This Grimaud tarot deck is a fairly nice representation of the classic woodcut symbols.  I can find nothing in any of the literature accompanying the deck which identifies the creator of the woodblocks used.

The artwork in the deck has a crude medieval look and feel to it which is entirely consistent with decks of this period.  The colors have been cleaned up and modern print technology was used instead of the rough bleedovers from woodcuts.  Some decks which are reproductions of the marseilles style actually show the bleedovers and bad printing quality of the ancient cards.

Classic Marseille symbolism is used in the deck, in other words, very little depth to the pictures.  There is no depth perspective.  Figures are shown against a flat white background.  There are no scenes in the numbered cards.  The Roman Numerals used are used in the old way, instead of the subtractive method, throughout the entire deck.  Order is also consistent with the Marseilles norm.  Justice is 8 and Strength 11.

The cards are standard sized and seem to shuffle fairly easily.  Like all Grimaud decks I have seen so far, the cards had quite a warp to them when new and required manual straightening.  The little booklet that comes with the deck is in French as well as English, and bilingual titles are used on the cards as well.  Suits are Batons, Coins, Swords and Cups, and the King, Queen, Knight and Page are the typical courts.

I have seen nicer productions of the Marseilles decks by other publishers.  However, some esoteric study groups prefer this one, feeling it stays truer to the original.  If you like a Marseilles tarot deck, and you want this one, bear in mind that Grimaud no longer has American distribution, and so Mabel's Card Shack is about the only place I know now that still has them for sale.

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Review Copyright 1999 by Gina M. Pace

Ancien Tarot de Marseille, 1963
published by Grimaud/France Cartes, France