Deck comparison: 1862 Milanese Tarot and 1865 Lombardy Tarot, both by Edoardo Dotti
These are reproductions of two tarots made in Milan by Edoardo Dotti in the 1860s. The pattern is similar to other 19^(th)-century Italian decks such as Lo Scarabeo’s Ancient Italian Tarot. The most noticeable differences between this design and the Tarot de Marseilles are trumps I and XIX. The figure on I appears to be a cobbler, not the thimblerigger on the Marseille card, and the figures on XIX are fully clothed.
The upper row in each picture is from the 1865 deck published in facsimile by Deviant Moon this month as the Lombardy Tarot. The lower row is from the 1862 deck, restored and published by Rinascimento Italian Art as the Milanese Tarot. The 1865 deck was printed from woodcuts previously used by Dotti’s father. The 1862 deck was printed from engraved copper plates, and thus has much finer detailing.
These are small decks. The Lombardy Tarot is 2.18" x 4.2", the Milanese is slightly smaller. The cardstock on the Lombardy is semi-gloss and smooth enough to fan. The matte finish on the Milanese is a little stickier but smooth enough to shuffle and deal easily. It's also a rather thick deck, at 1.4".
