Publication Facts and Rating (0 to 5 stars) "At-a-Glance"

Publisher: Il Meneghello (Milano, Italy)
Publication Year: 1986
Number of cards: 97
Quality of artwork -- 3 1/2 stars
Usefulness for meditation/pathworking -- 1 stars
Readability (Divination) -- 1 star
Symbology -- 2 1/2 stars
Value to Collectors -- 4 stars

General Commentary
In the book accompanying his 1999 Minchiate Tarot, Brian Williams writes that the Minchiates "both are and are not a Tarot deck." His comment reveals the "gray area" of the Minchiate format. Certainly, the deck's history stretches back as far as that of the "standard" tarot. And the equivalence of the "minors" portion of each type of tarot -- ten pip cards and four court cards in each of four suits -- cannot be denied. But there is a significant deviation in the structure of the "majors" (perhaps more correctly called "trumps" or "triumphs" in the Minchiate) portion of the two deck types. The Minchiate format uses 41 trumps, rather than 22, although most (but not all) of the "standard majors" can be found somewhere within that vast array of cards.

(Wicce has already provided an excellent overview of Williams' rendering of the Minchiate cards. It would seem somewhat redundant to recap further specific details of the Minchiate format here. Persons interested in more information are invited to hop over to Wicce's review by clicking here.)

Because of the structural and contextual differences, any review of a deck such as the Minchiate Fiorentine must be written using a somewhat different set of criteria than those applied to decks patterned after the 78-card format. For starters, with the notable exception of Williams' deck, there have not been any "new" Minchiates designed in well over a century or more. So, in order to evaluate a Minchiate "on its own terms," it is necessary to view the deck from its historical context. When comparisons are warranted, they must primarily be made with other historical-reproduction decks.

The Minchiate Fiorentine is a reproduction of a 19th century Italian deck. It was published by Il Meneghello in 1986, in a limited-edition run of 2,000 copies. In order to get a better understanding of the Fiorentine, it might be of benefit to compare it with a more readily-available historic Minchiate, such as the Antiche Minchiate Etruria. Although obviously designed by different artisans, the two decks show that there was definitely a standard symbology used for the Minchiate format. But whereas the illustrations of the Etruria could rightly be described as more detailed, the Fiorentine could be characterized as more brightly colored. However, it is possible that the latter could simply be a result of the reproduction method used. As far as the coloration goes, I found myself preferring the coloration of the Etruria in the trumps and the coloring of the pips in the Fiorentine.

As a more "mass market" offering from Lo Scarabeo, the Etruria is produced along the lines of other mass-market tarots. The cards are slick with rounded corners -- firm enough to withstand some abuse, but flexible enough for shuffling. The booklet for the Etruria provides information on using the deck as a divination tool, and the cards were obviously produced in a manner so that they could be used as such. The Fiorentine, on the other hand, is produced on non-coated, heavy card stock with squared corners, and thus making it "feel" more like the actual decks of the period. Its emphasis is on its historical interest and collectibility. The box for the Fiorentine, like many of the Il Meneghello tarots, is shaped like a little book cover, with the cards tied inside by little red ribbons. This cover is decorated with images from the cards themselves.

The Minchiates, according to Williams, were primarily used for playing games. It is the game-playing aspect of Minchiate that is emphasized in the booklet accompanying the Fiorentine (at least, as far as I can tell from my limited ability to translate the narrative from Italian), although there do appear to be some peripheral comments in the card descriptions regarding their interpretation in a divinitory context. In the Fiorentine booklet, only the majors are described.

In both the Fiorentine and the Etruria, the effects of age on the original cards and the shortcomings of centuries-old printing processes are captured in their reproductions. For those looking for a historical deck to "sweep them back in time," however, the stark, unglossy format of the Fiorentine perhaps provides more "realism." The cards "feel old." A tax stamp can clearly be seen on the Ace of Pentacles card. There is noticable staining on a several cards, and creasing can be seen some on others. The fact that such imperfections are not as pronounced in the Etruria does not denote any failing of that deck, but they do perhaps lend more "character" to the Fiorentine.

In summary, the Minchiate Fiorentine is a fine, collectable example of the Minchiate tarot style. Give the evolution of tarot over the last three hundred years, and the emergence of the 78-card format as the "fortune tellers deck of choice," the Minchiate's use as a divination tool is probably limited to those historical-tarot enthusiasts who also happen to read. For those who enjoy studying and collecting historical tarots, however, it incorporates enough stylistic differences to make its comparison to other Minchiates an enjoyable exercise.

(As of 6/13/00, both Alida and R. Somerville list the Minchiate Fiorentine in their on-line catalogs.)

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Guest review copyright 2000 by Jeannette Roth
Used with permission