|
This is a facsimile edition of a c.1840 deck by the Milanese card maker Ferdinando Gumppenberg. Gumppenberg
produced several different decks in the early to mid 1800's, including Della Rocca's beautifully engraved Lombardi
Tarot (Soprafino Tarot).
This reproduction was printed in 1995 by Il Meneghello as a limited edition. The original deck was woodblock printed
in black and painted (probably using stencils) with six colors. The color tones are very friendly and earthy. The
specks and inconsistencies of the original paper are captured as well, but are cleaned up on all the edges of this
deck, outside of the black borders. The break where these specks stop is barely noticeable though, adding a nice
effect as opposed to being distracting. The cards are also laminated. To my mind, this deck looks like it falls
stylistically between more crudely designed decks such as early Marseilles decks and more refined (and probably
more expensive) decks such as the Soprafino and decks emulating the Soprafino such as those by Teodoro Dotti. Because
of the slightly crude stenciling of this deck, I imagine that it was more affordable and intended for a wide and
popular use.
When I opened this deck, I found that I liked the artwork more than I thought I would, given it's somewhat crude
execution. The figures, and especially the faces, are actually very well drawn and quite expressive. The Papess,
for example, has a nonchalant expression on her face, almost a smirk, and freely opens to us her Book of Wisdom
without pretense. The fool is very lovable I think, unlike many renditions of him in other decks; and his little
dog too, looking playful and curious, could be Dorothy's Toto causing trouble behind our backs and then jumping
out of the bike's basket to escape unseen. The Lovers card actually made me think of the scene in the Godfather,
where Michael Corleone is courting Apollonia in 1940's Italy. They take walks on the streets together, always with
the elder women trailing as chaperones a few yards behind them.
|
