The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards" contains a commentary by Michael Dummett and full size, color reproductions of Tarot cards from the Pierpont-Morgan Library in New York City, and the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo, Italy. In his introduction, Dummett refers to the cards as a masterpiece of mid-fifteenth-century Italian art in the International Gothic style. The Visconti-Sforza Tarot deck, named for the two great ducal families for whom they were made, is a fine example of the 78 card Tarot lineage (consisting of 56 suit cards and 22 picture cards). The suits of this deck are Swords, Batons, Cups and Coins. The four court cards are King, Queen, Knight and Jack.

This new edition presents an 80-card deck with expanded guidebook in a deluxe, hinged box. The 60-page guidebook, by Stuart R. Kaplan, features color illustrations of the tarocchi cards. The pack includes two bonus cards with portraits of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza. The 78-card deck is comprised of full-color facsimile reproductions of 74 extant, original Visconti-Sforza tarocchi cards that have survived from the 15th century (Milan, Italy). Four cards have been meticulously recreated to replace those missing from the original deck; The Devil, The Tower, Three of Swords, and Knight of Coins. The cards, which do not have titles or numbering, depict daily life in medieval Milan through allegorical imagery. The original cards are located in three different locations. Thirty-five of the original cards are located in the archives of the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. Twenty-six extant cards are at the Accademia Carrara in Italy, and thirteen cards are housed at Casa Colleoni, in Bergamo, Italy.

The Cary-Yale Visconti Tarocchi Deck is comprised of 22 Major Arcana and 64 Minor Arcana cards. The deck includes reproductions of tarocchi cards from the Cary Collection of Playing Cards, now housed at Yale University. Nineteen cards have been recreated to replace missing originals. In addition to the King and Queen, each suit in the Minor Arcana contains both male and female Knights and Pages.

This book includes a description of the medieval deck of Visconti-Sforza tarot.Each card has a description and the following aspects: business, medical, love, psychological. Also given are the features of this unique Tarot deck.The book has a section in which there is a black and white image of cards for coloring. The reader can colorize the cards, give them energy, escape from everyday problems, and engage in creativity. Then, painted cards can be cut out and pasted onto cardboard - and thus get your own unique deck of cards, which you can use as an assistant in everyday life.The book is intended for a wide audience with a primary interest in divination cards and tarot cards.

In the late Middle Ages and early modern times, card playing was widely enjoyed at all levels of society. The playing cards in this engaging volume are unique works of art that illuminate the transition from late medieval to early modern Europe, a period of tumultuous social, artistic, economic, and religious change. Included are the most important luxury decks of hand-painted European playing cards that have survived, as well as a selection of hand-colored woodblock cards, engraved cards, and tarot packs. The casts of characters they illustrate range from royals to commoners. Many feature animals such as falcons and hounds, while other portray such diverse objects as acorns, helmets, or coins. This is the only study of its kind in English and the only one in a generation in any language. The insightful narrative by Timothy B. Husband discusses the significance of playing cards in the secular art of the period and also recounts the varied stories they tell, conjuring the customs and facts of life of the time. Little is known abut the games played with these cards, but as Husband notes: "The playing out of a hand of cards can be seen as a microcosmic reflection of the ever-changing world around us—a world in play—a view that the creators of the cards under discussion here would seem to have shared.

Focusing on the major arcana, or trumps, of the Marseilles Tarot, the aim of this book is to encourage the reader to experience the tarot in a direct, fresh, and uncluttered way. Key points: Focuses on the 22 trumps, or the major arcana of the tarot Offers advice on how to study each card and find its unique significance Provides instructions for laying out and reading the cards Explores the tarot in terms of history, divination, symbolism, and esoteric traditions This exploration of the major arcana includes "The Fool's Mirror," a new method for laying the cards out, as well as hints for using the tarot to gain deeper levels of awareness. Cherry Gilchrist offers ways to approach each card, absorb it, and understand its essence. Readers are encouraged to relate this essence to personal experience as the most enduring and rewarding way to prepare for reading the cards.