Tarocchino Milanese a Doppia Figura

Creator(s): Bordoni
Date: 1880* reproduction 2000
Country: Italy
Publisher: Bordoni*, Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: Milanese
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV pp. 680, 682







Notes:
This is a reproduction of a deck printed by Bordoni circa 1880.  The Ace of Coins contains an Italian monarchic tax stamp, 50 centesimi (valid mid-1880/1890s) and a stamp of the Milanese tax office dated 1890, but tax stamps don't give an exact date, because they may be applied years after the deck was first published.

This reproduction was printed as a limited and numbered edition of 2000 by Il Meneghello. There was another edition of the same deck - also by Il Meneghello - named "Tarocco Lombardo (a doppia figura)" that one is limited to 1500 copies.

This deck it is one of the earliest known to have double figures (doppia figura), or mirror reflections of the images on the cards. The back design shows a lancer on horseback.
 

The original was stencil colored lithography and has the backs printed on a separate sheet and glued to the cards, with the edges wrapped around the front. This edition also reproduces the backing paper edges on the front.

The cards came in a solid cardboard box with a wax seal of Il Meneghello.

Tarocco Di Marsiglia (Svizzera 1804)

Creator(s): Jean Proche
Date: 1804* reproduction ?
Country: Switzerland, Italy
Publisher: Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: Marseilles
Reference: Tarotgarden 








Notes:
The Marseilles pattern was produced not only in France but also in Fribourg and Neuchatel, Switzerland. This is a reproduction of the Swiss Marselles-pattern Tarot deck that was originally printed in Switzerland in 1804. It is an intermediate in style between the Marseilles and the Besancon patterns. This deck is an ancestor of those by Gassmann and Müller ("Tarot Classic").

One theory on the creator of this deck is, that the deck that had a second engraver engraving over the original. The signiature of the original creator on the Two of Coins was scratched out and another name put on instead on La Force and Le Diable. On La Force and Le Diable we can read "Engraved by Jean Proche", on Le Charior we found "J R", also on the Two of Coupes and the Four of Deniers. On the Two of Deniers the name of the supposed original cardmaker is mostly erased. "FAIT PAR JACQUE ROCHIAS FILS A NEUCHATEL" is a clear possibility.

The Hanged Man is similar to the Hanged Man from the Catelin Geofroy deck made in Lyon in 1557. The deck has a mis-titled card: The Cavallier De Coupe is actually the Knight of Pentacles. On L Empereur is the coat of arms of the principality of Neuchâtel.

The deck is republished by Il Meneghello in a limited edition of 2000 copies. It comes in a sturdy box with a lift-off lid and a wax seal. Mine is number 284.

Tarocco Italiano (Dotti)

Creator(s): Teodoro Dotti
Date: 1845* reproduction 1985
Country: Italy
Publisher: Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: Marseilles
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp. 179, 181








Notes:
This is a reproduction of a deck originally printed by Teodoro Dotti circa 1845. He and his son Edoardo published many decks based upon these designs, though most of these were woodcut decks. An engraved deck such as this one would have cost more because of the skill and time required for the finer lines.

Dotti's playing card factory  was in direct competition with Ferdinando Gumppenberg's factory at that  time. Gumppenberg's Soprafino Tarot  was published ca. 1835 and there are many similarities between the two decks.

Trump XIV has the unusual title of L’Intemperanza instead of the usual La Temperanza. This probable misspelling was copied onto a few subsequent decks.

The small cards have square corners and the backs have a regular pattern of dots.There is no LWB or instructions of any kind.

The poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) kept a Dotti pack for his personal use. The deck is in the collection of Yeats's memorabilia and has upright and reverse meanings written on the cards in the poet's hand

Il Tarocco Soprafino of F. Gumppenberg

Creator(s): Carlo DellaRocca
Date: 1835* reproduction 1992
Country: Italy
Publisher: Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 78
ISBN:
Type: Marseilles
Reference:









Notes:
The most authentic reproduction of the original Gumppenberg deck was produced by Il Meneghello in 1992 in an edition of 2,000 called Il Tarocco Soprafino of F. Gumppenberg. In Lo Scarabeo's photo-reproduction called the Classical Tarot the cards are larger and brighter, making it easier to see the details. The background is lighter and the age marks and stains are cleaned up. But their appearance is marred by Lo Scarabeo’s typical wide left border with the card name repeated in several languages.

There are two different types of boxes for the Il Meneghello deck. Mine is is tied by a ribbon and the deck is slid in through the side. It also has a red wax seal as is customary with Meneghello limited edition decks. There is another model, a two part box, lined on the outside with paper which has illustrations of tarot cards. On the top of both sorts of boxes is The World card.

The small, slightly off-white cards have square corners and the backs have a regular pattern of dots. The fronts of the cards have not been cleaned up, as blemishes of age and acid stains from the original cards are reproduced. There is no LWB or instructions of any kind.

22 Arcani "i Cani del mondo"

Creator(s): Osvaldo Menegazzi
Date: 1991
Country: Italy
Publisher: Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN:
Type: BW, mini
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 250, 255




Notes:

Limited edition of 2,000 copies

22 Arcani "Gatti"

Creator(s): Osvaldo Menegazzi
Date: 1990
Country: Italy
Publisher: Il Meneghello
Number of Cards: 22
ISBN: 0-88079-297-3
Type: BW, mini
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. IV, pp. 344, 350



Notes:

Limited edition of 2000 decks.

Box has sturdy slipcovers with ribbons.

Tarocco della Musica

Creator(s): Oswaldo Menegazzi 
Date: 1981
Country: Italy 
Publisher: Il Meneghello 
Number of Cards: 22 
ISBN: - 
Type: other
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp. 368, 374-375









Notes:
The Tarocco della Musica  was created by Osvaldo Menegazzi, in consultation with Paola Maino and with the collaboration of Giovannino Scarsato. The card titles are in Italian. Each of the characters or scenes in the Trump cards is an illustration of a scene from an opera which illustrates the meaning of the corresponding card. Along the side of the image is the Italian name of the opera and the composer.

The court cards are Fante/Page, Cavallo/Knight, Donna/Lady and Re/King. The Donna, Cavallo and Fante depict people playing instruments, while the Kings each show a famous opera house. For the minor arcana aces, a composer is posing with his instrument. The rest of the Pips are represented by a corresponding musical instrument.

Tarocco del Tabacco

Creator(s): Oswaldo Menegazzi, G. Scarsato 
Date: 1980
Country: Italy 
Publisher: Il Meneghello 
Number of Cards: 22 
ISBN: - 
Type: other, mini
Reference: Encyclopedia of Tarot, vol. III, pp. 509, 512




Notes:
Limited edition of 1500 copies.

Osvaldo Menegazzi is a self-taught artist, tarot publisher and  founder of Il Meneghello specialized in historical reproductions.