Besançon Tarot Decks

[@stephenmangan662]

The dating of the Il Meneghello is a little too early I think. On the Chariot shield you can see the initials "F.I", you can also see the initials FI on the petals between the 'dolphin' heads on the 2 of Cups. They are the initials of the engraver Francois Isnard, and he was only 5 years old in 1700! Francois Isnard, 1695 - 1765, moved from Provence to Strasbourg in 1715 and married there in 1716. He was the father-in-law of the cardmaker Francoise Bouchard, for whom he engraved moulds for playing cards, including a french suited animal tarot mould, and in whose house he died in 1765. The master cardmaker David Benoist of Strasbourg and his wife were Godfather and Godmother for two of his children, born in 1723 and 1725. From 1728 his initials begin to appear on several prints, according to BnF all active cardmakers of Strasbourg used his moulds between 1730 - 1760 (and continued to be used by some for much longer, as per the Benoist, Carey and Sarraman examples we have). J. Jerger of Besancon 1801-1845 also modelled his cards after Isnard's. On the 2 of Cups of Isnard's pattern the lower half is left blank, and in the space there Strasbourg cardmakers would stamp their own names. On Il Meneghello's reproduction, we have the name J. B. Benoist. For the Benoist Family of Strasbourg cardmakers I have: Benoist(e) , David 1717-1761 Benois , Jean-Baptiste 1761-1775 Benoit, Widow & Son c1780s Benoist, Jean 1794 - c1820 So the F. Isnards mould was possibly produced c.1730-1760. The printed cards of J.B Benois c.1761-c1775

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Wow, it goes to show just how much that we don't know, or that goes undetected, or is just lost to time. Thank you for sharing your insights. I appreciate it. ~ Marilyn

[@stephenmangan662]

@@MarilynFromTarotClarity For some insight into the cardmakers of Strasbourg in the latter quarter of the 18th century, who produced decks using Isnard's moulds, we have a few details from inspector's reports as published by Allemagne (Cartes de Jour, Volume II) : ------------------------- Louis Carey is Cartier by marriage to a widow of a master cardmaker. He knows little about the work of the cardmaker and does not care about it; he is dissipated and given to pleasures; however, his is the easiest and most strong in products, holding the same four workers for a number of years, who are very diligent and beyond suspicion. He provides most of those who are sourcing in Strasbourg and he is the one who provided the most for export, but the factory, abandoned in the care of the mistress, already very old, is often in disorder and requires care, but otherwise, this Cartier has never appeared suspect. The widow Benoist is not very well off, although she joins in her trade a shop selling jewellery, papers, & c. She only deals with the sale of the cards and her son, very dissipated, with the shop more than the cards. She holds four workmen, whom she employs with commissions and other works of the house and the shop. These workers, abandoned to themselves and unequally paid, are dissipated and not very diligent; for the rest, they seem as suspicious as the son. This factory has always been a concern in that, although it has as many workers as Carey, it does not produce so much for export, the suspicion being she and her son are concealing fraudulent production at other workshops, she has also been sued twice for mixing free and watermarked papers. [In a report on reducing fraud, the Widow Benoist and her son are singled out for particular observation.] Bernard Sarramon, in charge of the family, is nothing less than fortunate, he keeps one worker and produces very little for export and his main sales are in the town; although he does not make such beautiful cards as his confreres, his product, however, is equal to that of Benoist, and sometimes surpasses it: this factory has never given any anxiety; but he has passed on its management to his son-in-law for a year, and the lawsuit brought against him for having mixed point cards on free paper with watermarked, proves that one can not have the same confidence in him. --------------------------- For those interested in reading with cards and its history, might find the Sarramon/Isnard deck online at the BnF an interesting curiosity, as each card is pasted with cartomantic notes. In similar lines too, Isnard's "TdB" deck is apparently that described by the Compte de Mellet in his essay "Researches on the Tarot and on divination by Tarot cards", making it one of the earliest of Tarot decks to be discussed in relation to divination with Tarot cards.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

@@stephenmangan662 Wow. Thank you 😊 ~ Marilyn

[@natalyakolosenko114]

It's all interesting, Marylin, Happy Birthday to you, happy many years to you.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you very much!! I appreciate your birthday wishes and I hope you enjoy the video. xoxo ~ Marilyn

[@sorchajones1788]

I love the rendering of the first one, the Meneghello, I think. It’s so special. And looking online, so is the price! Actually that’s a good thing because I really don’t need more. But love to see these great decks, thank you.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for watching and commenting. I appreciate it. xoxo ~ Marilyn

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you for watching and commenting. ~ Marilyn

[@justinmichaeltarot]

I was just looking at the Miller on the Big Cartel. Reminds me of Tarot of the French Revolution! I may have to get it!! Thanks for showing these

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

I don't know why I never did a video of this before. It's such a juicy deck. The colors are so juicy! It can be a little confusing in some cases but it's really got a life of its own. I really like it. Thank you for watching and commenting. xoxo ~ Marilyn

[@justinmichaeltarot]

Happy Birthday Marilyn!!

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you very much Justin! I appreciate that. :) xoxo ~ Marilyn

[@Rannsack]

Thanks for making this video, i haven't seen these decks before. They are beautiful! It's interesting the star card has 5 pointed stars. On almost every tarot i've seen they are 8 pointed, especially the largest one. The 8 pointed star being the star of ishtar (venus).

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

The 8 points may have been something the Occultists added. Thank you for watching and commenting. 🌞 ~ Marilyn

[@ansari641]

Happy Birthday! I had missed this video, I hope you had an excellent day. All your content is interesting, the historical Tarot have a special soul for my taste. In my country I can't get them but thanks to these videos I can watch them and learn from your observation of them. Do you have a favorite deck??

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you very much! If a person has a sincere interest in tarot then learning its history becomes an insatiable process, falling down one rabbit hole after another. It's the only way to truly understand the medium. Gosh, I have hundreds of decks. My favorites are the historic Italian, French, Swiss, and Belgian decks with maybe the Italians having a slight edge.

[@Astrid-Ewunia]

Happy Birthday 🎂🥂💐🌞❣

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you Astrid! I appreciate your birthday wishes and I hope you enjoy the video! xoxo ~ Marilyn

[@stephenmangan662]

Re: the Benois. Oddly, three cards in the Isnard/Benois are not right: Junon, La Force, & Judgement are NOT Isnard / Benois cards: In Isnard / Benois for example Junon has two peacocks, and there is no flag on the trumpet of Judgement & Isnard's initials FI are on it.

[@MarilynFromTarotClarity]

Thank you for watching and commenting. ~ Marilyn