The historic Marseilles Tarots
This gallery presents the 22 major Arcana of a selection of historical Tarots of Marseilles. Tarot de Marseilles Heritage, dedicated to the republication of the most beautiful historic Tarots.
• TAROT FROM PIERRE MADENIÉ • Dijon 1709, France
This Tarot is the oldest Tarot of Marseilles referenced of the “ type II ” category (Cf. Frequently asked questions), considered all over the world as t he standard model, most people commonly refer to. Due to the correctness of its cannon, the quality of its engraving, and the very good preservation of its colors, this deck is also one of the most beautiful.
• TAROT FROM FRANCOIS HÉRI • Solothurn 1718, Switzerland This Tarot, realized by a swiss master car dmaker having produced several other decks, is unique. With the Tarot of Jacques Viéville (which is c lassified in another category), it is, among the known historic Tarots, the deck presenting the least cut down icons, the frame being opened, not altering (or less, as regards the François Héri 1718), the integrity of the icons. So the Arcanum LE MAT, I LE BATELEVR, B ATELEVR, and of course the throne of IIII LEMPEREVR, are whole here, or almost. To know more about the rognage of icons in Tarot history. A detail, also important : XII LE PENDV stretches out the ear. e ar.
• TAROT FROM FRANCOIS CHOSSON • Marseilles 1736 (1672 ?), France This Tarot of Marseilles was realized by François Chosson in the town of Marseilles by 1736, date attributed to the envelope of its Tarot, deposited the same year by t his master cardmaker at the police services of his city. According to the work Les cartes à Jouer Du XIVe Au XXe Siècle ( The deck of cards of the XIVth In the XXth century) of Henri-René D’allemagne (published in two volumes by Hachette and Cie in 1906), this master cardmaker from Marseilles indeed practiced from 1734 till 1756. This period corresponds well to the characteristics of this Tarot, representative of the end of the first half of the XVIIIth century : loss of details and rigorous graphs, represe ntations aiming towards the realism, or still, in the eyes of the present author, inversion of the Arcana VI LAMOVREVX, XIII and II of Disks, as well as the evidence, that the Tarot of Pierre Madenié, Dijon 1709, was one of the reference models for François Chosson. It thus certainly does not date the XVIIth century, that is the date engraved on the II of Denier – supposedly 1672 (for the engraving is chipped) c hipped) – card on which are traditionally registered the name of the master cardmaker and the year of production, lets believe.
• TAROT FROM JEAN-BAPTISTE MADENIÉ •
Dijon 1739, France This Tarot was realized by the son of Pierre Madenié, author of the oldest Tarot of Mar seilles (1709)
referenced in the “ type II ” category, considered all over the world as the standard model. If this edition realized by Jean-Baptiste is altogether less fine than that of his father, and if its cannon gets closer to that of Switzerland (the Arcana XVIIII LE SOLEIL for example), the cards present on the other hand certain details omitted or erased by the wear in the Tarot of Pierre Madenié, 1709. Indeed, the analysis reveals that it is not about a first print, and that moulds were already worn o ut when it was printed. Besides, the fact that the Tarot of the son preserved certain details missing in the Tarot of the father, implies that the first one had at his disposal ancient editions, and that the publishing of the second, although it is the oldest tarot of Marseilles referenced by its category, does not constitute an original model, but resumes a model dating at least of the XVIIth century. This example, among the others, reminds that one should not confuse the historic anteriority of a deck with the originality of the model.
• TAROT FROM FRANÇOIS TOURCATY • Marseilles 1745, France This Tarot was realized in Marseilles around 1745, by t he son of Jean-François Tourcaty, also master cardmaker in Marseilles. The copy presented here, preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF french national library), Paris, constitutes a late edition of this deck. Indeed, as shows its vandalized figures, it was printed after the French Revolution. This one indeed opposed to all which related to religion and kingship. So, the connoted names, the crowns, the crosses, and the other imperial signs were systematically removed from the moulds. Oddly enough, only the re ligion connoted name LE DIABLE (the Devil) was preserved. Is this omission significant ? Be that as it may, if the engraving of the Tarot of François Tourcaty is rather unrefined, this deck is very precious. Indeed, besides the fact that it is the oldest known Tarot having preserved the phoenix in IIII of Disks and in II of Cups, it is one of the rare Tarots realized in Marseilles preserved. On the other hand, this deck is characteristic of a certain break with the tradition as far as, besides the evident decline of the traditional iconography of the Arcana, certain cards have their traditional name altered (LE CHARIOT instead of LE CHARIOR, LETOILLE instead of LESTOILLE (ancient Provençal word of the XIVt h century) while preserving all the Vs for Us and Is for Js. It is afterward, as we shall see lower, in particular with the Tarot of Nicolas Conver, realized in Marseilles in 1760, that the names were really altered, and that their alphabet was definitely modernized. For anecdote, according to Paul Marteau, which possessed this deck (before making donation of his whole collection of decks to the BNF), the handwritten writing on the cards would be of Miss Lenormand, famous fortune-teller of the beginning of the XIXth century.
• TAROT FROM CLAUDE BURDEL • Fribourg 1751, Switzerland
This swiss Tarot, quite as that of Rochus Schär, contains details which were precious for the regeneration of the traditional iconography of the c ards, featured in the Tarot of Marseilles Millennium Edition. So, we also find here the baguette behind the hand of the character of the Arcana I THE BATELEVR, the foot clearly naked – although colored in red – of the character of the Arcana XII LE PENDV, XV LE DIABLE with his lunar croissants on the bre ast, rays of XVIIII LE SOLEIL wide and colored, etc.
