32-Cards Fortune Telling Deck: The most popular standard in Northern of Europe

Case : 633

Many oracle decks appeared in 19th century based on the influenced of Etteilla’s 32-cards fortune-telling deck. Many between them are still in use today. Jeu du Destin Antique by Grimaud, appeared c.1820 in Paris is one of the most beautiful deck. The deck consists of 32 cards has the playing card insets in the top left hand corner with gentle imagery of the cards’ meaning. There are no names on the deck but a indication from 1 – 32.  The 12 court cards contain the signs of the Zodiac in the upper right hand corner, otherwise (pip cards), contain image of gods and goddesses. One of the most famous deck of this type, the 32-cards Livre du Destin or latterly “Book of Fate” was published by Chartier-Marteau & Boudin and printed by B.P.Grimaud, in Paris, c.1850. This first version was only in french, but the second and these successors have the bilingual title in the box and book. It could be the only one bilinguals deck in 19th century. The cards have the image of the corresponding playing-cards in the left  and the explication in the bottom (first version is in French, latterly in both French and English).