Il Tarocco del Mondo Nuevo (New World Tarot) - Artist: Amerigo Folchi - Publisher: Italcards

     This is an Italian art deck by Amerigo Folchi. The cards measure 4 5/16" X 2 3/4". It is a theme deck. The theme is Columbus' discovery of America, "the new world." The art is excellent, but then we have come to expect as much from Folchi. The scenes depict a central figure on a patterned background. The images are mostly gray in the Major Arcana, though there are accents in other colors. The images are on a yellow or purple patterned background, surrounded by a blue patterned border with red corners. The Minor Arcana are also largely gray, but there seems to be a more liberal use of color in these scenes. They are still not very colorful. The card number is in the top border and the name is in the bottom border in Italian, Spanish, English and French. The Minor Arcana do not have the card number in the top border. The suits are Coins, Wands, Cups and Swords. Each suit has a distinctive background pattern and borders. The Court consists of Page, Knight, Queen and King. The Major Arcana depict many of the characters who assisted Columbus. The Emperor and Empress appear to be Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. Many of the Major Arcana have ships or marine life in the images, like the Lovers. The gray coloring gives many of the images a statue-like appearance. This is especially evident in cards like Justice and the Hermit. The backs are not reversible.

     The Minor Arcana continues the new world theme: Coins depict crafts from the new world; Wands have a navigational theme, depicting globes and maps; Cups are mostly animals, from marine mammals to monkeys and parrots; and Swords depict Spanish heraldic crests.

    There is no little booklet for this deck. Instead, a folded sheet is enclosed. My version of the sheet is in English. The Introduction provides information about Columbus, including quotes from letters he wrote and books about him. A short list of books about Columbus is also provided. This is followed by notes on the author/artist. Card meanings are on the reverse side of the sheet with brief upright meanings for the Major and Minor Arcana. The meanings are fairly standard. The theme of each suit is briefly described, with the exception of the theme for Wands. This appears to be a printing error.

I recommend this deck primarily for collectors. Those who are fans of Christopher Columbus would also like this deck.

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 Original edition of the New World Tarot, published by Italcards in 1991, out-of-print.

Gorgeous illustrations based on discoveries of the new world.

Printed on a smooth, sturdy, cream colored paper with rounded corners, backs are non reversible.

Packaged in a tuck box. The deck has a total of 79 (78+1 title card), cards in mint condition.