The Golden Tarot: The Visconti-Sforza Deck

When this arrived I was so pleased with it that I immediately ordered a second one for a friend. The cards and book are of good quality and contain a comprehensive (if short) introduction to the genesis of Tarot cards and the ruling family who invented them.Regarding "authenticity" people should be aware though that these are NOT the cards from the Pierpoint Morgan Visconti Tarot that were taken from actual photographs of the original items, the cards in this set are redesigned digital approximations of Morgan cards. The re-imaging and repainting of the Morgan images that come with this package is open for debate and personal taste, some will love them and some will hate them and while some of the fine details have been clarified others have either been changed or removed completely with all the faces having been changed to look more "Jolly" than the sometimes dour expressions on the Pierpoint Morgan cards.Being lucky enough to own a set first edition of Pierpoint Morgan cards I would say that in some respects the embellishment on this version enhances them but also takes away a great deal in regards to the "Emotional Feel" of the cards while the four "Missing" cards in this set are completely different to the ones that were commissioned for the Morgan set so please be aware of this before purchase to avoid being disappointed. Personally I like this version of the Visconte cards and I am glad that this publisher hasn't coated them in an inch of shiny resin so no sunglasses are necessary when reading with these.The book itself is also a High quality product giving a brief outline of the Visconte family and the circumstances that brought the cards into being. However that being said this book is not for people with delicate sensibilities because it also exposes a lot of the late Eighteenth Century fraud claiming that Tarot cards were from Egypt so be discerning whom this is given to (I'v seen people having to be scraped off the ceiling because of the uncomfortable truth about the Egyips origins fraud).

I took a long time to convince myself to buy this deck, having a number of others already and preferring the cards of the Minor Arcana suits to be individually illustrated to provide hints as to their meaning, rather than the simplified ranking using just the suit symbols . But these seemd to be of historical interest, based on one of the oldest and most complete decks in existence. I am certainly glad that I did buy this set, the cards are beautiful and the little book well presented in colour with a brief history of Tarot cards and of the Visconti Sforza, all contained in a well mad flip top box.I hadn't appreciated the size of the cards and their proportions, although other purchases had mentioned this in feedback. The cards are large and slim compared to any others I have come across, measuring approximately 8.5 x 16.5 cm and would be difficult to use in terms of handling and shuffling, but for me it adds to the overall statement of the set. I have never sought out images of the original existing cards for comparison but I will do now for my own staisfaction. At the RRP of £20 this set is not overpriced, and at a little under £12 including delivery from Book Depository excellent value.Just finished checking out the packaging and found inside what I thought was a simple cardboard spacer a nice purple satin cloth, about 42cm square. Even better value!

Since Leo Mayer first discovered the Mamluk cards in the Topkapı Palace in 1939, the history of playing cards has grown and developed. Piatnik have produced wonderful reproductions of early German packs with accompanying booklets, such as Karnöffel, Ambraser Hofänterspiel and the like, and this Race Point box with reproduced cards and hardcover booklet adds wonderfully to such productions. Obviously by calling it ‘The Golden Tarot’ the publishers are aiming at the New Age Spritualism market, and the majority of the booklet is about using the cards for ‘readings’. however, it is clearly pointed out in the introduction that the cards were produced in this form — that is four suits and the extra trionfi or trumps suit to play agame, rather than for divination. Indeed this did not become the use for such card packs until the end of the eighteenth century. More properly known as the Visconti-Sforza (or Sforza-Visconti) Pack or Deck, this wonderful production supersedes the previous publication by Lo Scarabeo of just the trionfi or trumps in ‘The Tarot of Visconti’. Whether you are interested in the Italian Renaissance historically or artistically, or in the history of the development of cards, or just looking for a beautiful tarot pack, I recommend highly this beautiful publication.

Excellent book, great box with magnetic clip. The table cloth leaves lot to be desired.The actual deck is very large and not easy to shuffle and/or handle.There aren't any numeric references anywhere here: neither on major arcana nor the court cards.... Be also aware that the pip cards are rather... flat. I do understand though that this deck is perhaps one of the first examples... 16th century. From the renaissance evolved to what we know now as the Marseille tarot and the likes, but I simply can't connect with it and it will probably sit proudly in my collection.