Le Grand Etteilla, ou l'Art de tirer les cartes published 1838 by Blocquel, which served to advertise his new version of  Etteilla's cards. The authors name, Julia Orsini, maybe another pseudonym of Blocquel.

There were at least four editions of the Lismon Etteilla between 1838 and 1917, the oldest one (1838), which was mentioned in Kaplans Encyclopedia, has a misspelling of "Eteilla" on card number one, the following editions have the correct spelling "Etteilla".

Tax stamps for playing cards in France were abolished in 1790 and return in 1890, lasting until 1917. Thus the tax stamp on the Two of Swords dates a deck between 1890 and 1917.

The second edition (e.g. see  here) has a correct spelling of Etteilla, a complete upper left wreath on card #74 but no tax stamp, thus it dates before 1890.

The third edition can be seen on the British Museum page,  it has a tax stamp on the Two of Swords (thus it dates after 1890) and a complete upper left wreath on card #74.

The fourth edition has a tax stamp on the Two of Swords and a missing part in the upper left wreath of card #74, possibly because the printing block has got damaged. The reprint by HistoricalRetrospective was from the fourth edition.

 All Grand Etteilla II editions have on the Ace of Wands  Chute or "Fall" as the upright and the reversed is Naissance or "Birth" (The 1900-20 Grimaud Etteilla ''corrects" this so that Birth/Naissance is the upright and Fall/Chute is reversed).

Grand Etteilla II was engraved on wood and did not diverge greatly from the original Etteilla deck. The titles are printed on both sides of the picture frame. Some images and keywords are different from Etteilla’s original deck. The Coins have become wreaths enclosing a quatrefoil. The lower panels on the numeral cards are new. The cards 1,10,12,15 and 21 have been redesigned.

Daityanus Tarot

Creator(s): Ernst Kurtzahn (Daityanus)
Date: 1920, 2012
Country: Germany, USA
Publisher: Talis / Schikowski / HistoricalRetrospective
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:   
Type: Etteilla
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol.III, pp. 158, 161

Notes: 
Ernst Kurtzahn, who wrote under the pseudonym Daityanus was a member of various Rosicrucian and magical orders, and especially interested in Kabbalah. The cards were small (2 3/4 inches by 1 5/8 inches) and first published by Talis Verlag in Germany in 1920 in the book Der Tarot by Ernst Kurtzahn as black and white line drawings.The book was reprinted by Schikowski in 1983 and the cards were published as a deck in 2012 by HistoricalRetrospective.

Most of the designs are redrawn from Etteilla Tarot and arranged and titled in traditional tarot sequence. Two ofthe designs (VI Lovers and Xii Hanged Man) are taken from the Tarot of Marseilles.

In his book Kurtzahn states that his tarot is derived from Etteilla's Tarot, the Tarot de Marseilles and Oswald Wirth's Tarot. The Fool is numberd zero, The World is numbered XXII, no card is numbered XXI. The cards have Geramn titles and a Hebrew letter with its corresponding number at the bottom.

The book and scans of all cards are available online here

Jeu de la Princesse Tarot

Creator(s): Johannes Trismegiste
Date: 1843*, 1876*, 1983
Country: France
Publisher: Dusserre
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:  
Type: Etteilla
Reference: Tarot Garden
 





Notes:
The first version of this deck was designed 1843 by Lorambert under the pseudonym Johannes Trismegiste. It was published with Jules Laisne and appeared  in a book called L'Art de tirer les cartes, revelations completes sur les destinees au moyen des cartes et des tarots, d'apres les methodes les plus certaines (The Art of Rreading the Cards, complete instructions on fortune-telling by means of cards and tarots, according to the most reliable methods). It was reprinted unchanged in 1850.

In 1864 there appeared a new edition called Jeu de la Princesse Tarot. The designs of the cards remained the same, but some titles and inscriptions of the trumps and names of court cards and aces where changed to a more ancient Egyptian style to emphasize their supposed origins, e.g. number 3 was called Anubis. The production was continued by Wattillaux (1874-1908).

Dussere reprinted one of the Wattillaux Jeu de la Princesse Tarots from around 1876, which was preserved in the National Library in Paris as photoreproduction. A modified version of this deck has been reproduced in 1996 by Lo Scarabeo as the Esoteric Ancient Tarots.

The cards were numbered consecutively from 1 to 78, following the system started by Etteilla to emphasize that the cards were pages of an ancient book. The cards have a central image surrounded by a large border with two lines of text at the bottom. The first is the card title the second line it’s divinatory meaning. At the top of the card is a reversed printed line with the reversed divinatory meaning.

In spite of their titles the cards do not portray convincing Egyptian iconography instead they incorporate symbology from such sources as Genesis and the Hermetic creation myths of The Divine Pymander.

Egipcios Kier Tarot

Creator(s): J. Iglesias Janeiro
Date: 1984
Country: USA
Publisher: US Games
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 0-913866-23-7  
Type: Egyptian
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. I, pp. 248, 249

Notes:
The design of this tarot features Egyptian symbolism based upon the writings of Professor J. Iglesias Janeiro in his work "La Cabala de Prediccion". The deck was first printed by  Editorial Kier in Argentina in the 1970s and then reprinted by U.S Games in 1984.

The Egipcios Kier Tarot contains 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana, but the Minor Arcana are not divided into suits, and there are no pip cards and court cards. 

On the top of the Majors there is an Egyptian hieroglyph, an alchemical symbol, a letter from a magical alphabet, as found in the grimoire "The Key of Solomon the King" translated by Mac Gregor Mathers. On the bottom of the Majors from left to right there is the symbol of a planet, a zodiac symbol, (on 11-22 the zodiac is first with the planet symbol second...), the title of the card, a Hebrew letter, and the number of the card.

On the Minors, on the top of the cards from left to right...a Hebrew letter, an Egyptian hieroglyph, and then a letter from the magical alphabet. At the bottom of the card is the number of the card 23-78, a symbol of a planet, the title of the card, a roman letter and an Arabic number that corresponds to the magical alphabet from the top of the card. 

Majors: 1 The Magician, 2 The Priestess, 3 The Empress, 4 The Emperor, 5 The High Priest, 6 The Lovers, 7 The Chariot, 8 Justice, 9 The Hermit, 10 Wheel of Fortune, 11 Strength, 12 The Hanged Man, 13 Immortality, 14 Temperance, 15 Passion, 16 The Obelisk, 17 The Star, 18 The Moon, 19 The Sun, 20 Resurrection, 21 Transformation. 22 The Fool

Minors: 23 The Laborer, 24 The Weaver, 25 The Navigator, 26 The Prodigy, 27 The Unexpected, 28 Uncertainty, 29 Domesticity, 30 Exchange, 31 Impediment, 32 Magnificence, 33 Alliance, 34 Innovation, 35 Desolation, 36 Initiation, 37 Art and Science, 38 Duplicity, 39 Testimony, 40 Premonition, 41 Dissention, 42 Preeminence, 43 Delusion, 44 Expressiveness, 45 Regeneration, 46 Patrimony, 47 Conjecture, 48 Consummation, 49 Versatility, 50 Attraction, 51 Advice, 52 Premeditation, 53 Hostility, 54 Examination, 55 Contrition, 56 Pilgrimage, 57 Rivalry, 58 Meditation, 59 Revelation, 60 Evolution, 61 Solitude, 62 Proscription, 63 Communion, 64 Vehemence, 65 Apprenticeship, 66 Perplexity, 67 Veneration, 68 Speculation, 69 The Unforeseen, 70 Cooperation, 71 Avarice, 72 Purification, 73 Love and Desire, 74 Offering, 75 Generosity, 76 The Provider, 77 Confusion, 78 Rebirth

Tarot der Eingeweihten

Creator(s): Joachim Winckelmann, Erich & Liesel Mutze
Date: 1949/1954/1962
Country: Germany
Publisher: Schikowski
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:
Type: Egyptian
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. I, p. 220






Notes:
The first edition of the cards was printed 1949 in Berlin, these cards were of larger size than the following editions and came without or with a shorter version of the book. Unfortunately I do not own the 1949 edition. The Editions from 1954 and 1962, which are in my collection, have smaller cards and accompany a book by Joachim Winckelmann.

The 1949 and the 1962 editions are mentioned in Kaplans Encyclopedia of Tarot. They are not "privately printed" by a Mr. Schikowski, as Kaplan assumed, Schikowski Verlag was a well known German publisher for occult books. The cards were designed by Erich and Liesel Mutze, Wickelmann wrote only the book.

The cards from 1954 were ivory-colored and have a brown back, the cards from 1962 are orange with a grey-white patterned back.

In the 1949 edition the fool is numbered XXII, in the two later editions the fool is numbered 0.

The cards bear Egyptian features with Roman numerals at the top and German titles at the bottom of each card.

The symbolism largely follows the Marseille tradition, some of the cards are renamed.


The design of the cards is possibly inspired by a 1931 book from Woldemar von Uxkull titled "Die Einweihung im alten Ägypten" which has 22 very similiar pictures:

Enoil Gavat Tarot

Creator(s): Giorgio Tavaglione 
Date: 1978 
Country: Italy
Publisher: Bi-Ass 
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN: 0-913866-82-2
Type: Egyptian
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp. 587, 589







Notes:
The symbols are placed on the Major Arcana cards as follows:

1 Symbolic representation of Major Arcana 1 through 9
2 Number of the cards 0 through 21
3 On Major Arcana 11 through 21 the number that corresponds to the Hebrew Letter
4 Hebrew Letter
5 On cards 2 through 7, 12 and 21 an esoteric symbol
6 Sanskrit Letter
7 Symbolic and emlematic image interpreted on four elemental levels: the formal aspect-earth, the moral-water,the allegorial-air,the inspirational-fire
8 Sign of the zodiac or planet
9 Roman Letter
10 Title
11 Kabbalistic sephirah on the Tree of Life (in italian)
12 Divinatory meanings