15th Century Italian Deck

[variantventures]

The ten of clubs/batons.  This is based on several surviving sheets from the 15th Century.  The goal is to make an entire minchiate deck (like a tarot deck but with more trumps) but I'm starting by making just the standard 52 card deck that is the core of tarot and minchiate decks.  The fuzziness of the lines is deliberate and meant to be visually similar to the wood-block printed decks of that time.  Likewise, the colors are deliberately offset a little because the stencil work on those mass-produced decks was rarely spot on.  Although it's a subtle difference, I've added a 'natural' white background rather than relying on the 'brilliant' white background of the card-stock.  I feel it really makes a difference.

Yes, Don, I've got a French deck in the works.  I'm just not ready to share any of it yet.

[Don Boyer]

Was there a lot of offset work in the 1400s?  I would think the few decks around would have been hand-painted still.  You might want to toss out a few questions in the "Ask the Experts" topic in A Cellar of Fine Vintages.  We have people there whose knowledge you need to be tapping!

It does look good so far - but it's a single card, and not even a complete one at that.  Show us more!

[variantventures]

Yes, 1400 is the accepted cut-off date for block-printing on paper.  There is obviously some looseness to that date (they were block-printing on fabric by 1350, for example) but it's the date everyone uses for common reference.  We've got lots of surviving card examples from the 15th Century and they were block-printed and stenciled to a large degree.  They still made some by hand, the Ambraser decks spring to mind, as do the Topkapi cards, but mass production was needed to meet the demands for playing cards which were so popular by the end of the 14th Century that civic authorities were banning their use because they were causing problems.  The French, for instance, banned playing cards on work days.  Apparently they were popular enough that people were skipping work to play them.

I've added green to the final card, but this is pretty much the final design for the ten.  The original cards would have had a rectangular border but that limits the space I can use on modern cards (stupid rounded corners) so I've left it out.  I'll add the border back in for block-printed cards.

[variantventures]

Here's the 9 of swords.  These cards are based of multiple, partial 15th-16th Century decks.  The largest, but not the only, collection of these is in Budapest.  You can see them here: http://www2.printsanddrawings.hu/search/?return=1

[Don Boyer]

Yes, 1400 is the accepted cut-off date for block-printing on paper.  There is obviously some looseness to that date (they were block-printing on fabric by 1350, for example) but it's the date everyone uses for common reference.  We've got lots of surviving card examples from the 15th Century and they were block-printed and stenciled to a large degree.  They still made some by hand, the Ambraser decks spring to mind, as do the Topkapi cards, but mass production was needed to meet the demands for playing cards which were so popular by the end of the 14th Century that civic authorities were banning their use because they were causing problems.  The French, for instance, banned playing cards on work days.  Apparently they were popular enough that people were skipping work to play them.

I've added green to the final card, but this is pretty much the final design for the ten.  The original cards would have had a rectangular border but that limits the space I can use on modern cards (stupid rounded corners) so I've left it out.  I'll add the border back in for block-printed cards.

Well, you did your research, it would seem.  And I think the faces looks better borderless - consider going without borders.