The most traditional tarot: Tarot de Marseille

Case : 182. 

Because the earliest tarot cards were hand-painted, the number of the decks produced is thought to have been small. It was only after the invention of the printing press that mass production of cards became possible. Decks which survive from this era are from France, and the most popular pattern is the Tarot de Marseille, dating from 16th century. All cards were originally printed from woodcuts; the cards were later coloured either by hand or by the use of stencils. Tarot was recorded as being very popular card game throughout France during the 16th and early 17th century but later fell into obscurity with the exception of eastern France and Switzerland. Very few Marseilles pattern cards from the 17th century have survived. In contrast, dozens of decks from the 18th century have made it to the present. The Tarot de Marseille is one of the standards from which many tarot decks of the 19th century and later are derived.