I Tarocchi Delle Fiabe
various artists
 
This 22-card Major Arcana art deck illustrates scenes from world famous fairy tales, and each card has been done by a different artist.  As far as I am aware this is one of the first times LoScarabeo has done a deck with multiple artists this way.  The styles are vastly different on each card as a result, and yet they do all seem to have a cohesive effect, it looks like most of them were painted in the same media.
 
As with the Cinema deck, since this was produced internationally, some of the fairy tale sources are unfamiliar to me.  It is gratifying that on each card the title of the fairy tale is given, and underneath in parentheses, the authors of the fairy tales.  Of course, a lot of the fairy tales in the world are anonymous, and are usually credited as "traditional folk tale" with no author...... and some of the ones I can't figure out are among these.
 
There is a white border around these cards with a large image area.  In the top is the number for the card and the traditional tarot title for the card, at the bottom is the fairy tale name and author.  Many of the titles do not translate clearly because they are suggestive of concepts, so you will see that word for word they do not match up.  An example of this is card #1, Il Mago (Magician) who is represented by the Pied Piper of Hamlin, but the Italian title is Il Pifferaio Magico.  I can tell from the card image what the story is, but I'd never guess from the name.
 
Several works by Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm are here, as well as classic tales we are all familiar with, like the Beauty and the Beast and Jack and the Beanstalk.  One of my all-time favorites, the Nightingale by Hans Christian Anderson, is also here.  I found there were actually more that I didn't know than what I was familiar with.
 
The cards themselves are larger than standard, showing off the art well, which is quite good in an often surrealist way.  Of course the cards are all done by different people, but they are all equally talented.  This is a credit to LoScarabeo's staff with their high standards, always making sure the end result is far superior in quality to other decks.  There are only 22 cards so the deck handles easily, though the corners are sharp and the card stock is coated on one side only.  The back design is a purplish colored pattern which is reversible.
 
I recommend this deck as a collectible for tarotists.  In general the art is quite appealing and you don't even have to know which fairy tale it is to look at the card and get something out of it.  Still, for fairy tale buffs, there will be more to get from the deck's use.  Email Wicce for information on buying this deck.
 
Click here for pictures
 
or here to return
 
Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures
 
Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace
 
I Tarocchi Delle Fiabe, various artists, 1997
published by LoScarabeo, Torino, Italy