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Arth and Pixie's Ship of Fools NEWNEWNEW!!! Now you can click on the images to see a larger image. Things are moving around in here. One day these cards will be in a more logical order. I'm working on it slowly. Some of these cards are a grand case for "separated at birth" scenarios. These can be viewed in tandem with Card Backs for more explanation as to why they are on this page; many appear just because they are a different edition as evidenced by the card back. Again, where the cards appear to be identical, search and see if there are differences in quality of the printing and detailing. Copies of copies of copies tend to degrade. This is often apparent in the cards. Though not as dramatic a difference as shown in the Sun cards, there still are differences. And for fun, try and find Pixie's signature on the card. These have been recently pointed out to me by George Nolan.Check it out and see what you think. There are three versions of the de Laurence Fools. Check out the saga of this man here. There is a more detailed investigation of the various editions of the Albano deck here. Does the coloration make a difference in the tenor of the card? Apparently so, or there would be no reason for the existence of the Universal Waite deck, recolored by Mary Hanson Roberts. Things were added to the overall feeling of the card because of the detailing. But what was lost? Questions, but no answers. Is more elaboration better, or more simplification? Compare the Universal with the Hoi Polloi. Does the lack of the background mountains change the meaning of the card, or the shades of meaning? How about interpretations on the card itself? Annoyance or convenience? (My bets are on annoyance, but then, I'm easily annoyed!) Or the two versions of the Illuminated Tarot. . is one better than the other? More pleasing? Did you notice the small amount of trimming that happened in the 5 Language version? Is this significant? Does the change of direction of the Fool's journey in the Sheridan Douglas mean anything (or is it only Art History geeks that care?)? The RWS Fool normally shuffles to the left - does going right change his journey? Is the Bearot Fool merely silly or what? I like the shirt and the happy dog. The Gummibarchen Tarot makes the Bearot Tarot seem serious. Of course I like the Glow in the Dark Tarot just because it is dumb and fun to play with - just like Wintogreen Lifesavers candy. What about the B&W line drawn cards? Should they be colored to provide more insight, or is there anything to be garnered from not having the blanks filled in? How about that Golden Rider? Mighty simplified. Was too much taken out? The BOTA and Holy Order of Mans (Epiphany Press) cards - what about the additions and changes to those cards? AND, why are there two very slightly different versions of the BOTA deck? (see details) And what happened with the Holy Order of Mans Fools over time? (see details)Do they enhance the meanings or are they just occult frou-frou? Zolar's Tarot changed over the years. Check the card backs to find out how much beyond the coloration. The meanings have also shifted - compare the 1963 meanings with the other two - they've reversed themselves. The secret nasty parts of the TransWaite Fool will be revealed once I solve the technical difficulty of getting them to scan - translucent decks are tough! I refuse to comment on the Tarot Affirmations deck. The Epicurean Tarot is the second generation of a privately printed deck. I like the first one better, without the RWS tie-in. Some of the recipes are rather good. If you buy a new deck of US Games Rider Waite Tarot cards in the standard 70x120 mm size, you will wind up with a newly designed card deck. Stuart Kaplan explained that the images were digitized by the printer. Along the way the calligraphic font has changed. In many cards some clipping of the image is apparent. At the 2002 ITS Tarot Congress, many of us whined about this "new fangled monstrosity" and Kaplan said he would look into it. Hopefully we will get the old reliable RWS deck back, sans clipping and sans the new font. Why are there bears in this lot of images? Because they are cute! The Bearot is silly and the Gummi Bear Tarot is really silly. End of reasons. |
