Historian and deck curator Giordano Berti has another gorgeous reproduction to offer. The Tarocchi Perrin, or Perrin Tarot is like a younger cousin of the Soprafino Tarot and will most likely speak to those who are a fan of art like this. Eh…that would be me!
The Perrin Tarot has *just* become available. It is a faithful remake of the 1865 Turin deck by Claudio Perrin, a lithographer/publisher from the 19th century.
Colorful Soprafino Tarot
Perrin’s inspiration came, not surprisingly, from the engraver Charles Dellarocca (some write della Rocca) and his Milanese manufacturer Ferdinand Gumppenberg. The style is quite similar. However, the artist who designed the Perrin Tarot, still worked enough of his own magic and originality in the deck. The characters and environments are different and it seems the deck is also more colorful than the Soprafino. I might just openly cheat…

A few of the Major Arcana in The Perrin Tarot 1865. Unlike the Soprafino Tarot the numbering is not in Roman Numerals and the the coloring is definitely different.
The actual artist is unknown, but it is probably safe to guess he was one of the many illustrators used by Perrin’s Publishing House, back then specialized in illustrated history books.
The deck was already extremely rare in the 19th century, since Claudio Perrin wasn’t a regular Tarot producer. He probably didn’t have the same distribution network as some others did. It is only thanks to a collector who has one of the few remaining copies of the original Tarocchi Perrin (Tarot Perrin) in his possession, that an exact replica could be made, making you feel like you’re touching something from the 1800’s. At least, that is what I imagine.

The Aces from the Perrin Tarot. The Ace of Swords and Wands are quite similar to the Soprafino, the Coins and Cups are definitely in its own style. The Pentacle Ace holds the copyright notice.
Rare & gold
Araba Fenice, RINASCIMENTO Italian Style Art and Giordano Berti produced a truly limited edition of 600 copies, numbered and hand signed.
The cards are normal sized, measuring 11,5cm x 6,8cm. That is just slightly higher than the Soprafino, but comparable to the width of a US Games deck.

The box set of the Perrin Tarot
Artbox
As with most of Giordano Berti’s decks the box is a work of art and designed by Letizia Rivetti. It looks and opens like a book. The inside is lined in velvet (just like with the Sola Busca for example), the outside has tobacco marbled paper with gold on the corners. Berti wrote the 18-page booklet about the history of the deck and its original publisher.
I truly wonder about the quality of the deck itself and how it will read. Based on the pictures I have seen it at least looks really beautiful. If that’s actually the case you will be able to hear soon enough, because -obviously – a review will follow.
UPDATE: Here is my review of the Perrin Tarot.
If you just can’t wait that long you can order your own copy of the Perrin Tarot.