Milanese Tarot of Double Figures

Milanese Tarot of Double Figures
Published by Il Meneghello, 2000

This deck was printed as a limited and hand-numbered edition of 2000, and published by Il Meneghello in the year 2000. It is a reproduction of a c.1880 deck from Milan, Italy, which resides in a collection by Osvaldo Menegazzi. The Italian name which appears on the box and title card is Tarocchino Milanese a Doppia Figura.

The Two of Cups and Ace of Coins bear some identifying marks, as well as showing the ornate linework found in this deck. The Trump and Court designs are notable for their interesting use of double-ended figures. The ways in which the artist joins each reversed image at its middle creates some amusing designs, such as La Appeso (The Traitor), seen below. Other designs show one or more items which have been joined symmetrically, such as the Magician’s table and the Papessa’s book.

These designs show a very elegant artistic hand. At first I thought that this reproduction was from a woodcut deck, but after looking closely at the lines and crosshatching, I realized the cards must have been engraved. The lines are fluid and fairly uniform, and the minute crosshatching on cards such as the Knight of Swords and La Papessa (above) are too fine for a woodcut. The suit of Coins is interesting because every circle is rendered perfectly round, implying the use of some form of engraver’s tool. The orbs of La Luna (The Moon) and La Sole (The Sun) also use the same size and perfect shape as the coins.

The cards are printed on a medium-weight, polished card stock, unlaminated yet with a very smooth layer of printing varnish. The original cards appear to have been hand-stenciled using vivid colors of blue, green, yellow and light pink. This edition also reproduces the backing paper which had been folded over the edges of the original cards. This deck can usually be found at Alida.

Review by Mark Filipas, 5/16/00