Artisan Tarot

Jacob Jerger Besancon Tarot Deck

Name: Jacob Jerger Besancon Tarot Deck
Brand: Artisan Tarot
Price: 53.00 USD
Availability: InStock

In stock

$53.00

This restoration is based on the 1820-1845 tarot deck created by German-born master cartier Jacob Jerger in Besançon, France. The original decks were printed from carved woodblocks and colored with stencils.

The Tarot de Besançon is derived from the earlier Tarot de Marseille. The most notable difference is the replacement of The Popess and The Pope with the Roman gods, Juno and Jupiter.

This is the complete 78-card tarot deck and includes an information card and promotional card. The deck is in French and the extra cards are in English.

This first edition is limited to 1000 decks. Each deck is individually numbered on the seal.

Quantity:

Artisan Tarot Jacob Jerger Besancon Tarot Deck

$53.00

Authenticity You Can Trust

All of our products are genuine. No replicas, no knockoffs. We work with independent artists and publishers, so your purchase directly supports their creative art. As a small business, we handpick every item to ensure it's meaningful, beautifully made, and truly worth having.

Artist

Krisztina Kondor

Cards

80

Size

2.75 x 4.75 inches

Material

310 gsm card stock with a linen finish

Guidebook

Not included

Krisztina Kondor

Krisztina is the co-founder of Artisan Tarot. She has a Master’s Degree in Design from The University of Sopron. She specializes in linocut printmaking, which is similar to how tarot cards were produced. This background gives her unique insight into digitally restoring historic artwork. To date, she has created 16 tarot decks for Artisan Tarot.

Additional Information

Restoration Process

The restoration consisted of meticulously redrawing and recoloring the images. We also clarified many of the details to create consistency. Our goal was not to create an exact reproduction, but an elegant and refined deck that inspires the imagination of the modern reader.

Historical Information

This restoration is based on the 1820-1845 tarot deck createdby German-born master cartier Jacob Jerger in Besançon, France. The original decks were printed from carved woodblocks and colored with stencils.

The Tarot de Besançon is derived from the earlier Tarot de Marseille. The most notable difference is the replacement of The Popess and The Pope with the Roman gods, Juno and Jupiter. Experts believe these figures were changed to prevent offense in regions with diverse religious beliefs.

Other distinctive characteristics include the description “France J Jerger” on each trump and court card. Additionally, the back design features a marbled paper pattern, which originated from bookbinding practices in France and Germany, and was common throughout the 17th and 19th centuries.

This deck was digitally recreated by Krisztina Kondor with the assistance of William Rader. They studied the decks preserved in The National Library of France and researched their history to understand the images. To create consistency, the same color palette was used throughout the deck. The misaligned coloring was corrected, and details were also enhanced.

The restoration choices made are spot on! The pink marbled back is gorgeous.

I have to admit that I bought the Jacob Jerger TdM because of the beautiful pink backs (as one does), but what a wonderful addition to my tarot de Marseille collection. The Artisan decks are fast becoming my favorite decks with beautiful recreation, colors and cardstock.

I’ve been looking for a Marseille-type deck for a while. I did try the Jacques Vieville tarot and liked the coloring and artwork, but just didn’t use it much because it had so many differences from Marseille and I wanted something a little closer to the original. Saw this one, watched a flip through, and immediately bought it. I think a big point of contention for me with TdM are the Pope and Popess cards for various reasons, so I was thrilled to see that this deck had replaced them with mythological figures instead. While that may change the meaning a bit, I appreciate the thoughtfulness and foresight of those who made it a few hundred years ago that everybody not might appreciate such overt religious tones in their decks. The cardstock quality is, as usual, excellent, and thus an easy shuffler. The backs of the cards are a beautiful pink and evoke old endpapers. I've already had some wonderful readings with it and am content to keep this as my only TdM-style deck.

Love the Jacob Jerger tarot deck! What a fabulous job you did on bringing the cards to life! Thank you so much!

High quality product. Marvellous reproduction, recreation.

Excellent service, quick delivery and wonderful cards. Many thanks. Will be placing another order soon!

Jacob Jerger Besancon Tarot Deck

Authenticity You Can Trust

Restoration Process

Historical Information

Customer Reviews

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