Restoring a historic tarot deck is a major undertaking. For this restoration, we wanted to respect the tradition of the cards as well as update them with modern technology. Before we started the restoration of the Nicolas Conver Tarot we asked ourselves these questions.
- How much do we want to change and why?
- Are there reasons behind some of the irregularities?
- Is it possible to understand the artist’s intentions?
- Were the limited printing capabilities at the time a cause for some of the irregularities? If so, which ones?
- Can we update what seems to be printing or carving errors to make the cards feel complete?
Thankfully, many restorations of the Nicolas Conver tarot have come before us. This allowed us to better understand how other artists went about the restoration process. We first examined the original cards and the various restorations to gain insight in how they were restored. Although there are many restorations, none of the decks are the same.
For example, Yoav Ben-dov‘s images are very true to the originals. The lines match up perfectly with the original artwork. However, he changed the faces to be more appealing for modern audiences. While he updated the faces, he kept all of the irregularities like the unfinished hooves in Le Chariot.
The Jodorowsky-Camoin deck takes an entirely different approach. They updated some irregularities, but kept others. They also added items to the cards: eggs, stars on the curtains for Le Chariot, stairs and a door on La Maison Dieu, a face on the stomach of Le Diable, and many other things. Their deck seems to be a mix of other Marseille tarot and their own ideas.
Our approach was simple but difficult and time-consuming. Our goal was to create a deck that feels complete without making additions that would change how the cards are read. If a change was made, we wanted it to be historically justified.
For example, on Le Chariot, we rounded the wheels, added spokes, completed the horses’ hooves, and added a red tie to hold the curtains. On La Justice, we made the armrest and seat behind her more apparent. We also updated the colors of the scales and her dress.
However, we felt like some irregularities were made on purpose. For example, on La Force, her left shoulder is slightly out of place. So, we corrected it. However, we kept her six toes. While odd, it seems intentional.
Since we made the cards wider, we also had to imagine how the scenes would be extended. For example, we had to draw the back of Lempereur’s chair. Luckily, many vintage tarot decks exist in the public domain for reference. We also studied historic images of chairs. We hope we succeeded in creating an authentic chair. We hope to apply what we’ve learned while restoring this deck to other restoration efforts. We have a few ideas for other projects in the near future. But first, we must finish this restoration by running our Indiegogo Campaign.
