Tyldwick Tarot is self-published by a British artist in 2013. Of all 78 decks, this time I am going to introduce 22 large Arcana first.
Design (Major Arcana)
Overall this deck has a very subtle, even a gloomsome impressions.
No.0 Fool ~ No.6 Lovers
The top left is the rear design of this deck. Its colour has an antique atmosphere which seems to be the old oil paints peeling off from a wall. The Fool shows a clown looking towards me through a mirror. The Hierophant is named as “Pope”. The Lovers depicts faces of two women on the left and right, and the third person in the center.
No.7 Chariot ~ No.14 Temperence
No.8 is Justice, a balance being placed in front of the mirror. Among these subtle-coloured cards, the red colour of the Hermit is particularly impressive. No.11 is the Fortitude. Only the 13th Death card does not contain its card name. I cannot stop imagining the feeling of the author of this deck, his strong denial to express the word “death”.
No.15 Devil ~ No.21 World
The Devil shows something hazy in the mirror. You look into the mirror, and you will find the devil in yourself. The Star card is painted as daylight, but you can still see hexagram around the lion pouring water.
Minor Arcana comes in the next article
So far the major Arcana. Its design is almost compliant with the Rider deck version, easy to read meanings of each card.
Overview / Features
It has been sold on the artist’s site
Users could purchase this deck on his own site. Production quantity of this deck is limited to 2,000 sets. The Lenormand card decks with the similar design/atmosphere were also sold there. By the way, the name “Malpertuis” is his corporate name.
Booklet is not included in this deck. Each purchaser were supposed to get an original post card and a certificate that stated what number among 2,000 pieces, but I didn’t receive it for the reasons I will explain later.
Size / Price
Its size is 70mm x 120mm, about the same size as the standard version of the Rider Waite tarot deck.
When I purchased, the price was £60. It is not particularly expensive as a private deck.
The author of this deck wrote about stories of difficulties he faced in publishing this card, such as difficulty in select a proper printing service that meets his standards, the hard disk damage just before completion, etc. I feel the paper quality of this deck is quite good, smooth, and comfortably thick.
Each card is gilded as golden.
Overall Impressions
“Like” points
After all, what I am most impressed about this deck is its design. A calm, medieval feel and a tweed-like patchwork design.
The material might be a plastic card, I’m not sure though. The texture is good, smooth and slippery. The gilded border is beautiful, but it has been peeled off a little by now as I use.
“Dislike” points
A delicate colour design is the biggest attraction of this deck, but at the same time it is difficult to see what is drawn on each card. The colour is so subtle that I can’t see which card it is, especially in the dim light.
Because of this, it may seem difficult to handle for a tarot beginner, but I think the design itself is basically a faithful interpretation to the Rider deck.
Where to buy?
Unfortunately, the author passed away suddenly in 2018. His homepage is also closed by now.
New Deck
To be honest, it may be difficult to get a brand-new one.
My purchase was handled by his bereaved family. I found the news of his death on his Facebook after placing an order. That’s why I didn’t receive the author’s design card nor certificate that were supposed to be distributed to deck purchasers. Purchase from the official site is not possible anymore.
Every time I see this deck, I cannot help thinking about the feelings the author Neil had put into each card.
*Updates on June, 2021* 2nd Edition is now available here, limited 2000 copies.
Used Deck
If you search by the deck name, you can still find it in a couple of markets. However, the price is said to be quite a rip-off, be extra careful if you need to buy one from those sellers.
Continue to the next article
I used to play with this deck almost every day for a while, but now I simply enjoy looking at art work of each card occasionally.
In the next article, I will continue to introduce small arcana of this deck. YouTube video also available here, have a look if you feel like!
